As China faces increasing global scrutiny on a slew of issues, including its inhuman treatment of Uyghur minorities in Xinjiang, it has launched an aggressive campaign to vigorously defend its policies in the region, and rubbish the allegations of repression being levelled against it.
China’s Foreign Ministry last month issued the most assertive defence of its policies in Xinjiang to date, calling accusations of “genocide” in the region the “lie of the century”. The statement marks a stark shift in China’s strategy to reshape the narrative regarding its treatment of Uyghurs.
Until now, China had been denying and dismissing the allegations of state-sponsored oppression of Uyghur minorities in Xinjiang. However, this has changed as China’s strategy to counter such allegations has now evolved from outright denial to unabashed public defence. This hardened public posturing can be attributed to a growing sense of confidence in Beijing and its eager alacrity to be combative in taking on its critics in the West on issues ranging from COVID-19 cover-up, South China sea, its repression in Hong Kong or its subjugation of Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
China’s shift to belligerence was precipitated by the onset of the coronavirus outbreak that first emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, and from their spread across the world. The virus hit the Western nations particularly hard, with the death toll rising to hundreds of thousands. The outbreak also brought in its wake crippling lockdowns, causing indescribable economic hardships. It forced Western countries to reassess their relationship with China, which used its newly gained economic heft to browbeat nations that demanded an impartial inquiry into the origins of the virus.
China’s menacing moves in the South China sea, its surreptitious activities in the greater Himalayan region bordering India, and its brutal crackdown of pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong only served to embolden the several western nations to bell the cat and hold China responsible for its misdeeds that were so far swept under the rug, most glaringly its atrocities on the Uyghur population.
As a consequence, it drew a sharp response from Beijing, which then launched a propaganda campaign to control the narrative surrounding Xinjiang even as it staunchly denied the suppression of Uyghur minorities. State media reporters were hurriedly dispatched to Xinjiang to show that everything is hunky dory and to discredit the allegations of mistreatment of Uyghurs.
The glowing accounts of state media reporters were then firehosed on Chinese social media websites to disprove the allegations of the harsh treatment meted out on the Uyghur population and rally support from the Chinese masses against the Western nations, whom they accused of tarnishing the image of China.
The Chinese Communist Party also deployed censorship—one of the powerful tools that Beijing uses to control the narrative. Stories of Uyghur suppression by credible western media outlets were banned in China so that Chinese citizens do not have access to the articles that described in excruciating details Beijing’s cruel treatment of the Uyghur minorities.
Besides, a ‘whataboutery’ campaign was also launched where the Chinese officials raised questions on the state of human rights in the countries that dared to question China’s poor human rights record. This was most evident against the United States as Chinese diplomats known for indulging in wolf warrior diplomacy questioned America on its treatment of people of colour in the aftermath of the Black Lives Matter movement.
When it fails to control the narrative by propaganda and censorship, it uses disinformation to achieve its ends. A case in point is the disinformation campaign surrounding the origin of the coronavirus. A senior Chinese spokesperson publicly called the US military the source of the coronavirus. Soon after the Chinese spokesman ascribed the virus to the US military, all the arms of the media warfare coalesced to amplify the disinformation that the US military was responsible for unleashing the pandemic.
Censorship, Propaganda and Disinformation are the pillars of the Chinese Communist Party’s strategy to control the narrative domestically, as well as globally. China has one of the world’s most restrictive media environments and it relies heavily on these three pillars to add ballast to the growing dominance of the CCP and Xi Jinping over the Chinese people.
China’s attempt to cover-up repression of Uyghur Muslim population in Xinjiang
From the last few years, several reports have emerged detailing the cruel treatment subjected to Uyghur Muslims living in the restive province of Xinjiang. According to a 2017 report by the head of the Institute of Sociology at the Xinjiang Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing considers the increasing Muslim population in Xinjiang a threat to its political hegemony.
It took elaborate measures to contain this threat. The strategy of the Communist Party of China (CCP) was to strip Uyghurs of their religious and ethnic identity and assimilate them into the dominant Han Chinese ethnicity. While Uighur Muslims are often subjected to re-educational programs, forced labour, and digital surveillance, their children are indoctrinated in orphanages.
A report by the Associated Press shed light on the reasons and measures taken by the Chinese State to ensure a ‘demographic genocide’ of its Uyghur population. With several ‘draconian measures’ in place, China ensured a significant decline in the birth rates of Uighurs (mostly comprising of Muslims).
The measures included regular pregnancy tests, sterilisation, abortion, forced insertion of IUDs (intrauterine devices), huge penalties, and incarceration in detention camps for having three or more children. Reportedly, the number of people held up in such camps range from hundreds and thousands of ethnic minorities to millions.
Another report published by The Intercept threw light on the lengths that China goes in not only scrutinising the minority Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang but also their relatives and friends, along with those who are living abroad. Artificial Intelligence, sophisticated surveillance systems, new-age technology and human intelligence are all employed by the Chinese Communist Party to track and monitor the Uyghur Muslims and those associated with them.
Beijing’s use of censorship, propaganda and disinformation to discredit reports of pervasive oppression of Uyghurs
To counter these damning reports, the CCP scrubbed all the Western reports that detailed the horrors meted out on the Uyghurs in the internment camps. Multiple foreign journalists who reported on the forced incarceration of the Uyghurs were expelled from China, while academics, activists and survivors who sought to expose China’s chicanery were denounced and harassed. Those who dared to speak against the illegal detention of Uyghurs inside China have been silenced or detained.
The crackdown against the Uyghur Muslims was accompanied by a propaganda campaign, where the internment campaigns were portrayed as “vocational training” education centres, with choreographed media tours for state outlets, who interviewed the “graduates” lauding the system. Simultaneously, the CCP’s disinformation arm also swung into action, terming the persecution of Uyghur minorities as a figment of Western imagination and sowing confusion about the scale of the “education centres” and abuses experienced by the detainees, while also painting Beijing as the victim of violent extremism and Western propaganda.
Initially, the CCP was secretive about its concentration camps for Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang. When the news about their existence started making the rounds in the global media, China’s first response was to use censorship to limit its spread in the Chinese media and vehemently deny their existence.
When the mounting evidence to the contrary became irrefutable, China flip-flopped and launched a propaganda campaign to claim they were just “education centres” to impart valuable skills to the backward Uyghur people. The Chinese government portrayed the camps as humane and launched a disinformation blitz to paint the criticism as a Western conspiracy meant to vilify China.
Mamunul Haque, an influential leader of hardcore Islamist group Hefazat-e-Islam in Bangladesh, was arrested by Dhaka police on Sunday on the charges of instigating violence, attempt to murder, assault and vandalism relating to a case filed last year. Harunur Rashid, a senior Dhaka Metropolitan Police official, informed in a short briefing that Haque was arrested from a madrassa in the capital of Dhaka’s Mohammadpur area.
The Islamist organization Hefazat-e-Islam of which Mamunul is the joint secretary is said to be the instigator behind violent riots and targeted attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the Muslim-majority nation.
Several other Hifazat leaders have been accused in several cases, including planned attacks on police and police stations and vandalism which are being investigated.
More than 300 people have been arrested till now for their involvement in the cases of arson, vandalism and violence during the period 26-28 March in various towns of Bangladesh.
Mamunul Haq has been sent on seven-day remand after the police produced him before the court on Monday.
The Chief of the Hefazat-e-Islam Junayed Babunagari in a video message demanded unconditional release of all the religious leaders of the organization including Mamunul Haque and the party’s Organising Secretary Azizul Haque Islamabadi.
Violence in Bangladesh
Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had extended an invitation to India’s PM Narendra Modi to join a March 26 celebration of the country’s 50th anniversary of independence. The radical group had warned the government of bloodshed if the visit took place.
The two-day visit was overshadowed by the violence. At least 17 supporters of Hefazat-e-Islam were killed in separate clashes with police as they attacked a police station and other government buildings, and blocked highways elsewhere in the country to wreck havoc in the country to supposedly oppose the visit.
What is Hefazat-e-Islam
Established in 2010, the Hefazat-e-Islam controls the largest number of madrasas running into thousands in Bangladesh. The organization came into prominence after its hardline Islamist demands during the 2013 Shahbagh protest movement in Dhaka.
In its 13 point demand, Hefazat-e-Islam demanded an anti-blasphemy law with death penalty as punishment, ban on erecting sculptures, declaring Ahmadiyas as non-Muslims and several restrictions on social gathering between men and women among others.
Mamunul, who is the joint secretary general of this radical group, is infamous for his hate speech and aggressive sermons in religious congregations and social media. For the same, he enjoys immense popularity among hardliners.
Haque and his associates also led a recent campaign against building a sculpture of independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Hasina’s father, saying sculptures are un-Islamic following which the government had to back off.
Attack on Hindu village
The same radical Islamist group was responsible for ransacking over 80 houses of Hindus in the village of Sunamganj, Bangladesh after a young Hindu man from the village, uploaded a video criticizing Mamunul Haque’s speech.
Many local Hindus had to flee their homes fearing for life which gave the attackers an opportunity to ransack and loot their homes.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has tested positive for coronavirus. He took to Twitter to inform the same. The Gandhi scion has requested all those who came in contact with him to follow safety protocols.
After experiencing mild symptoms, I’ve just tested positive for COVID.
All those who’ve been in contact with me recently, please follow all safety protocols and stay safe.
Rahul Gandhi said in his Tweet: “After experiencing mild symptoms, I’ve just tested positive for COVID. All those who’ve been in contact with me recently, please follow all safety protocols and stay safe.”
While Rahul Gandhi is eligible to take the vaccine as his age is over 45 years, it is not known whether he has taken the vaccine or not, as there is no report of him taking the same.
The CEO of Serum Institute of India which is manufacturing the vaccine developed by Oxford and AstraZeneca as Covishield, applauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman for their decisive policy changes to help boost Covid-19 vaccine production and distribution in India.
Adar Poonawalla took to Twitter on Tuesday to thank the Modi government for its efforts. He wrote in a tweet, “On behalf of the vaccine industry in India, I would like to thank and applaud Shri @narendramodi Ji, @nsitharaman Ji, for your decisive policy changes and swift financial aid which will help vaccine production and distribution in India.”
On behalf of the vaccine industry in India, I would like to thank and applaud Shri @narendramodi Ji, @nsitharaman Ji, for your decisive policy changes and swift financial aid which will help vaccine production and distribution in India. https://t.co/NedjaFLsx9
The tweet was made hours after the Union finance ministry approved ₹4,567 crores on Monday for Serum Institute of India and Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech, which produces indigenously developed Covaxin, to boost the capacity of Covid-19 vaccine production in India. The amounts sanctioned are advanced payments for vaccines.
Both Covishield and Covaxin have been extremely crucial to India’s vaccination drive. The two vaccines which were the first to be approved by the government, are being administered in India since early this year. Yesterday, the government had also announced vaccinations for all above 18 years of age.
Last week, Poonawalla, through a tweet, had urged the United States to lift the export ban from critical raw materials essential for the production of vaccines to fight Covid-19.
Respected @POTUS, if we are to truly unite in beating this virus, on behalf of the vaccine industry outside the U.S., I humbly request you to lift the embargo of raw material exports out of the U.S. so that vaccine production can ramp up. Your administration has the details. ??
Finance Minister Sitharaman announces package of Rs 4567 crore to SII & BBL
In a major development boosting the vaccination efforts, the Finance Ministry on Monday approved Rs 4,567.50 crores to Serum Institute of India (SII) & Bharat Biotech (BBL). The SII has been provided with Rs 3,000 crores while BBL has been approved Rs 1567.50 in order to ramp up the vaccination production in India.
#COVID19 | Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today approved an advance payment of Rs 4,567.50 crores to Serum Institute of India & Bharat Biotech. Finance Ministry has approved Rs 3,000 crores for Serum Institute of India & Rs 1567.50 crores for Bharat Biotech: Sources
On April 19, the Government of India announced the Phase 3 Strategy of Covid-19 vaccination in which every citizen of India above the age of 18 will be eligible for the vaccine.
The government said that in phase-3 of the vaccination program, the National Vaccine Strategy aims at liberalized vaccine pricing and scaling up vaccine coverage. It would require vaccine production and its availability to pace up across the country.
The government will provide support for the manufacturers to ramp up the production and will invite new players at the domestic and international level.
Government of India announces a Liberalised & Accelerated Phase 3 Strategy of #Covid19 Vaccination from 1st May
Government has been working hard from over a year to ensure maximum numbers of Indians are able to get vaccine in the shortest possible of time: PM @narendramodi 1/2
One can register for the vaccine with the Arogya Setu app or Co-Win website. As the government is going to allow states and open market sale of the vaccine, more instructions on how you can get the vaccine are expected from the central and state government.
On Monday (April 19), Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani was slammed by netizens for ‘deliberately’ occupying a hospital bed and denying hospice care for other Coronavirus infected patients. Mevani, who represents the Vadgam constituency in the Gujarat Vidhan Sabha, had informed on Friday that he had tested positive for Coronavirus.
In a tweet on Monday, the Gujarat politician alleged that the state has been drowning under the pile of dead bodies. “Co-ordinating relief efforts for people of my constituency Vadgam who are struggling with Gujarat’s pathetic healthcare. Entire State is drowning under the pile of dead bodies. To be honest, I do feel helpless. Can’t wait for my discharge so I can be with my people in Vadgam,” he tweeted.
Screengrab of the tweet by Jignesh Mevani
Netizens slam Jignesh Mevani for occupying a hospital bed
His tweet however did not go down well with netizens. They pointed out his doublespeak about the supposed worsening condition of Coronavirus treatment in Gujarat while he was being treated at a luxurious private hospital.A Twitter user (@bharatendu2206) wrote, “Sitting in the comfort’ of a hospital ridiculing the healthcare system and managing the constituency from his mobile phone, wah kya bat hai (wow).”
Sitting in the comfort’ of a hospital ridiculing the healthcare system and managing the constituency from his mobile phone, wah kya bat hai https://t.co/WoAhSF9THC
One Bhavesh Lodha tweeted, “Khud VIP bed rok ke betha he aur dusre ko gyaan de raha he (You are occupying a VIP bed and patronising others about the healthcare system).”
Another user (@ugwande2) pointed out that it was because of people such as Jignesh Mevani that helpless people are unable to secure a hospital bed for the treatment of Coronavirus infection.
One Abhi Patel accused Jignesh Mevani of looking fit and fine but still occupying a hospital bed. He said, “Nice photo op..btw..you looks absolutely fine..why not give your bed to other??”
Nice photo op..btw..you looks absolutely fine..why not give your bed to other??
Jignesh Mevani has been critical of Gujarat Healthcare system
He had previously taken potshots at the ‘glorious vibrant Gujarat model’, prior to being infected with the Wuhan Coronavirus.
Screengrab of the tweet by Jignesh Mevani
Earlier, he had vowed to help the people of Gujarat with emergency requirements. In a tweet on April 16, he wrote, “While I recover from Coronavirus, I will try my best to help people in Gujarat with the co-ordination of emergency requirement, whatever is possible, or even with simple RT to give wider reach. Please tag me in any requirement. I will try my best to make whatever is available.”
Screengrab of the tweet by Jignesh Mevani
While several netizens have suggested that Jignesh Mevani has been undergoing treatment at the KD Super Speciality hospital in Ahmedabad in Gujarat, Opindia could not independently verify the claims.
As the mass exodus of migrant workers continues in the National capital, the Delhi HC has issued a stern warning to the Kejriwal government. The High Court has asked his government to ensure that the migrant workers and daily wagers in the region do not undergo the sufferings they had to undergo in the state when the centre imposed a lockdown in 2020, reports Live Law.
The Delhi HC made these observations while hearing the case of Rakesh Malhotra vs GNCTD and others. It was a petition which was filed seeking steps to control the COVID-19 situation in the national capital, which was disposed of in January. However, owing to the second wave of the COVID-19 outbreak, the court decided to revive the case.
The bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli observed: “One of the lessons that none should forget from the lockdown imposed in the year 2020, is the plight that the daily wagers and migrant labour force which reside and work in GNCTD had to suffer. We have been seeing news reports about migrant labours already going back to their origin states, with the surge in the COVID cases in the GNCTD. With the imposition of curfew till 26.04.2021, the daily wagers –who are hand to mouth, and earn their bread every day to feed themselves and their families, are once again faced with the grim reality of facing a shortage of even basic necessities such as food, clothing and medication.”
Acknowledging the Kejriwal government’s apathy towards the migrant labourers back in 2020, the HC observed that when India was grappling with the first wave of the coronavirus outbreak then too, the civil society had come forward and provided food and other necessities to the large sections of such needy people.
To control the havoc the second wave of coronavirus has wreaked in the National Capital, the Arvind Kejriwal government announced a sudden 6-day rigorous lockdown. After having had a bitter experience during the first wave of pandemic last year when the nation-wide lockdown was announced by Centre to curb infection and build up health infrastructure, the migrant workers in Delhi have decided to go back to their hometowns, lest they be left in the lurch.
The High Court reminded the Kejriwal government of the plight of migrants and daily wagers during the 2020 lockdown and urged it to take adequate steps to ensure that the same is not repeated this time.
Arvind Kejriwal govt fails to utilize thousands of crores they are sitting on, observes Delhi HC
Though the counsel appearing on behalf of the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) argued that the State has taken adequate steps in this regard, the bench said: “we may say with our own experience, and that the State failed to do enough”.
The Court slammed the Arvind Kejriwal government for failing to utilize thousands of crores of rupees they are sitting on, which is available with the Board constituted under the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996, and which has been collected as Building cess for construction workers.
While reprimanding the Kejriwal government for its nonchalant attitude towards the migrant labourers in the National Capital, the HC sought affidavits from the Centre and GNCTD regarding the availability of COVID beds in hospitals, oxygen supply etc.
Arvind Kejriwal’s 2020 mismanagement compells migrants to once again run away from Delhi
It is imperative to note that last year when the pandemic hit India, it is alleged that the AAP govt in Delhi ran state-govt buses and made announcements to get the migrants to bus stations. From there, Delhi Transport Corp buses brought these migrants to the Delhi-UP border and left them, promising them that the UP buses will take them to their respective villages. This when all the states had stopped inter-state movement and there were no state-run buses plying on road. So, in the first wave of the pandemic, Kejriwal had left the migrants on their own before the Yogi govt stepped in to help them.
Left with this bitter taste, it is understandable why the migrant labourers are once again thronging bus terminals after the government announced a 6-day lockdown in the National Capital.
Grave times reveal the real side of leaders – whether they choose to rise to the occasion or descend into petty politics. As Maharashtra continued to peak with the highest number of COVID-19 positive cases in the nation, CM Maharashtra Uddhav Thackeray clearly made his choice to ‘fall’ in the second kind.
One of the gravest examples of this descent was an allegation, more so a sensationalized version of the truth, levelled against the Prime Minister.
Article by Deccan Chronicle
In a statement from CMO Maharashtra, it was put out how when CM Uddhav Thackeray reached out to PM Modi to discuss the situation of oxygen supply in Maharashtra, he could not get hold of him on his landline as the PM was travelling to Bengal.
More than the news, one has to be surprised at the naivety and ignorance of the Chief Minister himself. Being a Chief Minister and active in politics for years, neither did he nor his office even once think of reaching out to the PM through the PMO team that travels along wherever he goes.
The PM, who one can confidently say belongs to the first kind of leaders, could easily be contacted at any time of the day. In fact, all throughout the pandemic, PM Narendra Modi has kept channels of communication open with the CMs of every state, having talked to them over 15 times in formal settings and several more times informally.
This makes one wonder – was the call placed to actually speak to the Prime Minister or from the very start, was it done with an intention of making headlines?
If this is news to you, then what conspired just a day ago, on 15th April, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi had held a virtual discussion with the Chief Ministers of various states on the situation relating to COVID-19, will make you question the CM’s intentions furthermore. During this crucial meet, more so for Maharashtra, CM Uddhav Thackeray was found busy fiddling with his phone.
Uddhav Thackeray fiddling with phone
Uddhav Thackeray fiddling with phone
One is split between deciding what was more foolish out of the two – calling someone and expecting to reach them on their landline when they’re travelling or putting it out for the world and letting them know about your foolishness. The jury is out.
Going back to the topic of grave times and how to deal with them, one needs to understand how different people react to loss differently. The first kind of leaders dwells on turning adversity into an opportunity, the second kind turn towards grief and grievances.
Stages of grief
With the pandemic spreading its deadly arms, mismanagement at the helm of affairs and state leaders plumbing new political lows every day right under the watch of Maha Vikas Aghadi mastermind Sharad Pawar, one really has to wonder if it was on purpose, that if it was the grief that was bringing joy to them.
Data, personal accounts, pictures, videos, tweets, distress messages – all of it has already painted quite a gloomy picture of Maharashtra in the minds of the Indian public. Adding doom to the gloom was how things were, how things are still, being run.
From vaccines to oxygen cylinders, life-saving drugs to public money – there’s perhaps no topic of critical public importance that the Maharashtra government leaders have not played politics on, and that too in a time of a crisis. With every passing petty political move, MVA’s politics plunged further down, pulling the rest of the country with it too.
The ongoing COVID-19 surge in Maharashtra, negligence, petty politics and all of it can be best explained through various stages of grief. The grieving process of not of the public, but of the leaders of Maharashtra.
First stage: Denial
“This can’t be happening to me” – When a wave of shock hits one, it is perhaps among the first few thoughts that crop up in the mind that very instant.
But it was happening, no matter how much the State or the state-sponsored mouthpieces tried to remain in denial or tell people otherwise. Another wave of COVID-19 was nearing, this time much bigger than before and Maharashtra was battling to survive.
Maharashtra government did what every grief-stricken person going through denial does –deflecting, asserting and pointing fingers. And when the uncomfortable truth, though hard to swallow, had to be gulped, it was washed down citing ‘transparency’.
Maharashtra was sinking and suddenly everyone was cheering on after the captain for declaring it minutes before, that indeed it was.
People in Maharashtra were contracting the deadly COVID-19 virus again, this time at a pace higher than the last. Was it laxity, mismanagement or something else? We’ll find out.
1st March, 2021 – Total No. of New Cases in India: 12,286
Ahead of the Budget session of the Maharashtra Legislature, Congress’ state chief Nana Patole assembled outside the Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha along with other leaders. The Congress party had called out a cycle to rally in protest against fuel prices.
Mumbai Mirror article
Aslam Sheikh, Bhai Jagtap, Yashomati Thakur and Maharashtra Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat were present too. The event was telecasted LIVE from INC Maharashtra’s Twitter page.
Congress tweet
This was a time when the COVID numbers had just begun to surge in Maharashtra again. But were things any better when the second wave was already at its mighty best? Let’s find out.
9th April, 2021 – Total No. of New Cases in India: 1,45,384
From 12,000 on the day of the cycle rally to 1,45,000 on that given day – COVID-19 was already sweeping Maharashtra by now. Yet on 9th April, NCP leader, Sharad Pawar’s nephew and Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar addressed a huge public meeting [3]in Maharashtra’s Solapur ahead of the Pandharpur-Mangalvedha assembly constituency by-polls.
11th April, 2021 – Total No. of New Cases in India: 1,68,912.
It was around April 11 when Maharashtra leaders, who may have gotten a sense of the rising numbers by now, started to panic, and chose to go into a full denial mode.
It all began with blaming and pontificating other states for the rising COVID-19 numbers in Maharashtra, while conveniently forgetting the ones organized in the state’s immediate vicinity.
Are lives more important or these election congregations? Asked Priyanka Chaturvedi.
Tweet by Priyanka Chaturvedi
Almost as if making one seriously wonder if elections in the Eastern part of the country could actually be responsible for surging virus cases in its Western parts.
Then there was another one from Congress leader and Maharashtra Minister Aslam Sheikh, who you might recall had taken part in the cycle rally mentioned earlier. Instead of analyzing his own state’s situation, Aslam Shaikh had directed the COVID19 Task Force to study why cases did not increase in other states where mass gatherings were being held for the purposes of campaigning. The irony is not lost on one.
13th April, 2021 – Total No. of New Cases in India: 1,84,372.
In line with the political whataboutery of his counterparts, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut came out forward levelling allegations on the people of other states for the rising Coronavirus cases in the country. Criticizing the Kumbh Mela congregation, Sanjay Raut, on top of everything, advised other states to exercise control and restraint.
If this wasn’t enough, Raut’s denial had reached to such levels that he even went on to claim how Maharashtra had the best government, best administration, best CM and the best healthcare system in the entire country.
These hyperboles at a time when the people of Maharashtra were suffering with the worst ever collapse of public healthcare system in the history of the state.
15th April, 2021 – Total No. of New Cases in India: 2,17,353
Perhaps Sanjay Raut had a point to make. In a huge display of ‘control and restraint’, leaving behind the state of Maharashtra to deal with its sorrows on its own, Raut travelled to Karnataka’s Belgavi to hold a roadshow campaign for upcoming by-poll elections.
Tweet by ANI
17th April, 2021 – Total No. of New Cases in India: 2,61,394
“Those returning from Kumbh Mela to their respective states will distribute Corona as ‘prasad’,” said Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar, comparing the Kumbh congregation with the Markaz super-spreader congregation from last year. Furthermore, Pednekar’s admission that the Maharashtra government had no idea how many devotees had attended the Kumbh Mela in Uttarakhand and how they were coming back, was in itself a commentary on how things were being handled in Maharashtra.
In some form or the other, those running the Maharashtra government were rejecting the facts in front of them. In psychology, it is said of denial that if it persists it may in its most ugly form prevent a person from taking an appropriate action. This is exactly what was happening in Maharashtra – inaction.
2nd stage: Anger
“It’s not fair! Why me?” – The next stage of grief is anger. When one is filled with rage, they look for something or someone to blame for the situation.
And here one is not even talking of public anger. It is rather a form of anger which is unreasonable.
We’re talking about how the leaders of the Maha Vikas Aghadi started reacting as they were just about crossing the threshold of denial and beginning to sense that things indeed were going out of control.
When one is not in control of situations, the easiest thing to do in the world?
Blame others for your predicaments.
7th April, 2021 – Total No. of New Cases in India: 1,26,789.
Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope started claiming that there was a shortage of vaccine doses. He also demanded the Centre open vaccination for people in the 20-40 years age group. The blame game had just begun.
Tweet by ANI
The same day, in response to Tope’s charges, Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan revealed how the allegations were ‘utterly baseless’ and were just a part of diversionary tactics adopted by the Maharashtra government to hide their inefficiencies.
Article by Indian Express
Dr. Harsh Vardhan also slammed the ‘lackadaisical attitude’ of the Maharashtra government, which singularly bogged down the nation’s efforts to fight the virus.
He also criticized the Maharashtra government for putting the people of Maharashtra in danger by letting people escape institutional quarantine requirements for the sake of their personal ‘Vasooli’ collection.
So, while Tope was blaming vaccine shortage for the rising cases in Maharashtra, right under his government’s nose, or should one say in connivance with his government, foreign flyers to Mumbai were paying to skip COVID quarantine protocols.
8th April, 2021 – Total No. of New Cases in India: 1,31,968.
The next day, State Health Minister Tope started accusing the Central government of discrimination in vaccine distribution, alleging that BJP-ruled states received more vaccines over others. He also warned that vaccination in Maharashtra would be paused for the next 7-days if vaccines weren’t dispatched in a day’s time.
Responding to his allegations, yet again Union Minister Harsh Vardhan came forward with data revealing how both non-BJP states of Maharashtra and Rajasthan had received one of the highest numbers of vaccine doses than any other in the country.
Tweet by Dr Harshvardhan
The same day, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar revealed that how due to a lack of planning on the part of the state government, around 5 lakh doses of the COVID-19 vaccines were wasted in Maharashtra.
So not only was the state Health Minister Tope lying about the vaccine discrimination, it seems he was also faking a shortage, when it actually was more about wastage. But what about stopping vaccination for 7-days? Quite clearly Maharashtra had a huge stock resting with itself. Why was Tope claiming there was a shortage? What about the 5 lakh doses that were wasted due to state government’s inefficiencies? And most importantly, can someone be so consumed by anger that they’re ready to put a hold on the vaccination drive in their COVID-hit state only to make a political point? Well, yes.
9th April, 2021 – Total No. of New Cases in India: 1,45,384
The cases in Maharashtra were rising and so was anger. After threatening to halt the vaccination drive, macho posturing was chosen as the next tactics in series to divert public anger as well as pressurize the Centre.
MVA ally Raju Shetti, leader of the Swabhimani Shetkari Saghtana, threatened to stop vehicles transporting vaccines to other states from the Serum Institute of India if the supply of vaccines to Maharashtra was not increased in a week’s time. He wrote a letter to PM, HM and Health Minister, warning the same.
Tweet by ANI
On a separate note, another instance that was doing the rounds on April 9 was how the state’s Environment Minister and CM Uddhav’s son Aaditya Thackeray was slammed by a Congress leader for sanctioning whopping Rs 3,693 crores from the District Planning and Development Committee (DPDC) funds for the beautification of bungalows of 43 Shiv Sena corporators.
On a normal day, nobody would have taken much notice of this, but nothing was normal when it came to the affairs of the Maharashtra government. Just 6 days earlier on the 3rd April, State Congress president Nana Patole, while crying about lack of funds had accused the Centre of withholding the rightful funds meant for Maharashtra.
Patole blamed the Centre for not providing Maharashtra enough from the Aatmanirbhar Package, and expressed his disapproval towards BJP leaders who instead of donating to CM Fund had donated to the PM-CARES fund.
Clearly it was yet another low blow, claiming of shortages where there were none, blaming the Centre and putting them in the bad light – something which had now become a regular from Maharashtra leaders.
In grief, it is important to release anger, but not in a way that would prove to be harmful. Be it the false alarm over vaccine shortage, the threats to stop the vaccination drive in Maharashtra, blocking vaccine supply to the rest of the country or falsely crying lack of funds –all of them are unhealthy and not becoming of the leadership of a state reeling with a crisis.
3rd: Bargaining
“Why me?” – At this stage, one starts looking for ways and means to reclaim control over things, bargaining with themselves and wanting to feel like they can influence an event’s outcome.
Yet again, it wasn’t the public, but the leadership in Maharashtra who was going through this stage.
Sensing imminent public fury for mishandling the pandemic again, several leaders of the MVA began coming up with regular rituals to fight the growing sense of narrative slipping out of their hands. These rituals involved faking it, making false accusations, claiming shortages in supply, and doing everything else in their might to bargain control of the situation.
17th April, 2021 – Total No. of New Cases in India: 2,61,394.
NCP spokesperson and Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Nawab Malik sent out a tweet falsely claiming that 16 export-oriented units (EoUs) that had more than 20 lakh vials of Remdesivir, were denied permission to sell in the country by the Government of India. He also claimed that only 7 companies were allowed by GoI to sell Remdesivir and that those companies had denied taking up any responsibilities.
Union Chemicals & Fertilizers Minister Mansukh Mandaviya immediately took to Twitter to debunk the lies spread by Nawab Malik. The Minister shared how over 20 plants had already been given express permission to produce and supply Remdesivir. He also revealed that there was only 1 unit of EoU and another in an SEZ and not 16 as mentioned by Malik. The Minister also demanded Malik to share the list of the aforementioned 16 companies.
If this was not enough, Malik then posted a government order, claiming that GoI had issued an order to ‘one of the export companies’ to supply Remdseivir to Gujarat only. He claimed that the Central government was giving a ‘step-motherly treatment to Maharashtra.
Never mind the fact that the order he shared was from Food & Drugs Control Administration, Gujarat. The order Malik posted was from the Gujarat government, not the central government.
Twist in the tale is that Maharashtra too had written an exact similar letter to one of the export companies to exclusively supply the stock of Remdesivir to the state of Maharashtra only.
These purported lies were fashioned to create panic and seed discord among people. But one by one these lies were being taken apart. However, that did not stop them from doing whatever they intended to.
Next up, Maharashtra politics plummeted to such levels that it was not only limited to attacking the Centre but extended to harassing private citizens as well. BJP leader and former Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis had brought on board pharmaceutical company Bruck Pharma for supplying Remdesivir in Maharashtra. In what seemed another attempt to regain control, on 17th April, Mumbai police detained Bruck Pharma supplier in Daman. Mumbai cops called it a routine enquiry, followed by supporters of the Maharashtra government levelling false allegations of hoarding on the company.
Wait, what? Weren’t Maharashtra leaders just complaining about the shortage of Remdesivir? And what happens when someone comes forward to supply the same? He is illegally detained and harassed by Mumbai police at the behest of the state government.
On a related note, it is important to recall the tweet by Nawab Malik, where he openly threatened about his intentions to seize the stock of Remdesivir.
Tweet by Nawab Malik
The same day, the allegations of CM Maharashtra Uddhav Thackeray trying to get in touch with PM Narendra Modi and his following unavailability on the landline came out.
GoI Minister Piyush Goyal instantly put out facts calling out CM Maharashtra for his ‘petty politics’. In a series of tweets, Goyal revealed how the Government of India was at 110% of oxygen generating capacity and diverting all available oxygen from industrial use to medical use. He also revealed how Maharashtra had so far received the highest quantity of oxygen in India and that Uddhav Thackeray needed to stop his daily dose of shameless politics and take responsibility.
It is pertinent to note that the Indian Railways had already started to transport liquid oxygen on trains to Maharashtra in cryogenic tankers after the Maharashtra government’s request. The Centre was coordinating daily with States to assess needs and assure help.
With all controls lost on the narrative, the best that Shiv Sena could come up with in response to Goyal’s statement was scorn, disdain and name-calling through their Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi.
Tweet by Priyanka Chaturvedi
In the end, when it comes to the leadership in Maharashtra, the priority has always seemed to be about being on the winning side of the narrative over what’s best for public welfare. Even if they did, the win of Maharashtra’s win was definitely not a win for its people. The state government was not living up to the end of its bargain and people were losing lives.
4th stage: Depression
“Leave me alone!” – This by far is the most uncomfortable stage of the grief process. It involves withdrawal from social life and a long spell of silence.
The leader of this unholy alliance in Maharashtra, the mastermind, the wizard at the behest of whose political manoeuvre this coalition government had been gobbled together up, was nowhere to be found, seen or heard.
He made time to time public appearances, sometimes seen getting vaccinated, sometimes calling for working together with the Centre or sometimes supporting now ex-Home Minister Anil Deshmukh in Vaze-gate.
One wonders, why was Sharad Pawar quiet all this while? No word was uttered from his side as leaders of his alliance be it belonging from the Shiv Sena, Congress or even NCP, were putting the lives of millions at risk in Maharashtra.
Silence implies consent, some say. By being silent throughout, as Maharashtra was being pushed towards its depressing fate, making it to be a cause of public health scare for the entire nation, Sharad Pawar has made his intentions well-heard.
Silence is as big as a political statement there could be.
5th stage: Acceptance
What about acceptance?
If we have learnt anything from the mismanagement by the Maharashtra government during the first wave of COVID-19, then we for sure know that there is not a sense of regret or a shred of courage in them to accept the absolute disaster that they have created for themselves and for the rest of the nation.
The grief must go.. on
Maharashtra’s leadership is oscillating between the 1st phases of grief, resisting strongly to move beyond. Blaming, pontificating, intimidating, lying, faking and doing everything except what they were supposed to. Given the circumstances and the attitude of the MVA government, it seems grief is here to stay in Maharashtra, sadly.
The grim situation in Maharashtra, in the end, does do something. It gives us all a picture of what grief feels like to the helpless masses in a democracy – the sense of grief when one gets something they didn’t choose, something they didn’t vote for, something that had just befallen on them – like the Coronavirus.
(This article has been written by Vasudha Madhogaria, who is an observer of politics and media)
The wheat procurement in Punjab though delayed due to the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic, is set to take place till May 30. The procurement agencies and FCI have decided to purchase the crop at Rs 1,975 per quintal in the current rabi season, payment for which is being directly transferred to the bank accounts of the farmers.
Claiming full credit for the success of the ongoing procurement process, the Congress congratulated its Punjab Chief Minister for the same through a video from the official party handle.
Here’s what the video says
The video that claims to have brought back the smiles on farmers’ faces, cites quick procurement as the reason. As per the video, the Punjab government has procured 46.60LMT of wheat in just seven days at the set MSP. The video also shares that to ease the procurement process amidst the second wave, the government has added over 2000 new procurement centres in the state which are operational from 10 am to 6 pm. The video ends with talking about the safety measures and precautions being taken by the state government for the farmers who arrive at the procurement centres and the staff.
पंजाब कांग्रेस सरकार ने किसानों की खुशहाली के लिए कदम उठाये हैं। MSP पर खरीद कर सुनिश्चित, किसानों के चेहरों पर मुस्कान लौटाई है।
However, it is imperative to note that Captain Amarinder Singh’s government missed thanking the Centre for Direct Bank Transfers (DBT) which is the actual reason for farmers’ happiness.
Punjab farmers happy with Direct Benefit Transfers
This is the first time that the farmers from Punjab are receiving direct online payments for their produce at the determined MSP and at least 1,64,455 farmers from Punjab have been able to benefit from the DBT scheme.
This was possible after the central government refused to extend the deadline to implement the DBT process just ahead of the procurement after the state sought yet another exemption. The Centre had been pursuing the Punjab government since 2016-16 to get the state to implement direct online payment into farmers’ accounts. However, the state had been routinely approaching the Centre for granting exemption and extension of time.
Punjab government had faced resistance from the arthiyas for the implementation of DBT before the onset of the procurement season. Not wanting to antagonize the arhtiyas close to the state elections, the state government gave in to their demands and urged the Centre was another extension.
On being declined, the Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal said the government had no option, but to transfer the minimum support price (MSP) amount for the procurement directly to the bank accounts of farmers in the current rabi season.
Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey informed that till date Rs 13.71 crores have been transferred directly and successfully into the accounts of farmers in Punjab.
“We are now transferring in Punjab the MSP amount directly to farmers’ accounts which has been possible with the cooperation of the state government and ‘arthiyas’, who are a very important stakeholder. They will get their respective commission due under the APMC Act and rules into their accounts,” added Pandey assuring the arthiyas of the state.
Dalip Kumar of Nilpur village near Rajpura, said his happiness knew no bounds when he received two text messages from his bank announcing the credit of Rs 1.90 lakh and Rs 1.48 lakh into his account as the minimum support price (MSP) of 171 quintals of wheat that he sold in Rajpura mandi.
Dalip in an interview to the Indian Express claimed, “This is the best system. What could be better than getting payment for our crop in our account?” The news was shared by Union Minister Piyush Goyal as well.
One Nation, One MSP, One DBT: Dalip Kumar of Rajpura, Punjab is the happiest he’s ever been in his 15 years spent as a farmer after getting DBT as MSP for his crop
Modi govt. is working hard to ensure happiness of crores of farmers across Punjab & India.https://t.co/lcMhp4hYfP
The responsibility for the procurement of foodgrains that are eligible for MSP lies with four state agencies and the Centre’s FCI in Punjab. The Punjab government also purchases wheat and rice at MSP on behalf of the central government under the National Food Security Act (NFSA).
The Centre in the RMS 2021-22 season is hoping to procure 427 LMT of wheat this season, the highest ever in the country. This includes purchasing 130 LMT from Punjab. As per the data released by FCI, the Central government agencies have procured 18.24 LMT of wheat from Punjab.
In its desperation to end the recent violence by workers and activists of Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) which enveloped Pakistan throughout last week, a minister in the Imran Khan government said that the Imran Khan government will present a resolution on the expulsion of the French ambassador in the National Assembly later today.
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said in a video statement that the government has had a successful round of negotiations with TLP, which has agreed to end its protest across the country.
He said that the decision was taken after another round of talks with the recently proscribed Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP).
اسلام آباد۔ 20 اپریل
حکومت اور تحریک لبیک پاکستان کے درمیان مذاکرات کامیاب۔
However, Pakistan government seems to have forgotten its own rights in terms of ambassadors of foreign countries. A sovereign government does not need to take the approval of the parliament to expel an ambassador. Any govt can expel an ambassador or any diplomate or official working in embassy and consul offices by declaring them persona-non-grata. A govt does not even need cabinet approval to remove an ambassador, and there is no requirement to get parliamentary approval.
Article 9 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations
According to article 9 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the host nation at any time and for any reason can declare a particular member of the diplomatic staff to be persona non grata. After a diplomate has been declared persona non grata by the host country, they lose all diplomatic immunities. They are usually asked to leave the country within a stipulated period of time. Several nations have expels ambassadors of other countries using this provision, when the relationships between the nations had deteriorated. Therefore, Pakistan govt can easily expel Marc Baréty, the French Ambassador to Pakistan, by declaring him a persona non grata.
But for some reason, the Pakistan government has decided to raise the matter in the National Assembly and seek parliamentary approval to take action on the diplomate. It shows that the Imran Khan govt is finding it difficult to choose between offending Islamists and offending France, and wants to push the blame to the entire political establishment of the country.
Interestingly, while the minister assured that the bill will be presented in the National Assembly today, Dawn reports that there is no session scheduled for Tuesday. A day earlier, the session was adjourned to meet again on April 22 (Thursday) at 2 pm.
The minister added that the “cases registered against TLP supporters under the fourth schedule will also be dismissed and further rounds of talks will take place”.
Rashid said that he will give a detailed statement on the agreement in a press conference later in the day.
Riots erupted from protests against France in Pakistan
It may be noted that Pakistan has been witnessing violent protests as its government failed to fulfil its promise to Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) founder Khadim Hussain Rizvi. In November last year, the Imran Khan-led Pakistani government had bent its knees in front of TLP and promised Rizvi that it would bring a bill in the Parliament to legally expel the French Ambassador from the country over cartoons published by French magazine Charlie Hebdo.
It has been over a week, and more incidents of violence are being reported in the neighbouring country. Recently, videos had emerged suggesting army personnel shifting their support to TLP. Notably, Khadim Hussain Rizvi had died just a couple of days after striking a deal with the Pakistani government last year. His son Saad Hussain Rizvi took charge of TLP as its leader. Saad is leading violent protests across the country.
The Uttar Pradesh government had approached the top court of the country challenging the Allahabad High Court’s order on imposing strict restrictions in five cities of India’s most populous state in view of the Covid-19 pandemic, on the grounds that the High Court does not have any locus standi to issue such directions.
The Chief Justice of India (CJI) led bench of the Supreme Court decides to hear the matter today.
The matter was presented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India, SA Bobde seeking urgent listing. The court agreed to hear the matter today.
As per latest updates, the SC has stayed the order issued by the Allahabad HC that had ordered shut down in five cities of UP.
Allahabad High Court orders strict restrictions in five cities of UP in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak
On April 19, the Allahabad High Court issued a list of strict restrictions in five UP cities – Prayagraj, Lucknow, Varanasi, Kanpur Nagar, and Gorakhpur till April 26. A bench comprising of Justice Ajit Kumar and Justice Siddhartha Varma were not pleased with the surge in Covid-19 cases.
The court said that the Chief Minister of the state is in isolation and called it a difficult situation for the state. ACS Information, Navneet Sehgal said, “UP Government will not impose a complete lockdown in the cities but impose strict restrictions. The UP Government is submitting its reply before the Court on its observations.”
The court further added that the lack of development in medical infrastructure is visible as the public health system is not able to meet the challenges, and people are dying while waiting for proper medication. “Those in the helm of affairs of governance are to be blamed for the present chaotic health problems and more so when there is a democracy which means a government of the people, by the people and for the people,” the court said.
A host of other prohibitory orders were also issued by the Court.
UP government refuses to implement High Court-ordered strict restrictions
However, the UP government refused to implement the high court ordered strict restrictions in the five cities of the state, emphasising that the livelihood of the poor needs to be saved.
“Today in the order of the Hon’ble High Court, the spokesman of the UP government has conveyed that the Corona cases have increased in the state and strictness is necessary for the control of the Corona. The government has taken many steps, strict steps are being taken even further,” the UP government said in a statement as quoted by India Today.
“Along with saving lives, the livelihood of the poor has to be saved. Therefore, there will not be a complete lockdown in the cities. People are automatically shutting down many places willingly,” it added.
