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Congress leaders, others share old picture of Yogi and Amit Shah in Kumbh, accuse them of spreading Coronavirus

OpIndia Staff
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Congress leaders, others share old picture of Yogi and Amit Shah in Kumbh, accuse them of spreading Coronavirus

Congress leader Alka Lamba recently took to social media to claim that in the current Kumbh Mela at Haridwar, UP CM Yogi Adityanath and Home Minister Amit Shah participated in the Shahi Snan. While the usual gang of liberals and leftist media alleged that Kumbh Mela became a super-spreader of Coronavirus, social media users have jumped in to accuse BJP of not only encouraging the event but also participating in it, leading to the further spread of the infection.

This claim is, however, untrue. Old pictures have been used to insinuate that BJP leaders lackadaisical attitude has added to the coronavirus scourge.

Alka Lamba tries to pass off an old picture of 2019 Kumbh as recent

Congress leader Alka Lamba took to Facebook on April 15, when the Kumbh event was underway, to share a picture of Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath taking a dip in the river Ganges along with other saints and seers. In her now-deleted post, Lamba insinuated that the Uttar Pradesh CM tested positive for the pathogen after he attended the Kumbh Mela in Uttarakhand.

Congress leader Alka Lamba’s now-deleted Facebook post

Lamba cheered that Yogi Adityanath had tested positive for coronavirus.

Other social media users soon followed suit. One Avneet Kaur took to the microblogging site on April 17, 2021, to share a picture of Yogi Adityanath and Union HM Amit Shah taking a holy dip in the Ganges to claim that by attending the Kumbh meal in Uttrakhand, the BJP leaders have played a significant role in spreading the deadly disease.

Avneet Kaur’s tweet

Another social media user went a step ahead and wrote while sharing another picture from the same event on April 16: “Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has said that the government will impose a fine of Rs 10,000 if caught without a mask.
(Photo: Yogi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah performing ‘Shahi Baptism’ at the Kumbh Mela attended by millions three days ago)”.

Tweet by Rinse Kurian

These claims are, however, completely untrue. What the Congress leader and these like-minded Netizens are trying to do is only misrepresent facts to malign the BJP government.

The fact is that these pictures which Alka Lamba and other social media users are trying to pass off as that of the recent Kumbh Mela in Uttarakhand is of 2019 Kumbh Mela in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj.

In February 2019, when Kumbh was underway in Prayagraj, BJP leader and HM Amit Shah along with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath attended the event. They had then taken a holy dip in the River Ganges. Shah had also performed Aarti at the Triveni Ghat. Many news agencies had reported this news then.

Hindustan Times report with the same picture published on Feb 13, 2019
The Indian Express shared the same picture in its report published on Feb 13, 2019

Kumbh wrapped up by April 17

On Thursday (April 15), the Panchayati Niranjani Akhada had announced that the Kumbh Mela would concluded by April 17. The decision came at the backdrop of rising cases of Coronavirus in Haridwar.

It must be mentioned that the itinerary of Kumbh Mela includes 4 ‘shahi snan’ and 9 ‘Ganga snan.’ The fourth ‘shahi snan’ will be conducted on April 27. Reportedly, a total of 2,167 people were diagnosed with Coronavirus in the past 5 days.  This is despite the fact that a Covid-19 negative RT-PCR report, not more than 72 hours prior to arrival, was made mandatory for attending the festival. The turnout of devotees was also less compared to the preceding years.

CBI moves HC against Rajiv Saxena’s bail in VVIP chopper scam, says he misled probe agencies and refuses to co-operate: Details

OpIndia Staff
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CBI moves HC against Rajiv Saxena’s bail in VVIP chopper scam, says he misled probe agencies and refuses to co-operate: Details

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) moved the Delhi High Court against the bail order granted by a special CBI court to Rajiv Saxena, the accused turned approved in the Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam.

Seeking his judicial custody, the CBI contended that Saxena doesn’t deserve a “parity” with other accused in the case, and alleged that the accused-turned-approver had misled the probe agencies and did not cooperate in the investigation. The premier agency stated that Saxena needs to go behind bars for an “effective investigation”.

The Delhi High Court last week took cognisance of CBI’s appeal and issued notices to Saxena, asking him to respond within 15 days as to why his bail should not be cancelled.

The CBI had filed an appeal against the bail order after a special CBI court in February rejected the investigation agency’s contention that Saxena should be jailed and granted him regular bail.

One of the reasons why CBI is pursuing to get Saxena’s bail cancelled is because they believe that the accused might acquire foreign citizenship and escape punishment. Caribbean isle Dominica—where Saxena has allegedly sought citizenship— does not have an extradition treaty with India. 

The CBI claimed that Saxena did not reveal this fact to the probe agencies. The recovered documents revealed that Saxena had made “past efforts” for obtaining citizenship of Dominica and Cyprus while “intentionally keeping the Indian authorities in the dark regarding such attempts,” the agency said. 

The agency further submitted before the Delhi HC that Saxena had evaded investigation and had to be extradited from Dubai to India in January 2019

Rajiv Saxena, described by the ED as one of the “key money launderers” was picked up by UAE government security agencies in Dubai and later extradited to India on January 30, 2019.

It was reported that Rajiv Saxena has several accounts in Switzerland. OpIndia had acquired the list of accounts that Rajiv Saxena allegedly used for kickbacks received in the AgustaWestland scam.

Saxena’s “approver” status is contested before the Supreme Court, which in December 2019 stayed a decision of the Delhi HC declining to revoke Saxena’s “approver” status on a plea by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED). Saxena is an approver in ED’s case but co-accused in a case filed by the CBI.

As per the charge sheet filed by the CBI, Christian Michel, another middleman accused in the case, paid 0.9 million euros to four entities belonging to Saxena from the proceeds of crime. The charge sheet says AgustaWestland paid 37 million euros to Michel through his company, according to the charge sheet. 

It has also been alleged that Saxena colluded with Michel, co-accused Gautam Khaitan and top officials of AgustaWestland in routing kickbacks paid by the company through two entities: M/s IDS Tunisia and M/s Interstellar Technologies Ltd. 

Saxena received 12.40 million euros in the account of M/s Interstellar Technologies from M/s AgustaWestland. The charge sheet alleged that Sandeep Tyagi, brother of the then Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi allegedly laundered kickbacks of Rs 5 crore through banking channels.

ED contested approver status after it found accused Rajiv Saxena had withheld information

It is pertinent to mention here that charge-sheeting of Rajiv Saxena, one of the middlemen in the alleged scam, assumes significance after he was accorded the approver status. It was months later, in October 2019, that another agency, Enforcement Directorate, had approached the court seeking cancellation of his approver status claiming he had concealed facts from the agencies.

A dossier received from Mauritius, along with the forensic data analysis and scrutiny of WhatsApp chats has led the Enforcement Directorate to suspect the authenticity of disclosures made by Rajiv Saxena, one of the main accused in the Rs 3600 crore AgustaWestland scam. As per a report in the Economic Times, the investigating agency has now pointed out that Saxena has concealed and withheld information at the instance of co-accused, especially Ratul Puri.

Yogi Adityanath steps ups efforts to ensure supply of medical oxygen, asks officials to maintain sufficient stock of Remdesivir and other medicines

OpIndia Staff
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Yogi Adityanath steps ups efforts to ensure supply of medical oxygen, asks officials to maintain sufficient stock of Remdesivir and other medicines

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has stepped up efforts to ensure an unabated supply of medical oxygen amidst the resurgent wave of the coronavirus outbreak in the country. The UP government has ordered the setting up of 10 oxygen plants for the uninterrupted supply of medical oxygen to all hospitals in the state.

As per sources in the UP government, the plants are being set up at different places across the state and they will be fully functional within a week’s time.

With the number of coronavirus cases steadily rising, Yogi Adityanath on Sunday directed officials to ensure a minimum 36-hour oxygen backup in every hospital in the state. The chief minister also instructed the officials to conduct an inspection of fire safety equipment in hospitals.

The government has already issued instructions that all medical oxygen being supplied for industry work should be stopped immediately, and the entire supply be made available to only hospitals.

Presiding over a review meeting through video conference, Yogi Adityanath asked officials to swiftly procure oxygen cylinders for dedicated COVID hospitals. He said health authorities should act quickly after assessing the 15-day demand for oxygen. The CM specifically asked medical education minister Suresh Khanna to keep track of oxygen supply in the state.

UP CM asks officials to ensure the state has sufficient stocks of Remdesivir injections and other medical supplies

Besides monitoring the oxygen supply to the hospitals in the state, UP CM Yogi Adityanath has also asked concerned departments to keep a close watch on the availability of Remdesivir injection in the state so that there is no paucity of medicines.

The chief minister asked the food and drug administration and health department to ensure that COVID-19 patients in home isolation don’t face a scarcity of medicines. He directed the FDA control room to closely monitor Remdesivir stock and asked medical and health minister Jai Pratap Singh to ensure the supply chain of Remdesivir and other medicines are not choked. 

The UP government has also set up a 24/7 control room where officials will evaluate the availability of the stock on a daily basis.

Yogi Adityanath directs authorities to expand bed capacities, enforce stricter quarantine measures and impose fines on violators

In his virtual meeting, Yogi Adityanath also asked officials to expand the capacity of ICU and isolation beds in areas worst affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. The CM said facilities in Kanpur’s GSV Medical College, Rama Medical College and Narayan Medical College need to be upgraded.

Besides, the CM also recommended conducting sanitisation and fogging on a war footing during weekend lockdowns and rigorously carrying out screening of passengers arriving from other states. Those infected with COVID-19 should be quarantined with adequate facilities, he said. The chief minister also asked the authorities to conduct RTPCR tests in earnest to detect the cases early and stop the spread of the virus.

Furthermore, Yogi Adityanath asked officials to intensify the drive to restrict people from assembling in large numbers and enforcing mask compliance for people who venture out of their houses. He also directed the authorities to take strict action against the violators, such as slapping a Rs 1000 fine for not wearing masks.

Jharkhand: 60 ventilators procured under PM CARES fund lie unused, state govt demands more, report says

OpIndia Staff
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Jharkhand: 60 ventilators procured under PM CARES fund lie unused, state govt demands more, report says

Jharkhand is one of the six states worst affected by the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. The state recorded around 4000 new coronavirus cases and 50 deaths in the last 24 hours. Amid the growing cases, 60 ventilators procured from PM Cares Fund lie boxed or covered in cloth in seven districts of the state, as per a Dainik Bhaskar report. 

No less than 12 ventilators are gathering dust at Latehar Sadar Hospital for the past five months. 21 ventilators in Gumla city remain unused due to the unavailability of trained technicians to operate the machine. In a shocking revelation, the ICU at the Bokaro district’s Sadar Hospital was kept locked and opened only on Thursday by the Deputy Superintendent Dr. Renu Bharti to admit a patient. 

9 ventilators in Hazaribagh have simply been installed in Primary Health Centre and Community Health Centres, but lie idle. Similarly, ventilators in Ramgarh, Chatra and Simdega lie unused due to the absence of trained staff. Another 28 ventilators received from NTPC, DMFT and NHRM funds also remain packed.  

It was informed that the ventilators were received in October 2020 in Lahetar but were packed off and locked up in a room. Because of no connection of oxygen pipe, they were just gathering dust since then. The administration is now currently working to fix the oxygen connection.

Out of the 45 ventilators lying unused in Bokaro districts Sadar Hospital, 20 have been sent to different locations while the other 20 have been installed, informed the Deputy Superintendent. The nodal officer at Gumla informed that the ventilators had not been installed due to the unavailability of expert technicians but has assured to get them installed in a day or two.

Jharkhand demands 1500 more ventilators

While the already procured ventilators lie locked in hospital rooms or without oxygen supply, the Jharkhand’s health department has demanded an additional 1,500 ventilators for Covid-19 patients from the Centre.

State health secretary KK Soan wrote to the additional secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Vandana Gurnani, mentioning that as per the current high-growth rate, the state will nearly have 33,000 to 35,000 cases, leading to a high requirement of ventilators by the end of this month. 

Centre assures aid

Owing to the daily surge in new coronavirus cases, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan assured the most impacted states with a fresh supply of ventilators. He informed that 1,121 ventilators will be sent to Maharashtra, 1,700 to Uttar Pradesh, 1,500 to Jharkhand, 1,600 to Gujarat, 152 to Madhya Pradesh, and 230 to Chhattisgarh.

The minister, in a high-level meeting with health ministers of 11 states and union territories to review measures taken to prevent, contain, and manage the fresh surge in covid-19 cases urged the states to plan in advance. He also advised the states to increase covid hospitals, oxygenated beds, and other relevant infrastructure to deal with any further surge in cases.

Ventilators in Punjab remain unused

As per a report, over 250 ventilators were gathering dust in the fag end of March in the Punjab state government’s warehouse amidst the second wave. The reason cited for uninstallation was the lack of competent manpower to efficiently manage patients on ventilators. 

Allegedly this was not the first time when the state hospitals failed to use the ventilators. Five years ago, 10 ventilators were sent to Civil Hospital, Ludhiana, but they remained unused for five years till it turned into a controversy when the pandemic hit. It was then proposed to hand the ventilators over to a local private hospital.

Congress is ruling party in Punjab and in alliance in the Jharkhand government led by Hemant Soren.

‘Congress leaders shamed the vaccines in public but took doses in private, quietly’: Dr Harsh Vardhan shows Manmohan Singh the mirror

OpIndia Staff
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‘Congress leaders shamed the vaccines in public but took doses in private, quietly’: Dr Harsh Vardhan shows Manmohan Singh the mirror

Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan has responded to the letter from former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh addressed to his successor Narendra Modi in connection with the Covid-19 vaccination drive. In his response, Dr Harsh Vardhan pointed out the manner in which his own party members have conducted themselves over the same.

The Health Minister also raised his objection towards using different metrics to measure the success of the vaccination drive and the severity of the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. “The emphasis you have laid on vaccination as an important tool to fight COVID-19 is well taken, which is exactly why India launched the world’s biggest vaccination drive and also became the fastest in the world to reach the milestones of 10, II and 12 crore administered doses,” Dr Harsh Vardhan said.

Dr Harsh Vardhan letter to Manmohan Singh
Dr Harsh Vardhan’s letter to Manmohan Singh

He continued, “Your advice to not get tempted to go by absolute numbers, but to go by percentage of population covered, is not incorrect. However, I am sure that you will agree with me that this is a practice that must be followed uniformly and junior members of your party too must follow your advice. Quite obviously, it cannot be that the discussion on total cases, active cases or mortality is based on absolute numbers, which the Congress party often tries to do, but the vaccination numbers continue to be touted as a percentage of the population covered.”

The Union Health Minister also emphasized the conduct of Manmohan Singh’s party men who have spread falsehood regarding the efficacy of the vaccines and contributed to vaccine hesitancy. He said, “A sitting Chief Minister of your party created a dubious world record of sorts by being the only head of government directly inciting people against an indigenously developed vaccine. Some Congress leaders even shamed the vaccines in public but took their doses in private, quietly.”

Dr Harsh Vardhan letter to Manmohan Singh
Dr Harsh Vardhan’s letter to Manmohan Singh

He stated further, “The irresponsible public pronouncements made by some of your leaders have resulted in a below national average vaccination coverage of senior citizens and even front-line workers in some of the Congress-ruled states. Please do note that it is these very same states that have also become the big contributors in the second wave of COVID-19 infection. The test positivity ratio in these states during the second wave is alarmingly high and they too could benefit from your counsel and wisdom.”

Dr Harsh Vardhan also pointed out that Manmohan Singh’s suggestion of allowing import of vaccines was made in the 18th April letter but a decision on it had already been announced a week earlier. He said that the former Prime Minister was misled by those who ‘drafted’ his letter to PM Modi or advised him on the same. The Union Health Minister expressed hope that Manmohan Singh will urge leaders of the Congress party to cooperate in the battle against the pandemic.

Dr Harsh Vardhan letter to Manmohan Singh
Dr Harsh Vardhan’s letter to Manmohan Singh

While sharing the letter on social media, Dr Harsh Vardhan said, “History shall be kinder to you Dr Manmohan Singh ji if your offer of ‘constructive cooperation’ and valuable advice was followed by your Congress leaders as well in such extraordinary times!”

Pakistan: ‘Banned’ Islamists abduct police officials, release them after govt negotiation, had brutally tortured the DSP

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan: ‘Banned’ Islamists abduct police officials, release them after govt negotiation, had brutally tortured the DSP

A day after the Islamist party Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) abducted 11 police officials in Lahore in Pakistan, it has now released the hostages following negotiations with the provincial government of Punjab.

On Monday (April 19), Pakistani Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed confirmed the release of the 11 policemen. In a video message, he said, “Talks have started with the TLP. The first round went well and the second round will take place after sehri. They have released 11 policemen who were made hostages and have gone into the Rehmatul Lil Alameen Mosque (Yateem Khana Chowk). The police have also stepped back.”

He further added, “These negotiations were held successfully by the Punjab government. We hope that the second meeting after sehri will also prove fruitful and matters will be resolved amicably with the TLP.” It must be mentioned that a case was earlier registered against the TLP Islamists under the anti-terrorism law for abducting the cops. Lahore CCPO (Additional Inspector General) Ghulam Mehmood Dogar also took part in the negotiation process.

Contradictory claims about the number of police officials abducted

On Sunday, Punjab police spokesperson Rana Arif had informed that TLP extremists took 5 police officials hostage, including a Deputy superintendent of police (DSP). He emphasised that the DSP was brutally tortured by the workers of the now-banned outfit. In a statement on Sunday, the Punjab police had said, “Today in the early morning, miscreants attacked Nawankot Police Station where Rangers and Police officers were trapped inside the police station and DSP Nawankot kidnapped and taken to the markaz. At least one oil tanker with 50,000 litres of petrol has been taken by the miscreants to the markaz.”

It further added, “The miscreants were armed and attacked Rangers/ police with petrol bombs. Police and Rangers pushed them back and took back the possession of the police station. Police did not plan or conduct any action against the mosque or the madrassa. The action, if any, was in self-defence and to protect public property.”

However, Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, the special assistant to the Punjab CM, had claimed in a tweet that the Islamists had abducted a total of 12 police officials and took them to the Markaz.

On April 15, the Imran-Khan government issued a notification declaring Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) as a ‘banned organisation.’ In its notification, the government said that it has ‘reasonable grounds’ to believe that the Islamist party is engaged in extremism, vandalism, peddling hatred, inflicting grievous harm, assaulting civilians and police officials. TLP thus became the 79th organisation banned in Pakistan.

TLP unleashes violence in Pakistan

Pakistan has been gripped in violence the past few days because TLP leader Saad Hussain Rizvi urged his followers through a video message on Sunday to protest and hit the roads against the government if the TLP’s demands are not fulfilled. This call for a countrywide protest led to his arrest at around 2 pm on Wahdat Road in Lahore. TLP has been demanding that Pakistan should expel the French ambassador to the country, in protest against France govt supporting the right of people to publish drawings and cartoons of Muhammad, and the strong action against Islamic radicalism in the country.

Following Rizvi’s arrest, a large mob of his supporters blocked the Grand Trunk Road at several junctions. Major cities such as Islamabad, Lahore, Gujranwala, and Peshawar were cut off from the rest of the country. The Islamists had also blocked motorways, highways, train tracks and clashed with the police, resulting in two deaths.

NCP leader Nawab Malik’s false claims about Remdesivir supply punctured by Kirit Somaiya: Details

OpIndia Staff
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NCP leader Nawab Malik’s false claims about Remdesivir supply punctured by Kirit Somaiya: Details

Maharashtra’s Minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik on Saturday had launched a scathing attack on the opposition party in Maharashtra accusing them of hoarding Remdesivir- an antiviral drug being used for Covid treatment, by sourcing it from Bruck Pharma. The NCP leader furthered his allegation by repeating the claims in multiple media interactions on Sunday.

In a series of tweets on April 17, Nawab Malik had claimed that 16 export oriented units in India presently have over 20 lakh vials of Remdesivir and since the government of India has temporarily banned exports, these units are seeking to sell these vials in India. Malik claimed that the government of India is restricting these export units from selling and has ordered that only the 7 Pharma companies that are producing the drug should sell it. He called it a decision making crisis, alleging that those 7 Pharma companies are refusing to take responsibility.

Nawab Malik’s tweet

Kirit Somaiya busts his lie, shows Bruck Pharma’s approval letter

BJP leader Kirit Somaiya has now come out to diffuse the baseless allegations made by Nawab Malik. Somaiya on Monday tweeted a copy of the official approval letter signed by the Commissioner of Food and Drugs Administration- Maharashtra State, giving a go-ahead to the distribution of the life-saving drug- Remdesivir.

The order dated April 17 to Bruck Pharma by Maharashtra FDA states, “…this is to inform you that the product Remdesivir for injection 100mg/vial manufactured by you…which is granted to you for an export purpose and was planned for an export is hereby allowed to be distributed under emergency and very high demanding situation of Covid-19 pandemic for Maharashtra Government supply or trade in Maharashtra State only, after complying the necessary requirements. Further you are directed to submit the details of production and distribution to this office.”

The approval letter addressed to Bruck Pharma by Maharashtra’s FDA as tweeted by Kirit Somaiya

The letter stated clearly that Bruck Pharma has the state government’s approval to supply the drug and there is no restriction by the central government in this regard. Somaiya asserted that so far, Malik has not provided any evidence, or named any of the export units that have allegedly been prevented by the central government to sell Remdesivir.

This has punctured the NCP leaders’ attempt to spread fake news, create panic in the state and malign the Centre to hide the failures of the state government. 

Congress sympathizer caught spreading fake news

Saket Gokhale, an ardent supporter of the Congress party was also caught spreading the same fake news through his Twitter handle. Unfortunately, his lie and deceit have received over 10k retweets on the social media platform.

Bruck Pharma vs the MVA government

Just after Nawab Malik attacked the Centre regarding ‘step-motherly’ treatment to non-BJP states and interrupting the supply of Remdesivir, the Mumbai Police on Saturday detained and questioned a director of Bruck Pharmaceuticals over the supply of Remdesivir vials. 

As per a statement, the Maharashtra unit of BJP had ordered Remdesivir from the company to be supplied to people in Maharashtra, but as soon as the company readied the product for delivery, the director was detained by the police accusing them of hoarding the drug. 

The Deputy Commissioner of Police, zone 8, Manjunath Shinge in a statement cleared their stance saying, “We had received information from our network that a huge quantity of Remdesivir made in Daman is being stored in Mumbai and will be transported out of the country by Air cargo. We all know how important the Remdesivir medicine is for treating Covid-19 patients and it’s a matter of life and death. There is a shortage of this medicine and its export has been stopped by the government. Hence, we acted swiftly and called the owner of the pharma company just to question him about where the medicine has been stored in the city. We acted in good faith for the larger interest of public.”

The director was later released when Devendra Fadnavis and Praveen Darekar produced the permission letter at the police station.

Praveen Darekar of the Bhartiya Janta Party who had accompanied Devendra Fadnavis to the police station had informed that the state minister for Food and Drugs Rajendra Shingne was in the know of the plan as the procurement and transportation of the drug required state govt’s permission, however, the MVA leaders continued to indulge in mudslinging to divert attention from their inefficiency.

CPI(M) continues to hold massive political rallies in West Bengal days after claiming it won’t arrange due to COVID surge

OpIndia Staff
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CPI(M) continues to hold massive political rallies in West Bengal days after claiming it won’t arrange due to COVID surge

Earlier last week, CPI(M) leader and former Rajya Sabha member Md Salim took to Twitter to sanctimoniously announce that his party is no longer going to organise any political rally in poll-bound West Bengal in the wake of rising number of coronavirus cases.

On April 16, Salim posted a tweet declaring that since the virus is raging across the country, the CPI(M) has decided not to hold any big political event. In his tweet, he even urged the Prime Minister of India and West Bengal chief minister to act ‘responsibly’ and put the country before the party.

“Important! In the light of the #CoronaSecondWave, the CPI(M) has decided not to hold any big rally to prevent the spread of the virus. We will undertake door-to-door & small group meetings with #COVID measures in place. We urge CM & PM to act responsibly and put people before the party,” Md Salim tweeted.

Source: Twitter

However, hours after taking the moral high ground and pompously announcing that his party would not be organising any big political event, Md Salim took part in a huge political roadshow organised by CPI(M) at Hemtabad in Bengal for canvassing support for Sanjukta Morcha supported CPI(M) candidate Bhupen Barman.

The development was tweeted by none other than the official Twitter account of CPI(M) Uttar Dinajpur District. A tweet dated April 17, a day after Md Salim claimed that CPI(M) had decided not to organise any political rally in the state, the party presided over a big political roadshow where participants were seen flouting basic social distancing protocols and not wearing masks.

Source: Twitter

In another instance, on April 18, two days after Md Salim claimed that CPI(M) had called off big political events in the light of the coronavirus outbreak, a public meeting was organised by the party in support of Faud Halim, CPI(M) candidate from the Ballygunj constituency.

Source: Twitter

Even before comrade Md Salim grandly proclaimed that the CPI(M) would not be organising big political rallies in the midst of a raging coronavirus outbreak in the country, the party had been arranging political events that drew massive crowds, although it has consistently failed in converting them into votes.

Source: Twitter

Congress is currently in alliance with Left parties for West Bengal polls.

After finishing rallies in poll-bound states, Rahul Gandhi cancels future political rallies citing surging COVID-19 cases

Earlier on Sunday, in an attempt at political grandstanding, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi took to social media to announce that he will not be addressing any future rallies in West Bengal. The tweet was posted by Rahul Gandhi after he attended several political rallies in all poll-bound states.

Rahul Gandhi claimed that in view of the COVID situation, he is suspending all public rallies in West Bengal with three phases of polling remaining. It is imperative to note here that Rahul Gandhi had continued to hold massive rallies across all poll-bound states, sometimes joined by his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, despite rising COVID cases.

While Rahul Gandhi claimed that he would not attend any political rallies in West Bengal as the coronavirus cases were on the rise, his party members continued having election rallies and public events ahead of the remaining phases of the Bengal elections.

In the last few days, West Bengal has seen a sharp rise in the number of COVID-19 cases reported. On Sunday, the state recorded over 8,000 fresh COVID-19 infections with more than 25 deaths. While the eight-phase assembly election is underway in the state, West Bengal’s COVID-19 caseload has risen to 6,59,927 on Sunday.

According to the health bulletin, the state of West Bengal has recorded 8,419 fresh infections along with 28 fresh fatalities. The 28 fresh fatalities have also pushed the state’s coronavirus death toll to 10,568 the state health bulletin has confirmed on Sunday. 

Filmmaker Hansal Mehta goes after an Indian in UAE, asks cops to ‘take action’ because he couldn’t take a joke

Akshita Bhadauria
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Filmmaker Hansal Mehta goes after an Indian in UAE, asks cops to ‘take action’ because he couldn’t take a joke

Monday blues just got real for filmmaker Hansal Mehta. After romanticizing Pakistan over imagined better COVID care conditions, the film director is now having an elaborate ‘mental’ (if you know what I mean) breakdown after a netizen granted him his wish.

A Twitter user who goes by the name Dev Mehta instantly booked a one-way ticket for the director after being challenged by him and posted the same tagging Mehta. Seeing the banter get real, Mehta instantly locked his profile for an entire day only to come back as a troll. 

Hansal Mehta, tagging every entity possible has demanding strict action against the Twitter user for allegedly issuing a fake ticket and “inciting hate and issuing threats against Muslims.” 

Hansal Mehta’s tweet demanding action against the user

One wonders how is a one-way First Class ticket to Pakistan, where he himself wanted to go, ‘hate against Muslims’.

Here’s what Dev Mehta had to say

Dismissing the matter and urging the netizens to not drag it further, Dev Mehta pointed out how the so-called intellectuals can go to any level to harm the ones who stand up to them. Rightly so, as ‘speaking truth to power’ seems to be the democratic right of just the ‘intellectual lot’.

Dev Mehta’s reply to Hansal Mehta’s threat

As if the day-long banter wasn’t enough, Hansal Mehta shared screenshots of him checking the validity of the ticket and demanded proof of the purchase and payment made. (Eager to shift base?)

Hansal Mehta checking the validity of the ticket

It must be noted that for international flights, one can ‘block’ a ticket as booked and once the person puts in more details, like passport and all, one can confirm the ticket.

Mehta demanding proof from every user

This opportunity proved as a blessing in disguise for the ‘famed’ director as he got to hone his skills as a troll. Mehta can be seen using utterly crass and abusive language against a user to counter his claims.

Hansal Mehta abusing a twitter user

Caught on the wrong foot, Hansal Mehta then went on to have a full blown meltdown. He claimed that while the country is having a raging pandemic, people are trolling and then proceeded to troll and abuse everyone who pointed out that he started it.

Hansal Mehta’s meltdown

Mehta kept sharing gifs to further his bizarre behaviour.

Mehta’s tweet

Hansal Mehta and other ‘liberals’ rushing to tag Sharjah Police to get the netizen who just tried to fulfil Mehta’s wish jailed just goes on to show how the ‘liberals’ actually work. Dev Mehta, in his conversation with Hansal Mehta, had not said a word against Muslims. Despite that, Hansal Mehta decided to spread this falsehood and tried to get cops in the UAE to take action against someone just because he got mocked at.

Earlier too, ‘liberals’ had gone after Hindus in UAE after they voiced their anger against the Tablighi Jamaat attendees who were not only found flouting visa rules amid pandemic but also put lives of health workers at risk by spitting on them and attacking them. Hansal Mehta is just a part of the ‘liberalverse’ who will only believes in right to abuse but loses his cool when sh*t hits the roof.

Hansal Mehta ridiculing everyone is kosher, but someone making a joke on him gets him so riled up he complaints to cops in Middle East.

Medical oxygen supply to Delhi increases 2.4 times, but CM Kejriwal claims ‘Delhi quota diverted to other states’

OpIndia Staff
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Medical oxygen supply to Delhi increases 2.4 times, but CM Kejriwal claims ‘Delhi quota diverted to other states’

AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of Delhi has again levelled some baseless allegations on the central government, saying that the quota of medical oxygen that was meant for Delhi has been ‘diverted’ to other states.

In a tweet, Kejriwal said, “Delhi is facing an acute shortage of oxygen. In view of sharply increasing cases, Delhi needs much more than the normal supply. Rather than increasing supply, our normal supply has been sharply reduced and Delhi’s quota has been diverted to other states. OXYGEN HAS BECOME AN EMERGENCY IN DELHI.”

Kejriwal also wrote a letter to Union Minister Piyush Goyal requesting him to ‘restore’ supply to Delhi. In His letter, he wrote that based on the union government’s formulation, Delhi needs 700 MT of Oxygen, but the output of INOX, a major supplier of medical oxygen to Delhi hospitals, is diverted to other states.

He further requested the minister to, “give appropriate instructions to all concerned for ensuring uninterrupted supply of 700MT of Oxygen on daily basis and restoration of supply of 140MT of Oxygen by M/s INOX to Delhi for effectively managing the COVID-19 situation in NCT of Delhi.”

Recently, AAP’s ministers were also seen trying to take credit for the union government’s Covid centres in Delhi.

Just last week, Kejriwal had said that the Delhi government is prepared and there is no shortage of ICU, hospital beds, ventilators, and oxygen in medical facilities.

Ministry rubbished CM Kejriwal’s claims

As per reports, a senior official in the Commerce Ministry has rubbished the allegations and called them “blatant lies”, as per a report in Outlook. As per the official figures, the hospitals in Delhi received 254 MT of medical oxygen on April 16. The quantity was increased 2.4 times on April 17, and the hospitals received 612 MT. However, the daily demand from Delhi was 197 MT. The total stock at Goyal Gas, Linde, INOX, and Air Liquide for Delhi is 311 MT. Reports suggest that the total stock of medical oxygen in the National Capital is 700 MT.

The official further said that the supply of oxygen had been mapped dynamically, and no fixed numbers were allotted to any state. “Every state has to have demand management, otherwise the entire system will collapse,” he added.

The covid-19 situation in Delhi

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India reported 2,74,944 cases yesterday, out of which Delhi alone reported 25,462 standing at third position after Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. Currently, there are around 74,941 active cases in the state. In the last 24 hours, 20,159 have recovered while 161 have lost their lives.

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