The Mangaluru police on Saturday arrested a man for making a derogatory comments on Hindu deities on social media.
According to the reports, Ullal police arrested 25-year-old Swaliz Iqbal for abusing Hindu deities. Iqbal had uploaded the abusive video on social media. The arrested accused, Swaliz Iqbal, is a resident of the Smart City residential complex in Thokottu.
The police acted on the culprit after several Hindus registered a complaint against Iqbal over his derogatory video. Hindu organisation had approached the police after the video and audio clips went viral on the interent.
Iqbal ran a furniture shop and other business in the city. The complaint was registered in Ullal police station.
As Palestinian terrorists continue to wreak havoc by carrying terror attacks inside Israel, the innocent Israeli citizens have become victims of the ongoing clashes. The Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas has unleashed indiscriminate rocket attacks on civilians living in Israeli cities, resulting in massive casualties.
A video of a similar attack on innocent Israeli civilians has now gone viral on the internet. In the video that has gone viral, it was seen how a helpless father was protecting his newborn child as Palestinian terrorists continue to launch a barrage of rockets against them.
According to IDF (Israel Defence Forces), the Israeli father was traveling in a car with his family, including his newborn child. As Palestinian terror groups launched rockets, the helpless father had to run to the nearest safe place. The father was seen hiding inside a road divider in the middle of a highway to protect his child from Palestinian rockets.
Put yourself in this father’s shoes.
You’re driving with your newborn baby. Suddenly, you find yourself under rocket fire.
As rockets explode, your only thought is: keep your baby safe.
Sharing the poignant video, the IDF said they will continue to fight against Hamas to protect Israeli civilians.
Palestinian terror attacks against Israel
The clashes between the Jewish nation Israel and Palestine are at an all-time high as Islamic terror groups continue to carry out terror attacks against Israel by launching rockets. Since last week, Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas has unleashed massive airstrikes against Israel, firing hundreds of rockets inside the country.
The main reason behind the current conflict is the Sheikh Jarrah property dispute, a dispute which can lead to the evictions of around 300 Palestinians from the East Jerusalem neighborhood. The court ruling of eviction of illegal Palestinian families from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in east Jerusalem has stoked tensions and sparked fresh violence in the region.
In response to Hamas’s terror attacks, Israel has carried out its defensive counter-terror operations to eliminate terror threats emanating from Gaza. The Israeli army has struck more Hamas targets in the coastal enclave after Hamas started targeting civilians inside Israel. On Saturday, in a swift operation, the IDF also demolished a building that housed international media offices, including Al Jazeera’s in the Gaza Strip. The IDF has said that the building was being used by the Islamic terror group Hamas, making it a valid military target.
West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar is currently visiting post-poll violence-affected areas. He visited Nandigram on May 15, where he got emotional while telling the media personnel about the ordeal of people allegedly facing violence as they voted for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
On my visit to unprecedented post poll violence affected areas #Nandigram faced heart rendering state of affairs @MamataOfficial -people’s lives devastated unimaginably, being made to suffer as they ‘dared to vote’! Heartbroken people losing hope in democracy and law. pic.twitter.com/Cjqih9VRo0
— Governor West Bengal Jagdeep Dhankhar (@jdhankhar1) May 16, 2021
Taking to Twitter he said that the people’s lives have been devastated unimaginably and are being made to suffer only because they ‘dared to vote’.
Enough is Enough. CM @MamataOfficial must act. There is no other option. Every incident of violence be attended- culprits booked, compensation and rehabilitation undertaken forthwith. Officials @WBPolice@HomeBengal for dereliction of duty be held accountable. pic.twitter.com/GZGMBJmBB9
— Governor West Bengal Jagdeep Dhankhar (@jdhankhar1) May 16, 2021
“Enough is enough”, he said and said that the West Bengal Chief Minister must act and officials with the West Bengal police should be held accountable for dereliction of duty.
Earlier on Saturday, he shared his anguish over the pleas of people in Nandigram who are facing a fearful situation that people in Nandigram are pleading to Banerjee that they are ready to change religion to live.
Never ever imagined would face a situation @MamataOfficial where tearfully people will plead the constitutional head ‘will change the religion’ to live !
— Governor West Bengal Jagdeep Dhankhar (@jdhankhar1) May 15, 2021
After the visit to post-poll violence-affected areas in Nandigram, the Governor vowed that the constitution would be preserved, protected, and defended. He said he had never imagined the situation where people would ask him if they would ‘change their religion to live.’
My assurance and commitment to people of State at all costs Constitution will be preserved, protected and defended.
They should not loose confidence in democracy and law. I share their excruciating agony and suffering. Expect @MamataOfficial to horrendous scenario in the state.
— Governor West Bengal Jagdeep Dhankhar (@jdhankhar1) May 15, 2021
He further added that the people of West Bengal should not lose confidence in democracy and law.
‘Bring an end to the suffering of the people’ – Governor asked CM
He urged Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to take corrective steps to stop the violent situation in the State. He said, “The post-poll violence must stop. You have not taken any steps yet. You have ignored the pleading of the people. You have kept your eyes closed over the violence. It is not democracy if the people have to ask if they change the religion, would they be allowed to live. It is not democracy. It is not the rule of law.”
— Asianetnews Bangla (@AsianetNewsBN) May 15, 2021
Post poll violence in West Bengal
Since the Assembly elections were declared in the State, there were several reports of violence against BJP workers and voters. BJP has alleged that several of their party workers had to face torture at the hands of TMC workers. On the other hand, CM Banerjee claimed the violence had been reported only in the seats where BJP had won.
Union Home Ministry had sent a three-member team to evaluate the situation in the State. Governor Dhankhar also sought reports from Police departments in the State and expressed his anger over poos State of law and order. A detailed report is yet to be submitted by the Chief of Police. Governor Dhankhar has visited several post-poll violence-affected areas to console those who had faced atrocities for voting BJP.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee lost Nandigram to BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari in the recently concluded polls.
A crowd that had gathered at a kabristan (Muslim graveyard) in Ahmedabad’s Juhapura beat up an Ahmedabad Police official over allegations of clicking the pictures and videos of the crowd that had gathered. They also snatched his mobile phone. Vejalpur Police in Ahmedabad has taken cognisance and registered a case. Five people have been arrested so far in this regard.
As per reports, Mohammad Ahmed alias Raja Siddiqui, Mazhar Khan Pathan, Feroz Mohammad Shaikh, Iftekhar Kalyani, Sultan and Parvez Shabir Sheikh are the five accused who are arrested. These five had gathered along with a crowd at the Muslim graveyard. They had reportedly come to offer flowers on the grave on occasion of Eid.
Krishnakumar Bhavsingh, who works as ASI of the Special Branch, reached the Kabristan and started taking images of the crowd that had gathered for Eid. Some men from the crowd spotted him and attacked him and even snatched his phone.
When the cop was carrying out his duty, some men from the mob said, “This man is taking photo of the crowd, beat him up and take his phone. So what if he is a policeman.” They then gathered and beat him up. The policeman saved his life and escaped.
He subsequently filed a police complaint. Initial investigation has revealed that some accused also have past cases registered against them. The police is looking to arrest more accused.
Owing to the rising COVID cases in the state, the Gujarat state government has prohibited large gatherings in a bid to curb the spread of virus. Bhavsingh, who was following the orders of his seniors, was on duty to gather intel in Juhapura when he found his way to the kabristan and saw COVID protocols being flouted. He decided to record the evidence. However, some people saw him taking pictures and took law into their own hands.
Amidst escalating tension between Israel and Palestine, the Council on American-Islamic Relations announced that it will boycott the White House’s annual Eid al-Fitr celebration in protest of US President Biden administration’s response siding Israel.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in a Tweet announced, “CAIR Joins Boycott of White House Eid Celebration in Response to #Biden Administration’s Defense of #Israeli Attacks on #Palestinian Civilians.” The Tweet is accompanied by an image of the devastation in Gaza and reads, “President Biden, does your TV show you these children in Gaza? Does their murder deserve your condemnation?”
The group claimed it is “incredibly disappointed and deeply disturbed” by the US position on the violence.
“President Biden has the political power and moral authority to stop these injustices. We urge him to stand on the side of the victims and not the victimizer,” CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said.
“CAIR joins other American Muslim organizations in cancelling our plans to take part in President Biden’s Eid celebration. We cannot in good conscience celebrate Eid with the Biden Administration while it literally aids, abets and justifies the Israeli apartheid government’s indiscriminate bombing of innocent men, women and children in Gaza. President Biden has the political power and moral authority to stop these injustices,” he added in a statement to the media.
The White House this year had scheduled a virtual Eid celebration to mark the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramzan for Sunday. However, the newly elected President Biden received severe backlash from Muslim groups, pro-Palestinian ‘activists’, and progressive Democrats for his stand on the current violent conflict between Israel and Palestine.
Biden’s statement
Joe Biden on May 12, said that Israel has the right to defend itself when thousands of rockets are fired at its territory. He answered to one of the reporters who asked him about his views on the ongoing escalation in Israel.
Biden: “Israel has a right to defend itself when you have thousands of rockets flying into your territory.” pic.twitter.com/GfzL9gcjgi
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) May 12, 2021
Biden said that he had a conversation with Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu and expected violence would end sooner than later.
In an official readout of the call between the two readers, it was said, “He condemned the rocket attacks by Hamas and other terrorist groups, including against Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. He conveyed his unwavering support for Israel’s security and for Israel’s legitimate right to defend itself and its people while protecting civilians. He also conveyed the United States’ encouragement of a pathway toward restoring a sustainable calm.”
Israel thanks Joe Biden
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Nentanyahu during an official press conference thanked President Biden for his clear and unequivocal support to Israel.
No one should have any equivocation about the choice that is so clear here and I want to thank @POTUS Biden for his clear and unequivocal support. You cannot equate a democracy that values life with a terror organization that glorifies death.
The situation in Israel continues to remain grim with Israel having vowed to put an end to the menace created by Hamas- an Islamic terrorist organization.
Rebel YSR Congress MP Kanumuru Raghu Rama Krishnam Raju, who was arrested by CID on sedition charges yesterday, has alleged that he was tortured in custody. When the Andhra Pradesh MP was presented before the Magistrate, his lawyer said that police used third degree methods against him, and due to that he is unable to walk now.
The counsel of the MP also said that he had undergone bypass surgery a few months ago, and therefore his medical examination is very necessary after the torture.
The lawyer told the magistrate that after Raghu Rama Krishnam Raju’s arrest on 14th May from his residence in Guntur, at around 11 PM in the night, when he had gone to sleep, suddenly five persons had entered his room. They had their faced covered with handkerchiefs. The MP informed that they tied his legs with a rope, and after that one beaten him on his feet with a stick, while another used a hard rubber stick.
After the torture, they ordered him to walk on the floor, and when he did that, they again repeated the assault, and beaten him with stick and rubber sticks several times. After that when he was unable to walk, they left the room.
Listening to the narration of the torture, the magistrate noted that tenderness was noticed on both the feet of the accused, ordered his medical examination in presence of the Y category security of the MP. The Magistrate directed to examine the injury marks and approximate time when they happened.
Images have surfaced on Social Media showing how badly the rebel YSR Congress Party was tortured badly in custody. The photographs of the MP show that his feet have turned purple, confirming that he was beaten by using 3rd degree methods in custody.
Opposition parties in Andhra Pradesh has slammed the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy for the assault of a sitting MP in custody.
Telugu Desam chief N Chandrababu Naidu tweeted that Raghu Rama Krishnam Raju was “tortured right in the AP CID office in a barbaric manner”. He said that the rebel YSR MP was arrested on a foisted case, and termed the torture “broad daylight violation of fundamental rights and mockery of democracy”.
.@raghuraju_mp was arrested on a foisted case, tortured right in the AP CID office in a barbaric manner. His crime? To question the criminal CM on his anti-people ways. Broad daylight violation of fundamental rights and mockery of democracy. (1/2)#WeAreWithRRR
BJP national secretary Sunil Deodhar tweeted condemning the torture of Raghu Rama Krishnam Raju by Andhra Pradesh Police. “Till now, people of AP thought YSRCP is a Rowdy-Party. But now, Police Dept also seems to have become its another Rowdy outfit”, he added.
I condemn the torture of MP #RaghuRamaKrishnamRaju by AP Police. Till now, people of AP thought @YSRCParty is a Rowdy-Party. But now, Police Dept also seems to have become its another Rowdy outfit.
BJP MP Parvesh Sahib Singh said that the MP was tortured because he had raised his voice against missionaries and forceful religious conversions done by them.
The brutal third degree like treatment given to a sitting MP @RaghuRaju_MP must be condemned in strongest sense!
What was his fault? That he raised voice against missionaries and forceful religious conversions done by them. YSRCP letting it happen? pic.twitter.com/N8ZA21BMML
— Parvesh Sahib Singh (@p_sahibsingh) May 15, 2021
Kanumuri Raghu Rama Krishnam Raju was arrested in Hyderabad by Andhra Pradesh’s Crime Investigation Department (CID) on Friday, and police had said in a statement that he was arrested on charges of sedition, disturbing communal harmony and attacking dignitaries of the Jagan Mohan Reddy government. The police statement had said, “through his speeches on regular basis Mr Raju was indulging in systematic, schematic effort to cause tensions among the communities and by attacking various government dignitaries in a way which will cause loss of faith in the government which they represent”.
The Lok Sabha member from Narsapuram constituency have been speaking against his party leader for last several months, and in the recent weeks he had criticised CM Jagan Mohan Reddy over the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in the state. Last month, he had asked the CBI court to cancel the bail granted to the CM in an alleged disproportionate assets case. He had said that the CM is violating the bail conditions.
A few days ago, Raghu Rama Krishnam Raju had released a video making several allegations against the YSR Congress government. He alleged that the state is under-reporting Covid-19 deaths, and the CM was playing with corpses. He said Jagan govt was trying to make people addicted to alcohol, as the state has not imposed a full lockdown when the neighbouring states have done so. He had even questioned the Andhra Pradesh High Court for not ordering a lockdown in the state.
He said that if Jagan Reddy wants to be the prime minister, it is not right to sacrifice the lives of people to achieve that.
The MP had earlier commented on religious conversion of Hindus by Christian Missionaries, and had said that the missionaries are converting Hindus to Christians using money.
The Uttar Pradesh unit of Aam Aadmi Party today posted a misogynistic tweet attacking the Union Minister Smriti Irani.
Through its official Twitter account, the Uttar Pradesh Aam Aadmi Party insinuated that Smriti Irani has an illicit relationship with PM Modi, innuendos which her detractors have often used while making sexist attacks against her. In the tweet in Hindi, the UP AAP referred to PM Modi as Smriti Irani’s hero, referring to a popular song from Varun Dhawan, Ileana D’Cruz and Nargis Fakhri starrer Hindi movie Main Tera Hero.
Source: Twitter
The distasteful tweet by the Aam Aadmi Party was in response to a tweet uploaded by the BJP leader. In her tweet, Smriti Irani had shared a report published on Jagran to assert that the states were cautioned by the Centre about the subsequent waves of the coronavirus outbreak in the month of January itself.
“The states were being cautioned by the Central Government since January to keep the pace of the ongoing war against Corona fast and in view of the increasing number of cases in the country. Along with the advice of expanding the testing, the Central Government had continuously alerted the states about the threat posed by the virus from time to time,” she tweeted.
कोरोना के खिलाफ चल रही लड़ाई की गति को तीव्र बनाए रखने एवं देश में बढ़ते मामलों को देखते हुए केंद्र सरकार द्वारा राज्यों को जनवरी से ही सावधान किया जा रहा था।
टेस्टिंग को बढ़ाने की सलाह के साथ-साथ केंद्र सरकार ने समय रहते राज्यों को लगातार सतर्क किया था।https://t.co/MdmLwUkGLL
However, her tweet highlighting the abject failure of the state governments to take the alarm raised by the Centre seriously did not sit well with the Uttar Pradesh unit of the Aam Aadmi Party, which resorted to making a disparaging remark against her.
Past instances of misogynistic attacks against Smriti Irani
BJP leader Smriti Irani has often been attacked by her critics with such disgraceful innuendos. In 2015, a former Assam Congress Minister’s allegedly derogatory remarks against Ms Irani, who was then the Union HRD Minister, had kicked up a massive political storm. Nilamoni Sen Deka, the former state Agriculture minister, reportedly said at a public meeting in Nalbari that many people refer to Smriti Irani as the second wife of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Congress supporter Tehseen Poonawalla, who is the brother-in-law of Robert Vadra, who in turn is the brother-in-law of former Congress President Rahul Gandhi, had posted a barrage of offensive and vulgar tweets attacking the BJP leader. The tweets targeting Smriti Irani stirred a furore after they were broadcasted on English news channel CNN-News18. Finding himself caught in an awkward situation, Tehseen quietly deleted those tweets.
Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government in Delhi bungled up the response to the second wave of the COVID-19 outbreak
The tweet by the Uttar Pradesh unit of the Aam Aadmi Party comes in the wake of the resurgent coronavirus outbreak that has swept the country, especially the national capital, which is ruled by its party chief Arvind Kejriwal. Delhi has been amongst the worst hit by the renewed bout of the coronavirus outbreak as the city faced shortages of medicinal oxygen, key antiviral drugs, hospital beds amidst the rising number of COVID-19 caseloads. The Arvind Kejriwal led AAP government in Delhi has been accused of massively bungling up the response to the second wave of the coronavirus flare-up.
Even the hospitals in Delhi had accused the Aam Aadmi Party government of mismanaging the coronavirus outbreak and not providing a steady supply of oxygen to them, which resulted in deaths of patients who could have otherwise be saved if the Delhi government had competently handled the crisis.
There are significant concerns that the death tally in Gujarat is vastly greater than what is being admitted by the Government. A recent media report claimed that only 58 thousand people had died between March 1st and May 10 in 2020 but the numbers for the same period this year is 1 lakh 23 thousand.
The numbers are based on the death certificates issued during the same period, which reflect the numbers as stated above. Gujarat Home Minister Pradipsinh Jadeja has refuted allegations that the state government is undercounting Covid-19 deaths stating that death certificates alone cannot be the basis of such claims.
He said that registration of death certificates have gone online due to which there are chances that the same individual was registered twice. Furthermore, during the same period last year, there was lockdown in place that most likely delayed the registration of deaths.
There are more reasons why the number of deaths during the period mentioned may not be enough to paint an accurate picture of the circumstances in the state and why statistics from 2020 are not a reliable indicator.
Gujarat trends in previous years
Weirdly enough, for reasons not yet understood, there were significantly fewer deaths in 2020 compared to 2019. Times of India had reported that the state had recorded 3.74 lakh deaths in 2020 between January and November, at an average of 1,134 deaths daily, which was 10.8% less than all deaths in 2019. In 2019, 1,271 occurred every day on an average.
The death rate for the period in the current year is 1732 per day, which appears significantly higher than 2019 or 2020. But nevertheless, we will have to wait till the end of the year to figure out the excess deaths compared to 2020 and 2021.
The significantly higher death rate could be due to a seasonal upswing in deaths which could be normalised by the end of the year. However, it is to be expected that the deaths in 2021 will be significantly higher than 2020 and even in 2019 due to the Coronavirus pandemic as well as factors such as increasing population and others.
According to the Times of India report, Gujarat had recorded 3.68 lakh deaths in 2017, 3.93 lakh in 2018, 4.19 in 2019 and 3.74 lakhs in 2020 (between January and November). Based on simple calculations based on the yearly growth rate in the number of deaths, Gujarat was expect to have somewhere between 4,46,235 to 4,47,073 deaths in 2020 (barring the month of December). But as we know, the number was significantly lower than that despite the pandemic.
The figures compare data from January to November for comparison
If we take it as an estimate that the death rate will grow by 6.5% in 2021 from the estimated deaths in 2020 from January to November (which was significantly higher than the actual number of deaths), then in 2021, Gujarat is expected to suffer between 475240 and 476132 deaths barring December. That amounts to an average death rate of 1302 to 1304 deaths per day.
Since there is a pandemic underway, it is to be expected that there will be some amount of excess deaths this year. However, an average of 1732 deaths per day is quite high. The death rate during the period prior to the one mentioned and for the remainder of the year has to be seen before coming to any premature conclusion regarding the death rate in the state.
Cherry picking one particular period of the year when the virus was at its peak and concluding that it is normative of the situation in the state is not a valid metric. If that were the case, then someone else could cherry pick 2020 as his metric and reach the conclusion that the virus is not very dangerous.
The person in the hypothetical scenario would be as wrong as someone who looks at the current data for the period between March 1st and May 2021 and concludes that the situation in Gujarat is apocalyptic. India has taken quite a blow during the pandemic, yes, but caution has to be advised before drawing far reaching conclusions from limited data.
Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation data
The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation data on deaths provides some insights into the situation in the state. As per data available, between March 1st and May 10, 2021, 13593 death certificates were issued in 2021. The same for 2020 was 7786 and for 2019, 2018, 2017, the figure was 9950, 9866, 9319 respectively.
For reasons stated above, we cannot compare the current data with the same in 2020. Therefore, the correct comparison would be between the trends observed three previous years and the 2021. By the trends of previous years, if we assume that 10,100 people are expected to die during the period, a mere 150 increase over 2 years, then add it to the Covid-19 death in AMC as reported by the Divya Bhaskar (2126), then the tally adds to 12,226.
That figure is not too far off from the tally of 13593, the total number of death certificates as reported in the media. The total extra deaths amounts to 1367, that is, 19 additional deaths per day during the 71 day period on average.
It cannot be said for certain the precise cause for the extra deaths because it is known that hospitals were overwhelmed by Covid-19 patients, leaving very little space for those suffering from other disease for adequate treatment. Thus, quite clearly, allegations that the Gujarat government is vastly undercounting deaths do not appear to have a basis in fact when one looks closely at the data available.
A few weeks before the advent of the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Modi government had alerted states about the imminence of a second wave in the country and had also issued advisories urging states to take immediate measures, reports Times of India.
Amidst the opposition parties’ allegations of laxity against the centre over the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has hit back at the opposition parties asserting that the state governments, especially the states ruled by the opposition parties, ignored the risk of a second surge of infections even after the centre had warned them about the second wave of the pandemic.
The BJP has now put out details about how the Modi government alerted states about the possibility of a second wave and advisories issued to states to take necessary measures to tackle the pandemic.
Rebutting the opposition’s allegation, the BJP has said that time and again, PM Narendra Modi, in his interactions with chief ministers, had raised the issue of rising infections in certain parts of the country. The Prime Minister had also asked them to take measures to handle the surge, the BJP said. The party had also circulated videos of PM Modi’s meetings with various Chief Ministers on March 17, where he had alerted them about a fresh spike in infections and had asked them to take urgent steps before it was too late.
“We are confident about our Covid management, but our confidence should not become overconfidence,” PM Modi had said in one of the meetings and had urged states to become more proactive in order to contain the spread of the virus. He had insisted on states creating a micro containment zone to limit the spread of the virus.
In fact, PM Modi held six interactions with chief ministers, starting from September 23 last year till April 23 this year, to monitor the situations in the country. During such meetings, PM Modi had constantly asked Chief Ministers to focus on 60 districts with a high burden of cases and increase testing substantially.
“Moreover, the PM’s interaction with CMs on March 17 took place when India had only 30,000 new cases per day,” BJP said.
Opposition party Chief Minister’s skipped meeting to attend election rallies
The BJP also said that opposition CMs like West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Chattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel skipped these interactions as they were busy with assembly polls. In fact, Bhupesh Baghel had left his own state to stay in Assam ahead of the state assembly elections as he was leading the Congress poll campaign in the state.
Reportedly, the Modi government had also dispatched teams to various parts as soon as states like Maharashtra and Kerala after both states started showing a steady increase in people testing positive. Till March, the opposition-ruled states Maharashtra and Kerala accounted for more than 75 percent of cases in the country.
Attacking the Congress party over its criticism against the vaccination policy of the center, BJP said that the opposition party’s functionaries like Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari, spokesperson Randeep Surjewala and health ministers of Congress-ruled states, such as TS Singh Deo and Bana Gupta, promoted vaccine hesitancy by raising questions about the efficacy of Indian-made vaccines.
“India is in the midst of a pandemic. Its scientists raced against time to produce a vaccine. They were reviewed at different levels before being given emergency use approval so that lives could be saved. But the opposition, Congress, in particular, mocked it. Result: people died,” BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya tweeted, sharing videos of Congress leaders’ raising doubts against Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin.
On Saturday (May 15), Dalit organisation All India Parisangh (AIP) sparked controversy by taking potshots at the Modi government using a 13-year-old image. The organisation was founded by Dalit activist and Congress leader Udit Raj.
In a tweet, AIP wrote, “Unke ‘Mann ki baat’ kyu sunna, jab Ganga pe terti lasho par bhi khamosh raha.” It loosely translates as “Why should we listen to PM Modi’s monthly radio programme ‘Mann ki Baat’ when he is silent on dead bodies floating in the river Ganga?”. The Dalit organisation shared a picture of a dog mauling a human skeleton, along the banks of a water body. At the time of writing, the image was retweeted 167 times and had 463 likes.
Screengrab of the post by the All India Parisangh
By posting the image, the organisation tried to insinuate that it is a recent image showing the mortal remains of a Covid-19 victim whose last rites were not performed. Reports of bodies of Covid victims floating on Ganga river have emerged in the last few days, and All India Parisangh tried to say the image also shows such an incident.
What is the Truth?
It may be noted that the image posted by All India Parisangh has the watermark of Alarmy on it, an stock image platform. Popular Twitter user ‘Befitting Facts’ pointed out that the stock image from Alarmy dates back to February 20, 2008. The disturbing picture was taken by one Dinodia Photos RM and captioned, “Dog eating dead man on Varanasi ghat, Uttar Pradesh in India.” Given the picture dates back to 2008, it must be remembered that the BJP did not have its government at the Centre nor at the State level. And as such, the unfortunate incident is not the result of PM Modi’s negligence.
Screengrab of the image via Alarmy
Earlier, close to 100 unidentified and decomposed bodies were found floating in the Ganga, sparking fear among the locals in several districts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. While 71 bodies were recovered from Bihar’s Buxar district, other 25 bodies were fished from Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur district with locals suspecting them to be the bodies of Covid victims.
After Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, in a horrifying video, at least half a dozen corpses were seen floating in the Runj river in the Panna district of Madhya Pradesh. Buxar police suspected the bodies might have floated from the neighbouring Ghazipur district of Uttar Pradesh. Authorities of both the districts were yet to confirm if the bodies were of Covid victims. As such, All India Parisangh seized the opportunity and shared a 13-year-old picture to blame the Modi government.
All India Parisangh compared Brahmins to pigs last year
Besides fake news, the Dalit organisation has been at the forefront of peddling Anti-Hindu hatred. It has time and again resorted to such vile derogatory casteist hurls targeting Brahmins, and resorted to the anti-Brahmin propaganda by posting an image of a pig wearing ‘Janeu’ – the sacred thread in July last year.
By openly propagating anti-Brahmin sentiments and comparing Brahmins to ‘pigs’, the Parisangh claimed that the Indian judiciary is only comprised of Brahmins. Expressing its contempt for the country’s judiciary, the Dalit organisation claimed that ‘Brahmin’ judges in the Indian courts only recommended fellow people from the community, who were then selected as judges by the third set of Brahmins. The derogatory comments were not only directed at the Brahmins of the country but also an attack on the independence of the judiciary.
