The Israel Defense Forces have issued a statement over the demolition of the Al Jalaa Building that housed the offices of Al Jazeera and other international media houses. The IDF has said that the building was being used by Islamic terror group Hamas, making it a valid military target.
The IDF said on social media, “Hamas has turned residential areas in the Gaza Strip into military strongholds. It uses tall buildings in Gaza for multiple military purposes such as intelligence gathering, planning attacks, command and control, and communications.”
Source: Twitter
“When Hamas uses a tall building for military purposes, it becomes a lawful military target,” it added. It stated further, “The Israel Defense Forces struck a number of such buildings in recent days, but before we did so, we took steps to try and ensure that civilians would not be harmed.”
Significantly, the IDF said, “All the multi-story buildings targeted by the IDF were used for military purposes within each building.”
Earlier, Israel had demolished the Al Jalaa building that housed the offices of Al Jazeera and other international media houses. A warning had been provided one hour prior to the demolition. The demolition comes during a phase of heightened tensions between Israel and Palestine.
West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar has been visiting the areas affected by post-poll violence in West Bengal and also meeting people who have fled to the neighbouring state of Assam due to attacks by the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) goons. After visiting post-poll violence-affected areas in Nandigram in East Midnapore Saturday (May 15) morning, Dhankar urged Mamata Banerjee with folded hands to take immediate measures to prevent post-poll violence in the state.
Drawing attention towards the miseries of these victims of West Bengal post-poll violence, the Governor Twitted today: “Unimaginable post-poll violence @MamataOfficial. Terrified people with difficulty and fear @WBPolice and reprisals at hands of ruling party workers narrate indescribable woes of horror. Appeal CM to take urgent steps to restore their confidence in the worst post-poll violence”.
The governor posted a snippet where a group of distressed women sob as they recount their horrifying tales in front of the WB Governor.
Terrified people with difficulty and fear @WBPolice and reprisals at hands of ruling party workers narrate indescribable woes of horror.
Appeal CM to take urgent steps to restore their confidence in the worst post poll violence. pic.twitter.com/nh8J2f5hFp
— Governor West Bengal Jagdeep Dhankhar (@jdhankhar1) May 15, 2021
Speaking to the media, Dhankar said: “I have never imagined that I will see such heart-wrenching violence in Bengal. Lakhs of people fled from their respective villages out of fear. Several houses were bombed, people killed, women were raped because they fearlessly voted while maintaining the decorum of our Constitution. India has never seen Bengal like post-poll violence before,” Dhankhar said.
“I would like to appeal to our Chief Minister that it is high time she should take note of the law and order situation as millions of people are suffering. They are sitting on a volcano. I do hope that she will attend to the situation,” he added.
West Bengal Governor visits a camp at Agomoni area of Dhubri in Assam
The Governor, who started his visit to violence-hit areas on May 13, had expressed similar angst yesterday, May 14 after he interacted with the refugees who were forced to take shelter in Assam after TMC thugs looted, vandalised and arson their houses, raped and killed their family members, forcing them to flee the state.
“Nothing can be more shameful for us than people of West Bengal taking shelter in other states,” Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar said while visiting a camp at Agomoni area of Dhubri in Assam, where people from West Bengal have been camping post-poll violence.
‘One is made to pay with life and rights for voting’, Tweeted Jagdeep Dhankar after visiting Cooch Behar
Similarly, after visiting Cooch Behar on May 13 (Thursday), Jagdeep Dhankar had taken to Twitter to post a series of Tweets where he disparages the goons of the ruling dispensation of West Bengal who under the patronage of their supremo Mamata Banerjee, have been unleashing unimaginable atrocities against those who dared to vote against them in the recently concluded Assembly elections.
All day witnessed such tales of sorrow, grief and horror as victim after victim narrated horrendous post poll retributive violence incidents @MamataOfficial. Helpless victims in crossfire of police @WBPolice and ruling party workers. Will endeavor to deliberate with CM. pic.twitter.com/mwZqVgPdgy
— Governor West Bengal Jagdeep Dhankhar (@jdhankhar1) May 13, 2021
Dhankar was distraught by the “tales of sorrow” which he said, “left no tears in his eyes”. “Never imagined severity of post poll retributive violence@MamataOfficial was much beyond. One is made to pay with life and rights for voting!”, rued the Governor.
He also informed that when he was on his way to Cooch Behar, a dozen ruling party workers stopped his convoy “with no fear of law and police”. “Such state of affairs @MamataOfficial!” Dhankar deplored.
Yesterday too, Dhankar shared a small snippet where a helpless old victim narrated her ordeal. “All day witnessed such tales of sorrow, grief and horror as victim after victim narrated horrendous post poll retributive violence incidents @MamataOfficial. Helpless victims in crossfire of police @WBPolice and ruling party workers. Will endeavour to deliberate with CM”, wrote Dhankar.
“History will judge the bureaucracy of West Bengal, police and administration… This is such an issue, where nobody has the right to play politics,” a visibly miffed Dhankar had told reporters.
Ignoring the ‘order’ of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the Governor visited Cooch Behar district on Thursday and accused the state government of not doing anything to contain the post-election violence.
Mamata Banerjee, ‘orders’ West Bengal Governor to ‘refrain from surpassing CM’, latter hits back
It is pertinent to note here that the Governor’s decision to visit the post-poll affected areas had irked Mamata Banarjee, who a day prior to his scheduled visit had written to him advising him to “desist” from undertaking “field trips” and follow the established government protocols. She drew the Governor’s attention to one of her previous letters and asked him to ‘refrain from surpassing her and her ministers’ orders’.
The West Bengal Governor, in response to her letter had torn into Mamata Banerjee, categorically rejecting her ‘order’.
Condemning the rampant incidents of loot, arson, killings, rape and other horrendous acts against those in opposition to the ruling dispensation, the Governor urged the state CM to revisit her stance and commit herself to the constitution that she by her oath is obligated to uphold and follow.
A short time after issuing a warning that it will bomb the Al Jalaa building that houses Al Jazeera and other international media outlets in Gaza city, Israel has attacked and demolished the sky-rise.
Earlier today, the owner of a Gaza high-rise building where the offices of the AP, Al Jazeera and other media outlets are located, reportedly said that he received a call from Israel’s military, who warned him that his building will be targeted by an airstrike.
Tensions between Israel and Palestine escalates after Hamas launches aerial rockets at the Jewish nation
Hostilities between Israel and its nemesis Hamas is at an all-time high, especially after the intense aerial exchanges that started on Tuesday evening and continued well past midnight. On Tuesday, Palestinian terrorist organisation Hamas unleashed massive airstrikes against Israel, firing hundreds of rockets inside the country. The country’s air defence system, popularly known as Iron Dome, intercepted the continuous barrage of rockets targeting Tel Aviv and central Israel.
Israel, in response, stepped up its attacks on the Palestinian terror group Hamas inside Gaza Strip. The Israel Defence Forces carried out airstrikes on targets in Gaza in response to continued attacks by Hamas against Israel. During the retaliatory strikes on Tuesday, an Israeli airstrike struck a high-rise office and residential building controlled by Hamas.
Earlier yesterday, Israel attacked and destroyed the underground network of the tunnel, dubbed as the “Metro” that was used by Hamas for deploying terrorists and smuggling weapons.
Amidst reports of ventilators procured through PM Cares Fund were lying unused or leased out to private firms in several states, Prime Minister Modi has asked for an immediate audit of the installation, operation of ventilators provided by the central government.
According to a press release by the Prime Minister’s Office, PM Modi asked for an immediate audit of the ventilators given to the state governments at a high-level meeting on Saturday.
“The Prime Minister took serious note of some reports about ventilators lying unutilized in storage in some states and directed that an immediate audit of installation and operation of ventilators provided by the Central Government should be carried out” the official statement said. The PM also added that refresher training for properly operating ventilators should be provided to healthcare workers if necessary.
The prime minister gave the directives during a high-level meeting held today to discuss the Covid-19 and vaccination related situation in the country.
During the meeting, the PM said that localised containment strategies are the need of the hour specially for states where positivity rate in districts is high. The Prime Minister instructed that testing needs to be scaled up further, with use of both RT PCR and Rapid Tests, especially in areas with high test positivity rates. PM Modi said that states should be encouraged to report their numbers transparently without any pressure of high numbers showing adversely on their efforts.
The PM also asked for augmentation of healthcare resources in rural areas to focus on door to door testing & surveillance. He also spoke about empowering ASHA & Anganwadi workers with all necessary tools. He asked for guidelines to be made available in easy language along with illustrations for home isolation and treatment in rural areas.
The Prime Minister directed that a distribution plan for ensuring oxygen supply in rural areas should be worked out, including through provision of Oxygen Concentrators. The Prime Minister added that necessary training should be provided to health workers in the operation of such equipment, and power supply should be ensured for smooth operation of such medical devices.
1500 ventilators lying unused in Rajasthan, state government leasing out ventilators to private hospital to earn hefty profits
PM Modi’s directives to carry out an immediate audit of ventilators given by the Centre came in the wake of news reports from Rajasthan where a state-run hospital had leased out 20 of its ventilators to a private hospital, citing ‘abundance or non-usage. Not only this, the report mentioned that the unused ventilators were being rented out for exorbitant rates, the burden of which was inevitably carried by the unsuspecting and desperate patients.
As per reports, Bharatpur’s Rai Bahadur Hospital had leased out 20 of its ventilators provided by the PM Cares Fund to Jindal private hospital, citing ‘non-usage of the machine. The report comes at a time when the coronavirus outbreak is galloping across the country, leading to rising demand for life-support machines. The development exposes Ashok Gehlot-led Rajasthan government that allowed renting out ventilators that were procured from PM Cares Fund to the private hospitals.
Disgruntled by the state government’s move to lease out ventilators when the cases have been on the rise, one of the aggrieved kin while speaking to Republic TV said: “About 40 ventilators were given to the state by the PM-CARES fund. I have been asking the hospital administration for the last 2 months as to where have they installed the ventilators, but they have no answers to my questions. Jindal Hospital, which has always been in controversy, was given 10 ventilators by the hospital administration. The collector justified the decision by saying that the ventilators were faulty, but they were not. Jindal hospital has been charging Rs 35,000-40,000 for these ventilators.”
On the other hand, Rai Bahadur Hospital administrator unabashedly defended the institute’s move to lease out ventilators to the Jindal Hospital. He said, “We had earmarked 20 ventilators for non-COVID ICU wards, while the other 20 were kept for COVID ICU wards. According to our oxygen point availability and caseload, we were not utilising 20 ventilators. Therefore, we took a conscious decision of renting it out a private hospital.”
Not just the hospital administration, but even the Rajasthan state government has brazened out its stand on shamelessly leasing the ventilators procured from the Central government fund. State transport minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas defended the move saying, In Bharatpur, they have rented the ventilators. They have rented them not given them for free. They had extra ventilators which they rented as private hospitals are also treating the patients of COVID-19.”
Earlier this month, a report published in Dainik Bhaskar stated that 1500 ventilators received by the Rajasthan State government from the Centre have been lying unused and unopened for the last 10 months, while 230 of them were found to be faulty. Even though the state was hit by a ferocious second wave of the coronavirus outbreak, the state had inexplicably decided to not make use of the ventilators that were in its possession.
Reports of ventilators provided under PMCares lying unused had emerged from several other states also, including UP, Bihar, Maharashtra, Punjab, Chhatissgarh etc states. In Punjab, 251 ventilators purchased under PM Cares Fund have remained uninstalled.
On Friday (May 15), the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) informed that people belonging to the Scheduled Castes are being murdered and raped in West Bengal after the assembly election results were declared. The development comes in the aftermath of the post-poll violence committed by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) goons on members of BJP and other opposition parties.
While speaking to the media, NCSC chief Vijay Sampla said, “The way incidents have happened here after May 2 is worrisome. For the first time since 1947, rapes, murders are happening with no state protection. The most affected have been people from Scheduled Castes.” He informed that around 1,627 cases have been reported, which includes 10-12 cases of rape, 15-20 murder cases of violence against the SCs. Furthermore, he said that about 627 new cases have been reported.
The way incidents have happened here after May 2 is worrisome. For the first time since1947, rapes, murders are happening with no state protection. The most affected have been people from Scheduled Caste: National Commission for Scheduled Castes chief on post-poll violence in WB pic.twitter.com/nMtiLYX6vi
“I have told ADGP to probe against SHO. Rehabilitation (of villagers) should be borne by State,” Vijay Sampla directed. He said that during his visit to Nabagram in the Purba Bardhaman district, the police misled him into believing that the culprits who perpetrated atrocities against the Scheduled caste community were also SCs.
However, when the NCSC chief inquired about the matter, he learnt that several culprits were from the ‘general category’ as well. “And the ones (from SC) who visited the police station to file a complaint are attacked, their houses are looted,” he informed.
VHP seeks action from the Judiciary over the persecution of Hindus in West Bengal
In a press release by National Spokesperson of VHP, Vinod Bansal, he stated, “The Central Secretary General of Vishva Hindu Parishad, Sri Milind Parande today said that unfortunately, the Hindu society has been at the receiving end of the brutal and gruesome political violence that started in West Bengal on May 02.” The press release emphasised, “More than 3500 villages and over 40-thousand Hindus, including our SC & ST brethren in great numbers, are badly affected by the violence.”
The VHP said, “The footprints and signatures of Islamic Jihadists are overly obvious in all these incidents and patterns. The attitudes of the state government and the administration on these gruesome and brutal violence that have been going on for so many days, appear to be completely indifferent and despicable. There is an atmosphere of fear in the society. Due to this fear & non-co-operation of the local police, victim’s complaints/Cases are not being registered.”
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has written a letter to the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi seeking action against AAP leader and Social Welfare Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam for disclosing the identity of children staying in a child care institution situated in Delhi. The Commission has also asked for an action taken report to be submitted in a week’s time.
In its letter, the Child Rights body said that it received a complaint against a video uploaded by Gautam on his Twitter handle. In the video, the AAP minister was seen inspecting a child care institution in Delhi, disclosing the identity of the children, along with the name of the institution. In the video, the Social Welfare Minister also mentioned that the children living in the CCI were orphans.
The NCPCR has deemed the video showing the children along with the name of the institution where they are living a prima facie violation of Section 74 of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, and a serious offence against children. Section 74 of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, prohibits the disclosure of the identity of children such as their name, address, age, school name etc. on any media platform which may lead to the identification of a child in conflict with the law or a child in need of care and protection or a child victim or witness of a crime, involved in such matter.
Additionally, the details of such children are prohibited from being made public so that the confidentiality of the children is maintained and these vulnerable children are not made susceptible to trafficking, abuse, cruelty, illegal adoption etc. Furthermore, it said Section 74(3) of the JJ Act, 2015, provides that any person violating this provision shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months or a fine which may extend to two lakh rupees or both.
“Therefore, given the violations of provisions given under the JJ Act, 2015, an inquiry in this matter must be conducted and action, as deemed fit, may be taken. It is requested that a report informing about the action taken in the matter may be sent to the Commission within a week,” the letter read.
The Hindu published an opinion-editorial on Friday where it called BJP MP Tejasvi Surya a virus. The article, authored by one Vaishna Roy, was littered with the usual bile that has come to dominate the pages of the mainstream media.
Vaishna Roy begins her article with the words, “As the number of cases pile up and deaths mount, one imagines that things couldn’t get worse. But one is wrong. Because, of course, one has forgotten the existence of Tejasvi Surya, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s MP from Bengaluru South.” It only gets worse then on.
The Hindu appears to have realised that calling a human being a “virus” is not appropriate and has since then changed its headline.
Source: The Hindu
The headline of the article, which earlier read “Another Virus”, has been changed to “A battle on another front”. We accessed the web page with the initial headline on Google Cache.
Source: The Hindu
As it turns out, Vaishna Roy has a proven track record of airing morbid opinions on the internet. After the Beirut Blast in Lebanon last year, she wished for something of a similar sort to happen in India.
Source: Twitter
Later, she had retracted the tweet and issued a ‘clarification’ over the matter. “I was lamenting the reluctance of those in office to own similar moral responsibility for administrative failures,” she said.
Source: Twitter
Roy had also wholeheartedly agreed to Rana Ayyub when the latter made her “What is left for a virus to kill in a morally corrupt nation” comment.
Source: Twitter
Vaishna Roy had gone to the extent of condemning those who found Ayyub’s comment reprehensible.
Source: Twitter
Vaishna Roy had also called former NDTV journalist Nidhi Razdan a ‘fascism enabler’ for inviting a BJP MP to her show. She said she was “beyond shocked”.
Source: Twitter
On a separate occasion, Roy had quote tweeted a tweet by Tejasvi Surya and said, “Now we young Indians can proclaim our cultural identity by loudly shouting Jai Shri Ram and lynching Muslims. Egged on by proud young Indians like this man and by our proud new TV channels.”
Source: Twitter
Vaishna Roy also opined that Narendra Modi had a “sad trivial obsession with the comfortable middle class”. Like her liberal counterparts, she is clearly not fond of the middle class.
Source: Twitter
In April, 2019, Roy had dubbed Tejasvi Surya a “younger Narendra Modi”.
Source: The Hindu
Thus, quite clearly, Vaishna Roy has on numerous occasions in the past has aired extremely problematic opinions. Despite that, she continues to receive a platform in the mainstream media. Given her previous lamentations, it is not surprise that she has gone to the extent of calling an elected representative, another human being, a “virus”.
Amidst the ongoing anti-farm law agitation, the government agencies have procured a record-breaking quantity of wheat from the farmers in Punjab
As per reports, a total of 132.08 lac metric tonnes of wheat was purchased by the government authorities in Punjab. As such, about 9 lac farmers received ₹23000 crores directly into their bank accounts. The record purchase of wheat was almost 2 lac metric tonnes higher than the target set by the State. The amount was directly credited to the farmers’ account without the need for intermediaries/middlemen/arhtiyas. According to the Food Corporation of India (FCI), around 9 lac farmers visited mandis with their crops this year.
The figure was 8.8 lacs last year i.e. an increase of over 20,000 farmers. However, the procurement of wheat has been lower in the Malwa region, where the anti-farm law protests are concentrated. These areas include Sangrur, Muktsar Sahib, Barnala, Moga, Mansa, Fazilka, Faridkot, and Bathinda. Interestingly, an increase in procurement in Doaba and Majha helped to compensate for the low procurement in the Malwa region. It must be mentioned that the procurement was higher this time, despite the low yield.
Due to warm temperature in March, only 49 quintals per hectare of wheat was produced as compared to 50.04 quintals per hectare last year. While speaking about the record procurement, Ravi Bhagat said, “The government has registered farmers on the Anaj Kharid portal and the money was credited into their accounts, not those of arhtiyas… Punjab has also become the first state where the J form that carries the details about the crop a farmer sells to the government is included in the Digilocker. He is not dependent on a middleman for getting the J form”. Bhagat is the Director of Punjab Food Supply and Consumer Affairs.
A farmer named Gurdip Singh from Chak Kalan village said, “I am very happy with this system with money coming directly. I sold my entire crop to government agencies as the MSP was also better this time.” He had sold 400 quintals of wheat for ₹8 lacs. Around 35 hectares in Punjab are dedicated to the cultivation of wheat. About 17-18 million tonnes of wheat are procured annually, and around 75% of it is brought to the Mandis by farmers.
Madhya Pradesh govt transfers ₹1500 crore to 75 lakh farmers
As per reports, Singh informed that there are 78 lakh farmers in Madhya Pradesh. He added that only around 24 lakh farmers among them can benefit from the Minimum Support Price scheme. Madhya Pradesh CM emphasised that under the Pradhan Mantri Yojana, farmers with half an acre of land will receive ₹6000 per annum from the Union government. He added that about 77 lakh farmers have received ₹8,465 crores so far.
The government has procured more than 1 lakh metric tonnes of gram and 80 lac metric tonnes of wheat from the farmers. The Madhya Pradesh government has also extended the last date of procurement of food grains from May 5 to May 25. The date for the Indore division has been extended only up to May 15. The last date for loan repayment for the farmers of the State have also been extended.
As India battles the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the western media outlets have unleashed a massive wave of propaganda to humiliate and discredit the country in the global media. India, which has so far put up a brave fight against the Chinese pandemic, is also coping with a massive misinformation war initiated by the global left-liberal establishment.
Amidst all these, India is also receiving a lot of warmth from across the world, who have come to the country’s rescue by not only providing material resources but also extending their moral support to the country. The latest to join the global efforts to help India in its fight against the Chinese pandemic is Australian cricketing legend – Mathew Hayden.
In a recent post, the former cricketer has expressed his overwhelming support for India and slammed international media for criticizing the Indian government over its handling of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a detailed post, Mathew Hayden, perhaps frustrated by the global propaganda on India by the western media, shared his “perspective” on the pandemic saying, it is “not available to those sitting thousands of miles away.”
Hayden, who was in India to participate in the IPL tournament, penned a letter, saying, “India is in the middle of the pandemic second wave’s battering, as never seen before. As it battles the alarming spread of the virus, the world media has spared no time in lambasting a country of a whopping 1.4 billion where the sheer numbers make the implementation and success of any public scheme a challenge.”
Calling Tamil Nadu his ‘spiritual home’, the former Australian opener said, “I have been visiting India for over a decade now and have travelled all over the country, especially Tamil Nadu which I consider my “spiritual home”. I have always had the highest respect for the leaders and public officials who are entrusted with the task of running such a diverse and vast country”.
“Wherever I went, the people greeted me with love and affection, for which I remain in their debt. I can proudly claim that I have seen India up close over the years and that is why my heart bleeds to see it not only in agony at the moment, but also for the bad press that has been hurled at it by those who I am not sure to spend any time here to understand India, its people, and their myriad challenges,” he wrote in a column for the Institute for Australia India Engagement, a think-tank based in Australia.
Further, sharing his opinion on the biased media coverage against India, Mathew Hayden wrote, “As a cricketer and lover of the game, I have maintained my association with the sport which has allowed me to come to India to cover the Indian Premier League (IPL). Many of my fellow countrymen have also been playing in the IPL for years. In this context, at a time when the world has been shutting doors on India and lambasting the Government, I thought of sharing my thoughts while in India, to give a perspective not available to those sitting thousands of miles away”.
India appreciates Mathew Hayden’s gesture
Anand Mahindra, the chairman of the Mahindra Group took notice of Hayden’s emotional post for India and expressed his adulation to the former cricketer.
He wrote on Twitter, “Extracts from a heartfelt blog on India by @HaydosTweets. A cricketer whose heart is even bigger than his towering physical stature. Thank you for the empathy and your affection…”
Extracts from a heartfelt blog on India by @HaydosTweets A cricketer whose heart is even bigger than his towering physical stature. Thank you for the empathy and your affection… pic.twitter.com/h671mKYJkG
Uday Mahurkar, country’s Information Commissioner also praised Mathew Hayden for his moving article on India.
Cricketer Mathew Hayden’s moving article on India at a time when a section of foreign media n divisive forces from within see an opportunity in the Corona pandemic to batter India rather than give honest advice. Must read
Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday took to Twitter to give sermons to the Union government regarding its vaccination policy, however, he ended up peddling misinformation regarding the country’s vaccination drive.
Sharing an infographic pertaining to Covid-19 vaccinations across the world, Akhilesh Yadav claimed that the nation needs to begin a national vaccination drive now, which must be robust, comprehensive, and immediate. “There is no greater priority for a nation than to protect its citizens health,” the Samajwadi Party chief claimed.
There in no greater priority for a nation than to protect its citizens health! We must begin a national vaccination drive now. It must be robust, comprehensive, and immediate. pic.twitter.com/bulKfdQLHU
In a hurry to target the Union government, the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister put out half-baked information and selectively quoted data to paint a dismal picture of the country’s vaccination drive.
According to the infographic shared by Akhilesh Yadav, which cites data published by organizations such as ‘Our World in Data,’ WHO, and others, India is one of the least vaccinated countries in terms of the ‘share of people vaccinated’ as against the total population. As per this data, Israel, with a population of around 90 lakh, has vaccinated around 60 percent of its population, followed by Chile, Bahrain, the US, and the UK.
The data suggests that India has only vaccinated 10 percent of its total population through its national vaccination drive, which according to Akhilesh Yadav, is the lowest. Sharing the above data, Akhilesh Yadav insinuated that the Modi government lagged in the vaccination program.
Here is the data cited by Akhilesh Yadav to put out misleading claims on India’s vaccination drive.
India stands lowest in vaccination drive as per dubious ‘share of total population’ methodology/ Image Source: Our World in Data
However, the claims put out by Akhilesh Yadav is entirely misleading as the data put out by him only depicts half the story.
To buttress his claims that the Modi government was lagging behind the Covid-19 vaccination program, Akhilesh Yadav cites a dubious methodology to assess the total number of vaccination in the country. The methodology of using ‘share of people vaccinated against the total population’ to analyze the success of a country’s vaccination is flawed as the countries analyzed in the data set do not fall in the same category as each of them varies in size of its population and its governance standards.
For example, Israel has just a population of 90 lakhs, and as per the data, Israel has vaccinated 60 percent of its total population that amounts to less than 55 lakh people vaccinated. Similarly, Chile has a population of about 1.9 crore people, out of which only 35 percent of the population, i.e, around 65 lakh people, have been vaccinated. Amusingly, Akhilesh Yadav cites data of Bahrain, whose population is just around 16.4 lakh, which is almost one-third of his parliamentary constituency Azamgarh in terms of population.
Apart from the UK and the US, which have relatively better medical and governance structures, the rest of the countries that feature in the list are small countries with low population. In the case of India, the 10 percent figure quoted in the data amounts to nearly 13 crore vaccinations, which itself is a huge number when compared to the absolute number of vaccinations carried out by other countries.
To put in a large perspective, Akhilesh Yadav’s own state – Uttar Pradesh, has administered more than 1.37 Crore doses, including 13.6 lacs dozes in the 18+ category in the state.
In fact, the objective of any nation, especially during the Covid-19 vaccination drive, is to vaccinate its entire population and every nation will eventually vaccinate most of its population in a specified time. Hence, the methodology of citing of share of the vaccinated population against the total population is not a rationale one to judge a country’s vaccination program.
Akhilesh Yadav selectively cites data to peddle misinformation
Interestingly, Our World in Data, the organization cited by Akhilesh Yadav, has put out another set of data, which the Samajwadi party leader has deliberately ignored to mention.
According to data published by Our World in Data, India stands second in terms of the total number of people vaccinated against Covid-19 across the world with administering more than 140 million doses to its population. As per the data, India is second to the United States of America, which has inoculated around 160 million doses, around 20 million more than India.
The data of total no. of vaccinated in each country put out by ‘Our World in Data’
In fact, if one goes by the official data, India is the fastest country globally to reach the landmark of administering 17 crore doses just in 114 days. In addition to that, India is among a handful of countries in the world that have developed their own vaccines and running the world’s largest vaccination drive.
However, Akhilesh Yadav selectively uses data from the vaccination surveys that suits his political narrative. It is also amusing that people like Akhilesh Yadav are questioning the government on its vaccination drive after carrying all sorts of false propaganda against the Indian-made vaccines. In fact, Akhilesh Yadav had waged war against the two Indian-made vaccines saying that he did not trust the vaccines as it was ‘BJP vaccine.’
It is also important to mention that the likes of Akhilesh Yadav had fear-mongered against Indian-made vaccines to further their political propaganda, thus creating a wave of vaccine hesitancy in the minds of the people. Despite several challenges, the Modi government has successfully administered more than 17 crore vaccines across the country, making it the fastest country to do so. In addition, the Modi government intends to complete the vaccination drive across the country by year-end, making it the first country in the world to vaccinate all its population.
