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Rihanna gets cancelled by Islamists for saying that Israeli and Palestinian lives are equal

OpIndia Staff
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Rihanna gets cancelled by Islamists for saying that Israeli and Palestinian lives are equal

Popstar and part-time social commentator Rihanna found herself in hot water today after she posted a message on her Instagram condemning the loss of life of both Palestinians and Israelis in the recent clashes between the two sides. Islamist social media users took to Twitter in order to show their displeasure regarding the message, which they perceived to be anti-Palestinian because it took into account the loss of Israeli lives as well as Palestinian lives. They accused the famous singer of “both-siding” the issue, i.e. accusing both Palestinians and Israelis of the conflict, when, according to them, only Israel is the aggressive party.

“My heart is breaking with the violence I’m seeing displayed between Israel and Palestine! I can’t bear to see it!” wrote Rihanna, in a seemingly non-controversial message.

However, Islamists were quick to strike against the seemingly peaceful message. “Rihanna is giving such “all lives matter-energy. “I’m disappointed. It’s not a conflict!! It’s one-sided”, wrote a Twitter user. This sentiment was popular online, amassing over 1,400 retweets and 7,200 likes on Twitter.

Another tweet took issue with the fact that Rihanna added the word “innocent” with Israeli, somehow implying that innocent Israeli civilians cannot be victims of Palestinian violence. This tweet was then quote tweeted by a Palestinian activist with #ShiekhJarrah in their name. She then goes on to dutifully lecture Rihanna, taking issue with the “false equivalency” of Israeli and Palestinian lives.

One social media user refused to buy any upcoming Rihanna albums, telling the singer to keep her album to herself.

Rihanna has commented on the Israel-Palestine issue before, famously tweeting “#Free Palestine” in 2014 before eventually deleting it after backlash. Her fans did not forget to remind Rihanna of this fact.

One Twitter user did not pass up the opportunity to tell Rihanna how disappointed she was.

Israel-Palestine Conflict

The conflict between Israel and Palestine escalated when Palestinian terror unit Hamas fired hundreds of rockets at Jerusalem and central Israel, and the Israeli Defense Forces responded back in kind. 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 neighbourhood.

COVID-19 surge in rural Punjab: Many test positive among villagers returning from Delhi border protest sites, says report

OpIndia Staff
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COVID-19 surge in rural Punjab: Many test positive among villagers returning from Delhi border protest sites, says report

With the anti-Farm law protests losing their steam and farmers returning home, the number of new Covid-19 infections are on a surge in the villages of Punjab. 

As per a ground report by Dainik Jagran, the farmers who are returning from the Delhi border post registering their protest against the Farm laws are acting as the new super-spreaders in Punjab. 

The Jagran report says that their representatives went to 19 villages across 7 districts in Punjab where there is a sudden surge in Covid cases. It was found that it was the areas where a large number of people had returned from participating in the farmer protests. The farmers had lodged themselves in makeshift tents with no proper hygiene or sanitation at the protest sites. 

It is now being reported that most new cases of coronavirus are emerging from these districts. The report also suggests that people are not willing to disclose their participation in these protests. As many as 900 farmers had traveled from the Tarn Taran district of Punjab to participate in the protest.

Seven out of more than 20 who have tested positive in the Manakpur village had joined the protest at the Tikri border and ten out of the 40 who tested positive in Alamwala village were present at the protest site.

The situation in the villages of Punjab continues to remain worrisome as it is suspected that many more farmers sitting at the borders are said to be infected with the Covid-19 virus. 

Here’s some more data on farmers who had participated in the protests testing positive upon return, in Tarn Taran district:

  • Out of the 150 who assimilated at the protest site from Bhikiwind village, 22 have tested positive
  • Out of the 165 who traveled from Kulla village, 14 have tested positive
  • Another eight villages have reported 117 new positive cases after more than 250 participated in the protest
  • Another 250 farmers had participated from Tappa and Mahalkala villages of Punjab. Both villages recorded 156 active Covid-19 cases and 35 deaths
  • As many as 31 people have died in Dhanaula which has 140 active cases, however, the villagers refused to reveal how many had participated in the protest

The Jagran report further states that the families of the patients are deliberately avoiding Covid testing or revealing the actual reason for death. This is because the government of Punjab has announced a compensation of 5 lakhs to the kin of the farmers who die because of the ongoing protest. In such a case if the family reports Covid as the cause of death, they will not be eligible for the compensation.

We had reported earlier how rural Punjab is reporting a surge in deaths due to corona hinting at the connection to the ongoing protests. Reports suggest that 58% of the deaths reported in Punjab are from Rural areas.

According to government officials, a large number of deaths in the rural areas are because of the fact that the people are not going to the hospital and getting self-treated at homes. In an official communication sent to the medical officers, the Punjab government has asked them to prepare a list of the elderly and comorbid patients in their area and call them to take feedback on their health.

The order said, “Report any breach of home isolation or refusal to get referred to higher facilities as soon as possible to the SMOs and keep contacts of SHOs of the police stations concerned to involve them for the hospitalization.”

However, the rate of testing and hospitalization in rural Punjab continues to remain low. 

Narcissism at its worse: After doubts were raised on the help being provided by Sonu Sood, actor gets called out for sharing cringe self-laudatory posts

OpIndia Staff
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Narcissism at its worse: After doubts were raised on the help being provided by Sonu Sood, actor gets called out for sharing cringe self-laudatory posts

One can love him or hate him, but definitely cannot ignore him especially after the ‘in your face’ self-appreciation posts. Yes, we are talking about the self-acclaimed ‘Messiah’ Sonu Sood who is supposedly doing a commendable service for people in crisis.

Otherwise a Bollywood actor, Sonu Sood turned to philanthropy last year after the nation was hit by the coronavirus pandemic. From what started as sending migrants back home during the lockdown, Sood allegedly has come a long way to arranging oxygen and Covid-19 medicines within minutes anywhere in the country and ordering oxygen plants from France for India. 

However, more than his work, his narcissism has caught the attention of the nation. The netizens reacted strongly to Sood’s latest social media shares where he has been portrayed as Lord Hanuman in one and Bharat Mata bowing down to him for his service in the other.

Sonu Sood’s Facebook post
Sonu Sood’s Facebook post

A Twitter user by the name coolfunnytshirt took a sarcastic jibe at the actor turned Messiah.

In reply to this, a user commented, “Sonu couldn’t reach everywhere so he created God.”

Another user highlighted that the actor might soon declare himself as the only true God.

A popular handle on Twitter Charu Pragya reminded the actor that one needs to be humble while doing seva.

Sharing some sound advice and thanking the actor for his help, a user wrote, “Oh hell no ! Dear @SonuSood ji, I know you’ve done a lot for people and thanks for that. But Bharat Maa does not fold hand in front of anyone. Least of all us mortals. Kindly remove this. Again, thanks for helping people in need. May God bless you.”

Taking a funny take on the actor’s self-obsession, another Twitter user sharing a comical representation image wrote, “Sir @SonuSood shifting earth to oxygen concentrators he endorses.”

All the self-praise continues even after the netizens slammed the actor for alleged false claims of arranging beds, plasma and oxygen for Covid patients.  

A controversy broke out after the actor was accused of taking credit for arranging plasma for a COVID patient when he had not done so. In another case, Sonu Sood had claimed to have arranged a hospital bed for a patient who had already succumbed to Coronavirus infection

Sonu Sood was again called out after a video of him being approached at the airport for a Covid emergency went viral. Netizens were left puzzled as to why would anyone in need of critical medical supply wander at an airport for help.

Questions are now being raised on his claims of procuring oxygen plants from a foreign country. 

Amidst terrorist attacks on Israel, Khalistan supporters mobilise for Palestine: Read details

OpIndia Staff
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Amidst terrorist attacks on Israel, Khalistan supporters mobilise for Palestine: Read details

Israel has been facing severe terrorist attacks for the last few days. Support has been pouring in for the Jewish nation surrounded by Arab countries from all corners of the world. While most Indians are actively trending the #ISupportIsrael hashtag on social media platforms, there are many trying to portray Israel as the aggressor, Khalistani supporters included, extending their support to Palestine.

National Sikh Youth Federation, a UK based prominent Khalistani organisation, wrote that they support Palestine’s struggle to resist colonial occupation and dispossession. They said, “From Khalistan to Palestine, we stand with the liberation struggles of sovereign peoples resisting colonial occupation and dispossession. Recognise that our struggles and our liberation are interconnected, think about our history and where we stood and where we stand today.”

Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, UK Labour MP, wrote a letter to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and said, “We cannot stand by in silence, in the face of forced evictions and the violent atrocities in occupied Palestine.” In his letter, he asked the PM to inform the house about the actions the UK government is taking in response to “the illegal annexation of this Palestinian land, as outlined by the recent Human Rights Watch report”. Not even once he mentioned the atrocities Israel has been facing in the hands of Hamas terrorists for the last few days.

Ravi Singh, the founder of Khalsa Aid, has been actively supporting Palestine for a long time. In a recent tweet, he published a photograph of himself holding a placard that said, “Please stop killing children in wars created by grown men” and wrote in the tweet, “#Palestine #Gazza”, directing the message to Israel portraying them as the suppressors and Palestine as the oppressed ones.

Tweets dating back to 2014, the year he joined Twitter, can be seen in support of Palestine.

However, all the tweets he had put up where he mentioned Israel were only to condemn the Jew nation directly or indirectly. It has to be noted that Ravi is an open supporter of Khalistan and have spoken several times in favour of Bhindranwale on social media.

Jagmeet Singh, leader of the New Democratic Party, Canada, also came in support of Palestine and urged Canadian PM Justin to stand against Israel. He said, “The threatened evictions of Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah of East Jerusalem during the holy month of Ramadan – or any other day – is deeply troubling. Illegal occupation, demolitions, and forced evictions must end. PM Trudeau must take a stand and uphold International law.”

This is not the first time Khalistan supporters posing as Sikhs have come out to support Palestine.

Some photographs of old protests against Israel from 2014 have been making rounds on social media. One of the photographs was first shared by a UK-based Punjabi singer Maz Bonafide in 2014.

He had written, “United all over the world.”

Islamists praise Hitler while cursing Israel, but did you know that Hitler wished he were a Muslim too?

T Waraich
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Islamists praise Hitler while cursing Israel, but did you know that Hitler wished he were a Muslim too?

In wake of the recent flare-up in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, many people, including celebrities, are indulging bigotry and hate online directed towards the Jewish people. On Wednesday, an anti-Semitic speech was on full display, with Pakistani actress Veena Malik misquoting Adolf Hitler himself, glorifying the Holocaust which killed six million Jews.

In a tweet, the reality show turned Twitter troll misattributed a quote to Adolf Hitler and wrote, ‘I would have killed all the Jews of the world… but I kept some to show the world why I killed them.”

The same fake Hitler quote has been used by many Palestine supporters online in order to justify their anti-Semitic bigotry. In reality, there is no evidence or documentation that back the claim that Hitler said those words.

A mere perusal of online chatter reveals the anti-Jew rhetoric of Palestine supporters, with many of them directly justifying Hitler’s repulsive policies towards the Jewish people. Here are just a few examples.

It’s pretty clear that these particular Palestine supporters have reduced the Israeli-Palestinian conflict into a Jew vs. Muslim conflict, therefore they have no problem in justifying Hitler’s atrocities. They approach the issue with bigotry towards Jewish people and that is why they have no issue in becoming Hitler-lovers, thus supporting the holocaust, which saw around 6 million Jews around the world perish under Hitler’s rule. However, Hitler’s own views on Islam are well-documented and very interesting, to say the least.

Hitler’s views on Islam

According to the memoirs of Nazi Minister of War Production Albert Speer, Hitler had high praise for Islam, wishing that it was the religion of the Germanic people. “The Mohammedan religion would have been much more compatible to us than Christianity. Why did it have to be Christianity with its meekness and flabbiness?” Hitler is quoted as saying.

According to Speer, Hitler wished that the Umayyad Caliphate had won the Battle of Tours against the Franks in 732. This particular battle is credited with stopping the influx of Islam further into Europe and saving Christianity in Europe.

“Had Charles Martel not been victorious at Poitiers — already, you see, the world had fallen into the hands of the Jews, so gutless a thing was Christianity! — then we should in all probability have been converted to Mohammedanism, that cult which glorifies heroism and which opens the seventh Heaven to the bold warrior alone. Then the Germanic races would have conquered the world. Christianity alone prevented them from doing so.” Hitler went on to say.

According to Speer, Hitler was convinced that had Islam taken root in central Europe at this time, the Germanic people would have become the “heirs of that religion” with Islam being “perfectly suited to the Germanic temperament”. Hitler said that while the Arabs, on account of their “racial inferiority”, would have been unable to handle the harsh climate and conditions of the region, and that instead the Islamized Germans would have “stood at the head of this Mohammedan Empire”. A “religion that believed in spreading the faith by the sword and in subjugating all nations to that faith”.

As per the book “Islam and Nazi Germany’s War” written by David Motadel, Muslims fought for both the Allies and the Axis in World War II. However, only the Nazis and the Islamists had a “spiritual romance” sharing mutual hatred of the Jews, the Bolsheviks, and liberal democracy.

“Made by Jews, led by Jews, therewith Bolshevism is the natural enemy of Islam”, wrote Mahomad Sabry, a Berlin-based propagandist for the Muslim Brotherhood in his book “Islam, Judaism, and Bolshevism”, a book which was recommended by the Nazi Reich to journalists.

In November 1944, Heinrich Himmler, a top-ranking Nazi and an architect of the Holocaust along with the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Haj Amin al-Husseini created the first school for military imams to serve “Muslimgermanics” at Dresden. This school was run by the Schutzstaffel (SS), a Nazi paramilitary organization in order to cater to Muslimgermanics who were the first non-Germanic volunteers for the SS.

Notwithstanding Hitler’s apparent admiration for Islam and Prophet Muhammad, and his willingness to work with Arab political leaders, he viewed Arabic people as racial and social inferiors. Therefore, it is very ironic that some of the same people who Hitler considered inferior, are now praising him and whitewashing his atrocities, in order to push their bigoted anti-Semitic agenda.

Jawaharlal Nehru: History has been kinder to him because he rewrote it

Vinayak
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Jawaharlal Nehru: History has been kinder to him because he rewrote it

Jawaharlal Nehru may well go down in the history of the country as one of the ablest leaders and endearing personalities. From the demands of Purna Swaraj to spearheading the Indian leadership pre-and post-Independence, his contributions to the Indian cause are legion.

However, the most important times of his stint as the Prime Minister are littered with grave mistakes that threatened to moribund the rising Indian state. Even in the Macaulay tinted version of history parroted by the Congress, his contributions pale in comparison to Mohandas Gandhi who too benefited from the same.

Kashmir

October of 1947, Pashtun tribesmen invaded Kashmir, thus, began the war for Kashmir. Nehru foolishly hoping for a peaceful resolution against an openly belligerent state, took the matter to the United Nations, clouding the issue, allowing Pakistan to occupy a third of the strife-torn state.

He stuck to his guns and tried to save face rather than accepting a way that worked in favour of one that did not. After the Accession was signed and a cabinet meeting took place, Nehru (as Field Marshall Sam Mankeshaw recalls) was busy talking about United Nations and various other countries. Till Sardar Patel, the then Deputy PM and Home Minister, losing his temper asks “Jawaharlal, do you want Kashmir or want to give it away? “Of course, I want Kashmir” came the reply with a lot of emphasis being put in.

On being requested to give his orders to the then Director of Military Operation Mankeshaw, Sardar Patel sensed hesitation. And before Nehru could reply, he turned towards Manekshaw and told him that he has his orders and the future Field Marshall walked out and started flying in his troops. As a result, Kashmir became ours minus the modern-day POK.

India-China war

Another testing time that comes to mind is the Sino-Indian war. Again, under the leadership of Nehru. However, the actual defeat of the Army took place when Defence Minister V.K. Krishna Menon under the guise of “good governance”, not really understanding the system of The Army, starting bringing in changes antithetical to the very basis of The Army. This led to the resignation of the then Army Chief General Thimayya and starting of an enquiry against the then Major General Sam Manekshaw.

Essentially robbing the army of effective leadership in the most trying of times.

Nehru had his reasons for the practice of ahimsa. He rubbished the idea of military power as far back as 1947 citing the Police were enough to keep peace in the country though he had to eat his own words during the Accession of Kashmir and of the fear of a Military coup borne of the many young post world war 2 nations like Pakistan succumbing to the same.

Nehru proclaimed in the Parliament that the NEFA (North Eastern Frontier Agency, now Arunachal Pradesh) was being handed over to the Army. This act was against the Indian interests and without the allotment of added resources, this was a futile gesture. This allowed the Chinese to paint the Indians as aggressors.

Thimayya wanted Nehru to abrogate the mistake, something Nehru knew was political Hara-kiri as he would lose the trust of the Parliament. Fearing the General and his actions, at least in his mind, Nehru and Menon turned to subterfuge to discredit him. Playing a convoluted game for meeting the ends.

Thimayya seething at the disrespect of being painted as the one responsible for the Parliament debacle, signed his resignation papers. They were rejected by Nehru in a private meeting while subsequently leaking the news, forcing the general to retire with the message perceived by the public of voluntary retirement. Hence, in the minds of people, Nehru and Menon foiled the ‘danger’ posed by General Thimayya- one of the most brilliant Generals on this side of Sam Manekshaw.

Speaking of Manekshaw, he too was disqualified from active leadership by launching a Court of Inquiry against him on the grounds of him being more British than Indian and more loyal to the British Queen than the Indian Prime Minister. He had asked Menon not to ask him what he thought of General Thimayya as he was his senior and such actions on part of subordinates towards senior create dissension in the Army.

In their absence, Nehru turned to favourites of his Lt. Gen. Brij Mohan Kaul and P.N. Thapar who were famous, at that time in the Army, for being yes men. On being asked if the Army was ready for war, lacking in moral courage, replied in the positive. At that time there was a serious dearth of arms and ammunition in the forward posts where the battles would take place. The result: by the end of the month-long war we had lost the Aksai Chin (a 37,244 Square Km area of strategic importance ), the war and the lives of thousands of soldiers not to mention the international humiliation.

Looking back at these two pivotal events in Indian History, Nehru, through his superintendence for personal reasons of ego (Kashmir issue) and self-preservation (Pre Sino- Indian war borne of paranoia), allowed to sour and bite the country in the back. The sheer amount of loss of life and the political implications of both continues to tax the Indian State.

In light of these cataclysmic events and the handling of them by Jawaharlal Nehru, despite some of his great contributions to the Indian Cause, he shall be remembered as a far better man and a more able leader than he actually was based on the Macaulay inspired revision of history he himself revived after the departure of the British.

Covid-19 protocols go for a toss as people flock markets just ahead of Eid

OpIndia Staff
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Covid-19 protocols go for a toss as people flock markets just ahead of Eid

As the second wave of Covid-19 surges in India, several states have imposed a strict lockdown, or put restrictions against gatherings to curb the growing number of cases. However, with the festival of Eid soon approaching, covid appropriate norms went for a toss in several cities as people thronged markets for festival shopping.

Telangana 

A 10-day lockdown has been imposed in Telangana after the High Court pulled up the state government for utter mismanagement, but markets continued to buzz with shoppers in old Hyderabad. 

As per an ANI report, from Charminar to Madina, the markets in the city witnessed huge crowds on Tuesday ditching social distancing completely. 

Huge crowds at Charminar, Hyderabad. Image Source: TV9 Hindi

Maharashtra

The state of Maharashtra has also released guidelines for the festival of Eid-ul-Fitr, however, people were seen flouting Covid protocols in Mumbai while shopping before Eid.

Men, women and children were all seen shopping and roaming without masks in Muslim-dominated areas like Bhendi Bazaar in South Mumbai.

After a slump of two days, the state of Maharashtra witnessed a rise in new cases and fatalities with 793 deaths recorded on Tuesday.

Jammu & Kashmir

The Covid-19 relaxations in Srinagar had to be scrapped as people flocked the markets despite a rise in new coronavirus cases and fatalities. Srinagar at present has the highest number of active coronavirus cases in the Union territory. 

Security personnel patrol on a street during pandemic induced curfew in Srinagar on Tuesday. Image Source: Hindustan Times

Security personnel have been deployed across the valley to restrict public movement. Srinagar deputy commissioner Aijaz Asad withdrew the relaxation announced. “The provision of exemption for partially permissible activities from 8 am to 12 pm is hereby withdrawn till further orders,” said the new order.

Uttar Pradesh

Several cities in Uttar Pradesh defied the Covid-19 protocols and partial lockdown completely with huge crowds thronging the markets with no masks and social distancing. At a time when the state government has enabled door-to-door testing to not let the situation worsen, such shattering of basic Covid appropriate norms might nullify the efforts.

Markets in Firozabad witnessed huge crowds with the Qazi Syed Shahniyaz Ali expressing utter displeasure over the flouting of basic norms. Ali said at a time when the government officials and frontline warriors are engaged to battle the pandemic, the public must cooperate with the administration.

Crowds flock markets in Uttar Pradesh. Image Source: Aaj Tak

As per an Aaj Tak report, the markets in Aligarh were extremely crowded. This is after the Aligarh Muslim University reported more than 40 deaths among staff members. 

West Bengal

Newly re-elected West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee ruled out the imposition of a lockdown but has allowed religious and cultural programs to take place with a maximum of 50 people. 

This comes after the state of West Bengal recorded its highest single-day spike of 19,441 COVID-19 on Monday.

After backlash from Islamists, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan and Congress leader Oommen Chandy edit their Facebook posts condemning nurse’s death

OpIndia Staff
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After backlash from Islamists, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan and Congress leader Oommen Chandy edit their Facebook posts condemning nurse’s death

The tragic death of a Kerala-based nurse in Israel due to bombing from the Gaza Strip during the ongoing clashes between Israel and Palestinian terrorists has sparked political controversy in Kerala.

On Wednesday, the 31-year-old nurse Soumya Santosh, hailing from Idukki, Kerala, was killed in a rocket attack launched by Palestinian terrorists from the Gaza coastal strip. Soumya Santosh worked as a caregiver to an older woman in the southern Israeli coastal city of Ashkelon.

Following the death of the Malayali woman, who was killed by the Palestinian terrorists, the ‘secular’ political parties of Kerala – both Left Democratic Front (LDF) and United Democratic Front (UDF) expressed their hesitation to condemn Palestinians for the killing. The political leaders from both camps issued half-hearted condolence messages on the death of Kerala nurse while failing to condemn Hamas for carrying terror attacks on Israel that led to the killing of Soumya Santhosh.

According to the reports, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was forced to change his Facebook post after facing flak from Islamists in Kerala. The Chief Minister had to edit his Facebook post to delete such references he had made to link the death of Soumya Santhosh to Israeli-Palestinian clashes.

Not just him, Former Chief Minister and AICC general secretary Oommen Chandy has also made several changes to his Facebook posts. Reportedly, in his earlier post, Chandy had said Soumya was killed in the attack by ‘extremists’. However, after facing heat from Islamists in the state, he edited his post to remove the references he had made against Palestine.

Reacting to this, BJP leader Sobha Surendran said that the situation in Kerala has become so dangerous that both the leaders had to correct their posts expressing sorrow over the killing of the Kerala nurse due to the fear of religious extremists. 

Attacking the ‘secular’ parties in the state, BJP state president K Surendran asked whether the ruling party and the opposition are silent on the killing of Soumya due to Hamas extremists being their allies. 

Congress, CPI(M) attacks Israel, supports Palestine during the ongoing clashes

Meanwhile, Islamists in Kerala have reminded the Congress about the so-called ‘warm relations’ India had with Palestine during the Congress rule. Several Congress supporters posted old photographs of Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) leader Yasser Arafat with former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

In fact, the Communists were not very far behind Congress in the appeasement of Muslims in the state. CPM politburo has stated it was Israeli who attacked Palestine. The Communist Party said, “the air raids carried out by Israel on the Gaza strip led to the death of many Palestinian citizens”.

“Israel is moving towards the complete occupation of East Jerusalem by attacking Palestinians who were protesting its attempt to forcefully expel residents of Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood to make way for Jewish settlements. Netanyahu, who had repeatedly failed to win a majority in the Israel elections, launched these attacks for petty political gains,” the statement issued by the CPI(M) said.

The CPI(M) claimed that it condemned these acts and calls upon the Government of India to voice its support to the people of Palestine.

Pinarayi Vijayan writes letter to Centre, fails to condemn Palestinians

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote a letter to Union Minister for Foreign Affairs S Jaishankar pleading him to intervene to bring back the body of Soumya. In a carefully worded tweet, Pinarayi Vijayan claimed that they were in touch with the Indian Embassy in Israel to ensure that the mortal remains of Soumya Santhosh, “who was killed in Israel,” is brought back to Kerala and handed over to her family as soon as possible.

However, anywhere in his tweet, he did not condemn the Islamic terrorist group Hamas for the killing of the 31-year-old Kerala nurse Soumya Santhosh.

Social media users questions Kerala Chief Minister’s silence on the killing of nurse

Netizens have come down heavily on Pinarayi Vijayan for not condoling the death of the Malayali nurse who was killed by the Palestinian rocket attacks inside Israel.

Social media users attacked Pinarayi Vijayan for failing to write a word against Hamas and called him a ‘shameless man’.

Another user asked why was Pinarayi Vijayan so scared of naming the killers.

Responding to Pinarayi Vijayan’s reluctance to blame Hamas for killing a Malayali nurse, another user said he was just curious to know how she got killed. Was it an alien rocket attack, the user asked.

Social media users highlighted the reluctance of Kerala politicians and pointed out that it was fear of backlash from the Islamic fundamentalists in the state.

Audit effect? Delhi’s oxygen demand goes from 700 MT for 75k active COVID cases to 582 MT for 83k active cases

OpIndia Staff
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Audit effect? Delhi’s oxygen demand goes from 700 MT for 75k active COVID cases to 582 MT for 83k active cases

Days after caterwauling about the deficit of medical oxygen, the Aam Aadmi Party government led by Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi has today announced, that they have access supply of the same and have offered to give the surplus oxygen to the States who need it. Interestingly, the declaration has come within days of the Supreme Court setting up a panel to carry out an audit of supply, distribution and utilisation of oxygen supply in the national capital.

ANI quoted Delhi’s Deputy CM Manish Sisodia as saying that Delhi’s oxygen need as of May 13 (Thursday) is 582 MT per day. He said that the Delhi government has written to the Centre, saying the surplus oxygen that is being given to it can be supplied to other states.

Sisodia claimed the national capital had a requirement of 700 MT of oxygen when the number of cases was rising but now that the figure is showing a declining trend, the requirement has come down to 582 MT.

On April 18, 2021, Kejriwal government had demanded 700 MT of oxygen.

On that day, Delhi had 74,941 active coronavirus cases. On Thursday, when Kejriwal government has said their oxygen requirement has reduced to 582 MT, active cases in Delhi stands at 82,725.

AAP Govt and its fluctuations over oxygen requirement in Delhi

Interestingly, the AAP government has been contradicting its own stance on the oxygen requirement in the national capital. For all this while, the AAP government led by Arvind Kejriwal had maintained that Delhi needs a daily supply of at least 976 MT of oxygen to emerge out of the crisis in the national capital. The party leadership have been pinning the blame on the central government for not providing them with the required 976 MT of oxygen. But after the city-state was supplied with 730 MT of oxygen, following court orders, the CM started saying that they have enough oxygen to open thousands of new oxygen beds.

And now, ever since the top court, despite strong objection from the AAP government, has appointed a panel to conduct an oxygen audit in the national capital, the Kejriwal government has straight away settled for 582 MT of oxygen per day.

It is pertinent to note here that Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, had stressed in the apex court that Delhi’s demand of 700 MT liquor medical oxygen (LMO) was also way beyond its requirement, which he suggested could be met with 500-600 MT. He had insisted in court that there must be an audit to examine whether there were any snags or pilferage in the distribution of Oxygen in Delhi.

This request was vehemently opposed by the Kejriwal government, which contended that the centre’s allocation of Oxygen to Delhi did not reflect ground realities and was mere paperwork, and if at all an audit was required, it should be of the central government’s arbitrary allocations.

Soon after the centre proposed to carry out an audit, Delhi’s Oxygen demand had magically gone down from 976 MT to 730 MT of oxygen, which now after SC’s go-ahead has further gone down to 582 MT per day.

AAP ministers and associates involved in the black marketing of oxygen

Amidst all this hullabaloo for medical oxygen, a major scam was unearthed in the national capital, wherein several AAP ministers and associates have been involved in the black marketing of medical oxygen and essential medical supplies. 

In fact, today only, the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate of Delhi pulled up the Delhi Government and Delhi Police in the case of oxygen concentrator hoarding and black-marketing over an incorrect statement made by the officer-in-charge of the case. The court pulled the Delhi Government for making an incorrect remark on the witness statement that did not exist in the case diary. 

Antilia bomb scare and Mansukh Hiren murder case accused Sachin Vaze dismissed from service by Mumbai police

OpIndia Staff
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Antilia bomb scare and Mansukh Hiren murder case accused Sachin Vaze dismissed from service by Mumbai police

The Mumbai police on Tuesday informed that suspended cop Sachin Vaze, who is currently being interrogated by the National Investigation Agency for his links to the Antilia bomb scare case, has been dismissed from service. Vaze is also being investigated for his alleged role in the mysterious death of Thane businessman Mansukh Hiren.

The termination order was issued by Mumbai Police Commissioner Hemant Nagrale, said a spokesperson of the city police. The order has been issued under a provision which deals with dismissal, removal or reduction in rank of a civil employee employed in civil capacities under the Union or a state on certain grounds. 

An SUV laden with explosives was found parked outside the Mumbai residence of Reliance Industries owner Mukesh Ambani on February 25. Vaze who had taken the onus to investigate the case was the first to reach the spot. He had reported discovering gelatin sticks in the parked car and a letter from a terrorist organization which eventually turned out to be fake.

The SUV was owned by Thane-based businessman Mansukh Hiren who was found dead under mysterious circumstances a few days later.

The probe was then handed over to Maharashtra ATS after links between Sachin Vaze and Mansukh Hiren emerged. It may be noted that Vaze was suddenly reinstated to the Mumbai Police Crime Branch after facing a suspension that lasted more than 15 years as he was facing a custodial death case.

Eventually, the case went from the ATS to the NIA who is now carrying out an investigation and has also arrested Vaze’s former colleague at CIU, assistant police inspector Riyazuddin Kazi, former policeman Vinayak Shinde and cricket bookie Naresh Ramniklal Gor in the case. 

It is imperative to note that the NIA has named Vaze as the main accused in both cases.

Vaze in a handwritten statement to the NIA had also accused the former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh of demanding Rs 2 crore from him to retain him in the police force, adding a new dimension to the case.

A probe is now on to investigate the allegations of corruption leveled against Deshmukh. Earlier on April 24, the CBI had filed a case against the NCP leader for corruption and misuse of power.

Days after the FIR by CBI, the Enforcement Directorate has now filed a case against him under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

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