Home Blog Page 4332

China: Strong wind blows away floor panels in 100m high glass bridge, tourist left clinging to railings

OpIndia Staff
-
0
China: Strong wind blows away floor panels in 100m high glass bridge, tourist left clinging to railings

On Friday (May 8), a man was found stranded on a ‘glass bridge’ after several floor panels were blown away by strong winds. The incident took place in Piyan Mountain near the city of Longjing in China.

As per reports, the man had gone to visit the iconic 100-metre high glass bridge in Piyan Mountain, when the incident took place. At that time, gusty winds with a speed of up to 150km/ hour began hitting the bridge. Soon, several transparent glass floor panels were shattered, leaving the man dangling in the middle. Stuck at an altitude of 330 ft above the ground, he held steadfast to one railing of the bridge.

The image of the terrifying scene has been doing the rounds on social media. Reportedly, the man managed to return to safety with the help of a staff member. Later, firefighters rushed to the spot and took him to a hospital. Following observation and counselling, the doctors informed later that he is in a stable emotional and physical condition. After the incident, the administration shut down the area for public use. A probe has been launched into the matter.

For several years, China has been building glass slides, walkways, and glass bridges to attract domestic tourism. It is estimated that the Communist-run country has about 2300 such glass bridges. Now, questions are being raised about the safety of such tourist attractions, given that such places have remained vulnerable to accidents. A commentator asked, “So many glass-deck bridges have been built in recent years and are very popular with tourists. But how can we ensure their safety?”

One of the most famous glass bridges is constructed in the Zhangjiajie national park in the Hunan province of China. The bridge, which stretches 430 metres across a canyon, also witnessed one such tragic incident in 2016. A man was injured by falling rocks while walking on a glass bridge. According to Chinese stated-owned media, the government is mulling plans to limit the construction of such bridges and issue technical standards against building them in earthquake prone zones.

Here are the 5 things Suvendu Adhikari wrote in his first article after becoming the Leader of Opposition in West Bengal

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Here are the 5 things Suvendu Adhikari wrote in his first article after becoming the Leader of Opposition in West Bengal

A day after BJP strongman Suvendu Adhikari was elected as the Leader of Opposition in West Bengal, he penned a scathing article in the Indian Express, exposing the Trinamool Congress Party’s disregard for the democratic traditions and its penchant for using violence as a tool to intimidate its opponents.

In an article titled ‘How TMC is betraying Bengal’, Adhikari says TMC has let down the mandate given to it by the people by unleashing terror instead of governing the state. He also called out people who keep clamouring about fascism but are conspicuously silent now even as violence sweeps West Bengal.

Here are the 4 things that Suvendu Adhikari wrote in his article after becoming the Leader of Opposition in Bengal:-

West Bengal, a textbook case of fascism

Under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee, West Bengal has become a textbook case of fascism, Adhikari wrote in his article. Recalling legendary poet Rabindranath Tagore, who once said “Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high”, Adhikari said that Bengal has now devolved into a place where the minds of people are not free and their heads hang in shame at the current situation.

The leader of opposition added that violence in West Bengal is no longer an isolated occurrence. Across the state, the violence continues unabated, as Mamata Banerjee tightens her grip over the state, especially after the recent election victory.

The Nandigram MLA also added that the TMC cadres, empowered and emboldened by the top party leadership, are resolutely destroying the culture of democracy in West Bengal.

Governance took a back seat as party concentrated on consolidating power in West Bengal

Adhikari says the state had given a clear mandate to the TMC to govern but they are busy unleashing terror across the state, intimidating their political opponents and settling scores with them. The governance in the state has taken a back seat as the party focused its energies on winning the elections.

Adhikari says tackling the COVID situation was not the priority of the TMC government as the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee busied herself in her rallies, not finding it prudent to attend the recent Covid meetings called by the Prime Minister.

TMC leadership instructed cadres to intimidate the political opposition in the state

Following the election results on May 2, the TMC cadres in West Bengal got clear instructions from the top leadership to threaten the political opposition in the state, Adhikari says. The BJP workers have been at the receiving end of the violence unleashed by the TMC goons. More than 12 BJP workers have been killed, while thousands of others were forced to flee their homes to neighbouring Assam.

Not just the BJP workers, but even the Left and Congress, which Adhikari says did everything possible to embolden TMC to defeat BJP, were not spared as their cadres were attacked and offices vandalised. Nobody was spared, be it women, children, farmers, poor or the young, everyone came under the attack simply because they dared to extend their support to a political party other than the TMC.

Talking about the violence in Nandigram, the constituency from where Adhikari defeated the West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, the Leader of Opposition said that the constituency gave so much affection to the TMC in the last several years but today their cadres are exacting revenge on the people simply because they saw through the failures of the party and rejected them.

People having ideological differences with BJP remained mute spectators as TMC wreaked havoc in West Bengal, says Suvendu Adhikari

Adhikari also called the double standards of people who otherwise are very vocal to allege that “idea of India” is in danger and clamour about rising fascism, and are now deafeningly silent as TMC sponsored violence gallops West Bengal.

He said people with ideological differences with the BJP are elated with the Bengal elections results but their silence over TMC sponsored violence is deafening. He says there has been no criticism of aggression displayed by the TMC cadres, no condemnation of lives lost and no words on the women attacked.

“They leave no opportunity to talk about their “idea of India” but conveniently shut their eyes and ears while this very idea of a liberal democratic India is being sullied in West Bengal,” Adhikari says.

Violent triumphalism only witnessed in West Bengal, not in Assam, Puducherry

In a bid to attack the TMC government in West Bengal, Adhikari says the violent triumphalism witnessed in the state was not seen in Assam and Puducherry where BJP is forming the governments. He also attacked the TMC, stating that when the TMC is defeated, they blame the EVMs but the BJP did not blame the EVMs when it lost the elections in West Bengal.

Calling out the hypocrisy of the TMC, Adhikari says the TMC launched an offensive against the Election Commission and central forces. But, he added, the TMC always wanted proper security for the voters before they cast their vote. He also slammed the TMC for casting aspersions on the Election Commission for organising phased elections while they themselves had wanted phased elections so that democratic aspirations can be manifested.

If the TMC continues like this, the fate of the Left front awaits it very soon

Suvendu Adhikari also foreboded that if the TMC continues subverting democracy and using violence to silence its critiques, it will soon face a fate similar to the Left front in the state. The Left has been totally decimated in West Bengal, with people placing little faith in it to lead the state.

Maharashtra Minister Dhananjay Munde flouts COVID-19 protocol, gathers a huge crowd for inauguration of isolation centre in Beed

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Maharashtra Minister Dhananjay Munde flouts COVID-19 protocol, gathers a huge crowd for inauguration of isolation centre in Beed

Maharashtra Cabinet Minister and NCP leader Dhananjay Munde inaugurated a Covid-19 isolation facility for women in Beed in the presence of several party supporters tossing Covid appropriate behaviour. 

The shocking visuals reveal how the party workers and supporters gave social distancing a complete miss by flocking the Covid isolation centre at the time of inauguration. 

It is imperative to note that the district of Beed has been facing the brunt of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic since the beginning of April.

OpIndia had earlier reported how the crematoriums of the district had no place to burn the bodies of the Covid-19 victims due to which eight bodies were burnt on a single pyre.

Discrepancy in the number of Covid-19 deaths and funerals has come to the fore in Maharashtra’s Beed district. While the Beed health department stated that 273 people succumbed to the virus in April, those managing crematoriums and cemeteries claim the number to be 378.

The authorities have now set up a committee to probe the matter.

While the state of Maharashtra has managed to significantly bring down the numbers of new corona cases in Mumbai, some rural districts of Maharashtra continue to pose a worrisome situation.

As per the Press Information Bureau, the state reported 37,236 new Covid-19 cases and recorded almost double recoveries (61,607) in the past 24 hours. 

Creating vaccine hesitancy, fear, unused ventilators in Congress-ruled states and more: Read JP Nadda’s scathing letter to Sonia Gandhi

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Creating vaccine hesitancy, fear, unused ventilators in Congress-ruled states and more: Read JP Nadda’s scathing letter to Sonia Gandhi

BJP President JP Nadda in a scathing letter to Congress party president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday lambasted the opposition including some Congress Chief Ministers for deliberately creating commotion when the nation is dealing with a pandemic, for petty political gains.

The party president directly attacked the opposition for creating vaccine hesitancy and mismanaging funds and Covid-19 relief material allocated using the PM Cares Fund. He said in his letter that “the top echelons of the Congress would stop misleading people, creating false panic and even contradicting their stands just based on political considerations.” 

Expressing his displeasure over the conduct of some Congress leaders and Chief Ministers, JP Nadda in his letter called out the party leaders who “left no opportunity to mock” the efforts being taken by the scientists, doctors and innovators to develop a Covid-19 vaccine. 

As the opposition relentlessly championed making vaccines free for all, Nadda questioned the party’s intent saying when the BJP-NDA led states could announce free vaccines for the poor, what stopped the Congress. The letter also highlighted the hypocrisy of former Congress President Rahul Gandhi for demanding a lockdown after successfully completing his rallies in the poll-bound states down South.

Here’s what the letter said

The full text of Nadda’s letter is reproduced here:

“Powered by our Corona warriors, India is currently waging a spirited fight against the COVID-19 global pandemic. Our nation is conducting the largest vaccination drive in the world. India’s vaccination strategy has been guided by global best practices. We began early in January and ensured that our COVID warriors get their shots first. This has helped us greatly in fighting the second wave. I am sure you would also know that many Western nations have not even begun vaccinating their younger population, unlike what is happening in India.

Ever since the pandemic struck in 2020, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has been working closely with all arms of the Government to add more momentum to the fight against the pandemic. Priority areas are augmenting medical capacities and ensuring adequate facilities to those suffering. Efforts are under way to ensure all parts are equipped with adequate medicine and other materials required to combat COVID. In 2020, for 8 long months, the Government of India provided free ration to the 80 crore Indians. The same is being done even now.

The Prime Minister is working closely with all Chief Ministers in this effort to defeat Coronavirus. He has chaired several meetings with Chief Ministers, which have been held in a cordial and congenial atmosphere. Former Prime Minister and farmer leader Shri HD Deve Gowda himself referred to the Prime Minister’s emphasis on consulting a wide range of stakeholders.
It is in this context that I am saddened but not surprised by the conduct of the Congress Party during these challenging times. While there are certainly a few members of your party who (like several other selfless citizens) are doing commendable work in helping people, their hardwork gets eclipsed by the consistent negativity spread by the more senior members of the party.

I am writing this letter with a deep sense of pain. I would never have written such a letter. But, looking at the confusion being created by members of the Congress Party, including Chief Ministers belonging to the party, I am compelled to pen my thoughts. One would wish that while India is fighting COVID-19 with utmost courage, the top echelons of the Congress would stop misleading people, creating false panic and even contradicting their stands just based on political considerations.

Let me begin with the vaccine. Throughout last year, when our scientists, doctors and innovators were racing against time to find a vaccine, your party leaders left no opportunity to mock these efforts. A vaccine that is made in India should be a matter of national pride. Instead, Congress leaders tried to ridicule it and create doubts in the minds of people. Even a Chief Minister belonging to your party indulged in such antics. In a nation that has almost no recent history of vaccine hesitancy, your party has the dubious record of trying to actively create it, that too, in the middle of a once-in-a-century pandemic.

I would also like to address the debates around access to vaccines. States which have BJP or NDA government have announced their resolve to help the poor and underprivileged by providing vaccines for free. I am sure that Congress Governments in various states also feel strongly for the poor. Can they also come out with a similar decision to provide vaccines for free?
The COVID-19 vaccine made in India does not belong to any political party or leader- it belongs to the nation. Yet, the Congress Party could did not do the right thing instead only did the wrong politics.

May I also address the topic of providing supportive medical infrastructure to fight COVID-19. When the pandemic struck, the Government of India discussed the need for ventilators with all states. So far around 45,000 ventilators were produced & procured in mission mode and sent to all states. But it is saddening to see visuals of ventilators sent through PM-CARES Fund lying around unused in certain states. I hope you address these issues on a priority.

In this fight against the pandemic, the conduct of the topmost Congress leaders including former Congress President Shri Rahul Gandhi will be remembered for duplicity and pettiness. Your party, under your leadership, is doing no favors to itself by opposing lockdowns and then demanding for the same, ignoring the Centre’s advisories on the second wave of COVID and then saying they did not get any information, holding massive election rallies in Kerala causing a spike in COVID cases while grandstanding about election rallies elsewhere, support-ing protests but speaking about following COVID guidelines. Even when the second wave was on the rise, your party leaders were happier being seen in super spreader political events in North India, where there was no regard for masks or social distancing. This is not the era when such information can be erased from public memory.”

We had reported on how the ventilators sent to the states of Rajasthan, Punjab and Jharkhand were lying unused and gathering dust at the beginning of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. 

It is imperative to note that Union Minister Prakash Javadekar in his exclusive write-up to the media had also explicitly mentioned that the state of Kerala was warned by the Centre of the second wave of the pandemic in the month of January itself.

Sonia Gandhi attacks PM

The letter by the BJP party president comes days after Sonia Gandhi from a parliamentary party meeting had launched an attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging that the Centre has failed to manage the health crisis. 

“India is in the grip of a deadly health disaster. Thousands have died and millions are scrambling to access basic healthcare, life-saving medicines, oxygen, and vaccines. It is heartbreaking to see people battling for their lives in hospitals, on roads, waiting in vehicles, far too many for want of any medical help at all.

And what is the Modi government doing? Instead of alleviating their suffering and pain, it has abdicated its fundamental responsibilities and duties towards the people,” Sonia had said in her speech. 

Congress govt had nominated Navneet Kalra, now accused of black marketing oxygen concentrators, as a permanent member of Golf Club

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Congress govt had nominated Navneet Kalra, now accused of black marketing oxygen concentrators, as a permanent member of Golf Club

Naveen Kalra, who is now accused of black-marketing oxygen concentrators, was patronised by the then Congress government. In 2006, a question was asked in the Rajya Sabha that inquired from the then Urban Development Minister, Ajay Maken, by Tarlochan Singh whether it was a fact that Union Urban Development Minister nominates persons to become permanent members of Delhi Golf Club. Further, the question asked which individuals were nominated to the Golf Club between 2004-05 and 2005-06 and what was criteria were followed in their nomination.

To this question, Ajay Maken from the Congress responded with the names of those who had been nominated to the Golf Club by the Congress government.

Rajya Sabha response by Ajay Maken

In his response, Ajay Maken responded that the government had nominated Robert Vadra, the national son-in-law, JM Hans, the head of the ENT Department at Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and Navneet Kalra of Khan Market.

It further explained the Minister had recommended that the Club accepts two ‘out of turn’ members every year and one of the members that the government had nominated was Navneet Kalra, who is now accused of black-marketing oxygen concentrators amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Who is Navneet Kalra, the man accused of black-marketing oxygen concentrators in Delhi

The Delhi police had issued a lookout notice for absconding Delhi restaurateur Navneet Kalra. Kalra, who is accused in the Khan market oxygen concentrators black-marketing racket, has been on the run ever since Delhi police raided his chain of upscale restaurants in posh localities of Delhi and farmhouse and recovered over 500 oxygen concentrators.

Earlier, Delhi Police had seized over 450 oxygen concentrators in multiple raids across the city. Among this, as many as 419 machines were recovered from businesses owned by well-known businessman Navneet Kalra. During the raids on Thursday, 32 oxygen concentrators with 9 and 5 litres capacity were found at the Nege & Ju bar, owned by Kalra. After police arrested three persons from the bar, they led the police to Khullar Farm in Mandi Village, where 387 more units were seized.

On Friday, Delhi Police raided other businesses owned by Kalra and recovered more oxygen concentrator. They seized 9 concentrators from the Town Hall restaurant and bar at Lodhi Colony, and 96 units were found at the popular Khan Chacha eatery in Khan Market. Thus, a total of 524 units have been seized from restaurants owned by Kalra so far.

The first raid was conducted after the police received a tipoff from a WhatsApp message where Navneet Kalra had sent his account details to his acquaintances in lieu of a concentrator. According to police, during their raid at Nege & Ju bar yesterday, they found one person working on a laptop and handling orders of oxygen concentrator by ‘Xpect Everything online portal’. Police have said that oxygen concentrators were taken via the online portal as well as through WhatsApp groups.

Navneet Kalra imported the oxygen concentrators from China at around Rs 20,000-25,000, and sold them in Delhi for at least Rs 70,000, making a huge profit when the demands for the machines are very high in the city due to the shortage of oxygen for Covid-19 patients. Reportedly, they have sold around 50 units so far.

Navneet Kalra owns several eateries in Delhi and owns the retail chain Dayal Opticals, which was founded by his father Dayal Dass Kalra. His restaurants among the most well known in Delhi, and are frequented by VIPs like celebrities and politicians.

Calcutta HC “appreciates” Mamata Banerjee-led govt for ‘stemming’ the post-poll violence

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Calcutta HC “appreciates” Mamata Banerjee-led govt for ‘stemming’ the post-poll violence

Even as the supporters and members of the victorious Trinamool Congress Party are accused of unleashing post-poll violence in West Bengal following the results of assembly elections, the Calcutta High Court on Monday lauded the state government’s efforts to stop the violence. After being informed by the state govt that there had no incidents of violence reported since Sunday, the five-judge bench on Monday appreciated the TMC-led state government and told it to “keep up” its work.

The Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, acting Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal observed that fault-finding can be relegated to the future, adding that both the state and the central government should come together to maintain peace now that a new state government was in place.

The five-judge bench, comprising ACJ Bindal and Justices IP Mukerji, Harish Tandon, Soumen Sen and Subrata Talukdar, also sought the Centre’s response to the state government affidavit and will hear the case again on May 18. The report submitted by the state home secretary to the HC on post-poll violence said there were 15 “violent incidents”, leading to 16 deaths, till May 3, an official said.

The West Bengal government told the Calcutta High Court that there was no post-poll violence in West Bengal after the recently conducted state elections which saw the Mamata Banerjee regime retaining power. The next hearing for all PILs regarding the WB post-poll violence in the Calcutta HC is scheduled for next Tuesday on May 18.

On May 5, the day the new government was sworn in, six political clashes took place but no death. There was no death on May 6 and May 7 and, on May 8, there was one death in Birbhum’s Khairasol. As per the state government, there was not a single incident of violence since Sunday(May 9).

So far, 400 people have been arrested, including 72 for crimes like murder and arson, and 34 FIRs had been drawn up against fake news (five of them in Kolkata). Kishore Dutta, state advocate general, assured the court that all possible measures would be taken to stem the violence. However, additional solicitor general YJ Dastoor tried to extenuate TMC’s role in the violence by submitting in the court that it was not just one party highlighting “post-poll violence”, and that all parties that fought the poll had made similar allegations.

Post-poll violence in West Bengal

Post-poll violence has become a leitmotif of news emerging out of Bengal following the declaration of results. Umpteen number of violence against political opponents have been reported from the state. In an overwhelming number of such incidents, the victims have been BJP supporters and workers while the accused were said to be the supporters of the TMC party. More than 7 BJP workers have lost their lives in the post-poll violence that ensued following the victory of the TMC party in the assembly elections.

The violence unleashed against them forced hundreds of BJP party workers and supporters to flee their villages along with their families. They crossed over to Assam where they have been provided temporary shelter under supervision by minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. It is not just the BJP but even CPI(M) which has accused the TMC of killing its workers. Reports of attacks on BSF jawans have also emerged in the media.

Actress Shweta Tiwari releases CCTV footage, accuses ex-husband Abhinav Kohli of physical abuse

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Actress Shweta Tiwari releases CCTV footage, accuses ex-husband Abhinav Kohli of physical abuse

Disclaimer: The article contains violent images and viewer discretion is advised

Television actress Shweta Tiwari has taken to her official Instagram handle on May 10 (Monday), to share two videos accusing her ex-husband Abhinav Kohli of physical and mental abuse. Tiwari, who shot to fame through the Hindi daily show Kasautii Zindagi Kay, alleged that her 4-year-old son Reyaansh is so petrified of his father’s foul temper that he “is scared of his papa coming home or meeting him”.

The first video shared by Shweta is the CCTV footage of her society garden in which the actress can be seen holding their son Reyaansh in her arms while walking. Though the video is a little unclear, Abhinav appears to be following her. What appears from the footage is that he is pestering Shweta to give their son to him. As Shweta resists, Abhinav pushes her down and gets into a physical tussle with her and the child until he overpowers her and snatches Reyaansh from her.

Actress Shweta Tiwari’s Instagram post

In the next video posted by the actress, her little son Reyaansh can be seen hiding himself under the bedsheet while Shweta Tiwari and his sister Palak tries to comfort him. 

Shweta captioned her post: “Now let the truth Come out!!! (But this is not going to stay forever on my account, I will eventually delete it, I am posting this right now to reveal the truth,then it goes off) This is why my Child is scared of him! After this incident my child was scared for more than a month, he was so scared that he would not even sleep properly at Night! His hand hurt for more than 2 weeks. Even now he is scared of his papa coming home or meeting him (sic).”

Abhinav Kohli accuses Shweta Tiwari of abandoning their 4-year-old son

Shweta Tiwari reportedly shared the videos after her estranged husband accused her of abandoning their son alone in a hotel to go to Cape Town for the 11th season of the adventure reality TV show, Khatron Ke Khiladi. 

In an Instagram video, Abhinav Kohli said that he went from hotel to hotel looking for Reyansh. He accused Shweta of not informing him about Reyansh’s whereabouts before leaving for Cape Town. Kohli also claimed that the police did not help him out. He urged his fans to give him the information on Reyaansh in case they find any. He shared his video with a caption reading: “Please HELP Me.

Instagram post of Abhinav Kohli where he accuses Shweta of abandoning their son

In the following interview, Shweta responded to the allegations saying that Reyaansh is safe with her mother and daughter Palak.

Shweta Tiwari and Abhinav Kohli got married in the year 2013. They welcomed their son Reyaansh in 2016. The couple separated in the year 2019 after Shweta accused Abhinav of domestic violence.

Sonia Gandhi retains her position as party president, blames the local leadership for Congress’ poor performance in polls

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Sonia Gandhi retains her position as party president, blames the local leadership for Congress’ poor performance in polls

The Congress Working Committee regrouped on Monday to find a successor of party President Sonia Gandhi, only to deflect it citing the Covid-19 emergency and taking to task the local leadership responsible for poor performance in recently concluded state assembly elections.

As per a Hindustan Times report, the meeting attended by the CWC leaders concluded that the internal voting should be adjourned in view of the ongoing health emergency in the nation. Requesting Sonia Gandhi to retain her post, the leaders claimed that their focus currently should be on working towards the Covid-19 relief cause. 

Rahul Gandhi who is recovering from Covid-19 gave the internal party meeting a miss.

It is said that Sonia Gandhi expressed her displeasure over party performance, blaming factionalism and poor local leadership for a tragic performance in four states and one union territory that went to assembly polls last month.

In her opening remarks, Gandhi ordered the CWC to “take note of our serious setbacks” and exclaimed that “to say that we are deeply disappointed is to make an understatement”. 

She also proposed creating a committee to analyse the poll results in Kerala, Assam, Puducherry and West Bengal and remarked, “if we do not face up to the reality, if we do not look the facts in the face, we will not draw the right lessons.”

According to the report, leaders present in the meeting said Sonia Gandhi was visibly unhappy with the fact that the party lost four state elections under her leadership but was convinced by senior leader Salman Khurshid to continue guiding the party at least through the pandemic as the party has supposedly achieved much under her leadership. It must be noted that Congress won a total of zero seats in West Bengal assembly elections.

Assam assessment 

Jitendra Singh, in charge of Assam, in his report cited insufficient time to prepare and to optimise its alliances with AIUDF and the Bodoland people’s Front as the reason for Congress’s poor performance in the state.

While Singh was happy with the fact that the vote margin between the BJP and the Congress was narrow, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh pointed out that the Congress could have done better if it had not partnered with Badruddin Ajmal’s Islamic party AIUDF.

West Bengal assessment

West Bengal in charge Jitin Prasada blamed the Covid situation for its failure. Prasada claimed that the party could not campaign in Congress strongholds because of Covid. He also gave due credit to Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress for building up the momentum in the first six phases that affected the Congress’ performance in the last two phases of polling.

Tamil Nadu and Puducherry assessment

In charge of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, Dinesh Gundu Rao shifted the blame to former Puducherry CM V Narayanasamy for refusing to fight elections leading to a mass exodus of his loyalists to the BJP or the rival NR Congress.

Kerala assessment

Throwing light on the sorry situation within the party, General secretary Tariq Anwar blamed infighting for the Kerala debacle. Dismissing the shortcomings, almost all members cut short the discussion of poll performance and urged the party people on being united in such challenging times.

Later while briefing the media, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal and party’s chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala informed that a group will be formed in 48 hours to deep dive into the election results and fix accountability. Surjewala remarked that “the Congress has lost the polls, but it has not lost its hope.” However, rebel Congress leaders who have been quite vocal about their disappointment with party leadership said that this is just a tactic to buy time. A leader reportedly said that after every defeat, panels are set up but no one has seen the reports and nor have they seen any action being taken.

Washington Post and DW News resort to vulture journalism, criticised by netizens for ‘promoting’ India’s Covid crisis on Twitter

Dibakar Dutta
-
0
Washington Post and DW News resort to vulture journalism, criticised by netizens for ‘promoting’ India’s Covid crisis on Twitter

Amidst the 2nd wave of the pandemic in India, western media publications have resorted to monetizing and promoting the human catastrophe caused due to the Wuhan Coronavirus infection. With an intention to draw more eyeballs and glamorise Covid deaths in the country, publications such as the Washington Post and Deutsche Welle (DW) News have largely relied on traumatising pictures of corpses, and burning funeral pyres.

To further their agenda, they are now paying social media platforms to promote the reach of such news items. With a clickbait headline such as “Coronavirus has crushed India’s health system. Patients are on their own”, the Washington Post paid for Twitter ads to increase their reach.

Screengrab of the ‘promoted’ tweet by

A similar strategy was employed by the German public broadcaster DW News. With a featured image that shows a drone shot of burning pyres, DW News’ sponsored post bore a catchy caption. “How did the Covid crisis in India get this bad?” read the headline of the article.

Screengrab of the promoted tweet by DW News

Netizens slam Washington Post for cashing on India’s Coronavirus tragedy

Netizens were miffed at how the two international news publications have been exploiting the human tragedy in India as a ‘cash cow.’ A Twitter user (@venkybengaluru) wrote, “When was the last time you saw Washington Post doing a paid promotion on Twitter!? Check out how shamelessly it promotes a story on Twitter to defame India!”

Berges, the Director of ShareChat, pointed out, “It’s one thing to report about the terrible situation in India and the deaths and mayhem. Curious though, why is DW news paying for the promotion of a video showcasing the carnage caused by the virus?”

Journalist Abhijit Majumder tweeted, “So is Washington Post. When serious money goes into promoting India’s tragedy, the projected returns must be very lucrative.”

Another user wrote, “Why is @washingtonpost promoting their tweet about CHINESE VIRUS’s impact in India?”

US media selling ‘tragedy porn’, cashing the Covid crisis

Amidst a surging Coronavirus wave, India has become the centre of attention for media all around the world. This has led to wider coverage of India in the worldwide press, focusing on the imagery of the customary Hindu funeral pyre as a way to “shock” their non-Indian audience. After controversial journalist Barkha Dutt was seen reporting from crematoriums, now photographs of tragic funeral pyres, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, have now become valuable commodities, bought and sold in the Western press.

The British-American media company Getty Images now hosts multiple images depicting multiple Indian funeral pyres lit ablaze on their website. From here, any potential media group around the world can buy these images, in three different sizes, with the largest size priced at about Rs. 23,000. While the liberal media have been publishing such images to peddle its anti-India agenda, it has yet not dared to show pictures of 750 dead bodies of Covid-19 patients lying unattended in a morgue in New York.

Activist who raised questions about Hemkunt Foundation’s funding and donations faces abuses, death threats

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Activist who raised questions about Hemkunt Foundation’s funding and donations faces abuses, death threats

On May 9, OpIndia published a report on how a few organizations and individuals might be breaking FCRA laws under the pretext of collecting funds for Covid-19 relief. Under the report, we had included a video of Yuvraj Pokharna, who is an activist and media consultant. In his video, he raised some serious questions about Hemkunt Foundation. This organization claims to be working extensively to provide oxygen and other relief material to the Covid-19 patients in and around Delhi.

The organization recently announced that they are expanding their ventures to other states, and for that, they have asked for donations from people. As they are not FCRA registered, collecting foreign funds by routing them via another organization is not legal as per FCRA law. However, platforms like Ketto and DonateKart are allowing such fundraisers, which raises the question of their authenticity as well.

Anyway, the question here is not if Hemkunt Foundation is collecting funds legally or not. The question here is the amount of hate, trolling and threats Yuvraj is facing because of some valid questions. Yuvraj and everyone who has donated to any organization has the right to question about the usage of funds. Also, these organizations must follow the regulations set by the government of India to ensure there is no case of money laundering or misuse of funds in any way. However, what Yuvraj has been facing since he uploaded the video is horrifying.

The abuses and death threats

OpIndia had a detailed conversation with Yuvraj about the hate he has been getting since the video was published. “I wonder if asking valid questions was a mistake?” said Yuvraj. He revealed how a whole army of trolls and abusers are after him since the video was published. He shared some screenshots with us, so we decided to pay a visit to the video again and scroll through the comments on the Instagram video.

Yuvraj’s video on Hemkunt Foundation has received over six lakh views so far, and there are over 700 comments. While some praised him for his courage, here are some of the comments that are open abuses and threats directed to him.

Screenshots of abused hurdled against Yuvraj on Instagram

Yuvraj also shared some screenshots in which there were endless abuses and threats.

Abusive messages in DM. Source: Yuvraj

The trolls crossed the limit when they leaked his number online. Yuvraj said that being a professional, it was not hard to find his number online, and the abusers took advantage of it. As soon as his number was shared on social media, he started to get threatening messages and calls, said Yuvraj. One Instagram user, batman_msm_005 was seen commenting on different IDs, telling them Yuvraj’s number and urging them to call him.

Yuvraj’s number was leaked online Source: Yuvraj
Yuvraj’s number was leaked online. Source: Yuvraj

“I will come and meet you at your place” – the threatening video message

Yuvraj said it was not limited to just abuses. Several comments were a direct threat against him. One person who stood out with his threatening videos and messages is named Viky Thomas. Yuvraj told us that there was a video of him in which he was allegedly openly threatening him, but the video was later deleted.

Thomas then made other videos and posts in which he kept on abusing Yuvraj without taking his name directly. Thomas has been posing as a Sikh and claims he has faith in the Sikh religion. He was also present at the farmer protest sites and at Red Fort on January 26 when the tractor rally organized by alleged farmers turned violent. We found a few photographs of him at these sites on his Facebook account.

Thomas at farmer protest sites and at Red Fort

In the recent video targeting Yuvraj, Thomas repeatedly called him a ‘neech aadmi’. Thomas, on several occasions, threatened him without taking his name that he will come and meet at his house very soon. He also showed Yuvraj’s video on his Facebook live.

He said, “Not all people are bad in a particular religion, but some people, some despicable (neech) and bad (gande) people ruin it, just like him,” and then he played the video. He further called him “gande jaat ke keede”, which means insects of ‘disgusting’ caste, and threatened that he would beat him. He then tried to intimate him with his huge size.

Thomas then boasted that he receives calls from foreign countries. It is unclear how it makes someone special, but he seems to think it does. He further showed his passport and again tried to show it as if travelling to other countries makes him important. He then raised question over the Statue of Unity and asked why Rs.3000 crore were spent on it. Interestingly, when the statue was built, there was no sign of pandemic, and since the statue was built, the tourism in the region had increased exponentially before the lockdown last year.

Thomas claimed that the number of rapes is increasing in the country because of “gande neech log” like Yuvraj. How questioning a fundraiser made him an alleged ‘rapist’ is unclear, though. He asked Yuvraj to keep his phone shut and sit at his home or do “Sewa” at Masjid, Gurudwara or Mandir.

He further said, “I do Guru’s Sewa. If insects like you come in between me and sewa, I know how to clean them,” which was an open threat to Yuvraj’s life. He further added that he deleted the previous video at someone’s request. He then showed his photograph with Morari Bapu to assert his claims.

Thomas’s possible links with Congress

Yuvraj shared photographs of Thomas with Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi. The images were visibly old, but they have relevance as it shows there is a possibility that he has strong connections in Congress Party. In another video, Thomas had though claimed he has met many other leaders and actors and again tried to mint his meeting with Morari Bapu in that video.

Thomas’s photographs with Congress leaders

There are countless threat messages in Yuvraj’s DMs and many comments on his posts on social media abusing him relentlessly. A question that should make everyone wonder why it is hard to raise valid questions against NGOs in India? Why followers answer, abuse and threaten on behalf of them, and they do not utter a word explaining their side of the story?

What was the need of seeking foreign funding without FCRA approval? Why did they not seek approval from the government to accept foreign funding in the first place? Hemkunt Foundation must come forward and explain its stand on this issue.

1...4,3314,3324,333...7,679Page 4,332 of 7,679