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TMC’s Derek O’Brien opposes EC’s Covid campaign restrictions, says new rules very suitable to ‘Lutyens bungalow’ residents

OpIndia Staff
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TMC’s Derek O’Brien opposes EC’s Covid campaign restrictions, says new rules very suitable to ‘Lutyens bungalow’ residents

TMC leader Derek O’Brien criticized the Election Commission’s new Covid restrictions in a press conference today. “Today the umpire said 7 pm to 10 am no campaigning, this is very suitable to those living in Lutyens bungalows in Delhi,” said O’Brein, taking a jab at the Election Commission’s decision.

“They have breakfast in Delhi, fly down to Kolkata, do some meetings in heat & they will go back. This will expose people to COVID19”, O’Brien further added.

Earlier today, the Election Commission of India issued an order to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic during the remaining phases of the assembly elections. The Commission has extended the silence period for rallies, public meetings, street plays, nukkad sabhas, bike rallies or any gathering for campaigning purposes to 72 hours before the end of the polls for Phase 6, 7 and 8 in the state of West Bengal.

In its order, the Election Commission issued a stern admonition to the political parties for occasional violations of the COVID guidelines issued by the poll body during the announcement of the assembly elections for the states of Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and UT of Puducherry.

Taking cognisance of the prevailing unprecedented coronavirus crisis in the country, the Election Commission has asked candidates and political parties to ensure absolute adherence to COVID guidelines in letter and spirit. Violations, if any shall be sternly dealt with and action, including criminal action can be initiated as per the extant legal framework.

The new guidelines will be applicable for the last three phases of assembly elections in West Bengal on 22, 26 and 29 April. The next and fifth phase of polls will take place tomorrow, which means campaigning for it is already over as per existing rules. The elections in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry are already over by 6th April, waiting for the results on 2nd May.

The maximum number of electors per booth has been reduced to 1000 from 1500. Simultaneously, the facilities of casting the postal ballot has been extended to PWD electors, 80+ year old, and COVID-19 suspect/positive patients.

The poll body has mandated the use of masks, face shield, sanitizer, gloves by the polling authorities during the process. Likewise, voters have also been asked to mandatorily wear masks while casting their votes. Stock of reserve masks is kept at the booths for providing to default electors.

Thermal screenings of electors will be conducted by health workers at all polling centers. If anyone has temperature higher than normal temperature, he/she will need to come in the last hour of the poll fixed for COVID-19 patients.

Two days after daughter of Ajay Tandon took over father’s campaigning for by-elections as he had COVID-19, the Congress leader seen on the street

OpIndia Staff
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Two days after daughter of Ajay Tandon took over father’s campaigning for by-elections as he had COVID-19, the Congress leader seen on the street

Congress candidate from the Damoh assembly in Madhya Pradesh, Ajay Tandon, was seen making a public appearance despite being COVID-19 positive. The Congress leader had reportedly hit the streets of Damoh assembly in Madhya Pradesh, campaigning for the by-elections on 17th April for the Damoh assembly constituency. In a snippet shared by times Now the Congress leader is seen surrounded by his supporters. He is without a mask or any other safety gear.

The Congress leader, in his defence, has claimed that he was tested COVID negative the previous day. He said that since his reports were negative, there was no question of flouting any Covid-19 norms.

This claim made by the Congress leaders seems to be quite baffling since only yesterday it was reported that Ajay Tandon has been tested positive for COVID-19.

Moreover, Ajay Tandon’s elder daughter, Parul Tandon had also confirmed that her father had tested positive for the contagion two days before the Damoh assembly by-election, scheduled to be held on April 17.

In her video message shared by another Twitter user on April 15, the Congress leader’s daughter was heard saying that since Ajay Tandon has been tested positive he has self quarantined himself in his house.

“We have quarantined him only so that he does not spread the infection amongst others”, said his daughter, appealing to people to support her father in this hour of distress and vote for him in the upcoming Damoh assembly by-election.

She also confirmed that since her father Ajay Makhan will be unable to campaign for the Damoh assembly by-election she will be taking up the responsilibity.

The video message was shared on the microblogging site on April 15, where the Congress leader’s daughter is clearly declaring that her father has been tested COVID-19 positive, and interestingly, the very next day, Ajay Tandon is seen on the streets of Damoh, without a mask, PPE suit or any other safety precautions, risking the lives of several people around him.

Facebook censors media reports of multi-million dollar real estate purchases by BLM co-founder, her group calls criticism ‘White Supremacy’

OpIndia Staff
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Facebook censors media reports of multi-million dollar real estate purchases by BLM co-founder, her group calls criticism ‘White Supremacy’

Facebook is now censoring articles from both the New York Post and the Daily Mail, which detail the controversial real estate buying-binge of BLM co-founder Patrisse Khan-Cullors. Khan-Cullors purchased a total of four luxury houses valued at $3.4 million in the U.S. Khan-Cullors, who is a self-described Marxist, came under fire recently for purchasing a property worth $1.4 million in a predominantly white neighborhood.

However, criticisms of her were censored on Twitter, with Twitter locking accounts of people who shared reports revealing Khan-Cullors’ exorbitant purchase. Now, an error message from Facebook greets any user who wishes to share either the New York Post article or the Daily Mail article, about Khan-Cullors’ multiple property purchases.

“Your post couldn’t be shared, because this link goes against our Community Standards,” the error message says when any attempt is made to post the article link on the social media platform.

“This content was removed for violating our privacy and personal information policy,” said Facebook in a statement to Tucker Carlson Tonight on Fox News.

The New York Post also reports on the criticism that Khan-Cullors’ received from fellow activists on the news of her property purchases going public. Hawk Newsome, the head of Black Lives Matter Greater New York City, which is not affiliated with Khan-Cullors’ Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation (BLMGNF), called for “an independent investigation” to find out how the BLM global network spends the money it raises through donations.

“If you go around calling yourself a socialist, you have to ask how much of her own personal money is going to charitable causes,” he said. “It’s really sad because it makes people doubt the validity of the movement and overlook the fact that it’s the people that carry this movement.”

The BLMGNF has issued a statement clarifying that the funds Khan-Cullors used to purchase lavish real estate properties did not come from BLMGNF funds. The foundation also made the bizarre claim that articles reporting on Khan-Cullors’ spending spree were somehow contributing to “a tradition of terror by white supremacists”.

Khan-Cullors is a self-described Marxist, stating in a December 2020 video that she believes in Marxism.

“I do believe in Marxism. It’s a philosophy that I learned really early on in my organizing career. We were taught to learn about the systems that were criticizing capitalism. We were taught to understand why there were philosophies that were criticizing capitalism. I’m working on making sure that people don’t suffer. I’m working to make sure people don’t go hungry,” Khan-Cullors says in the video.

It is to be noted that a similar article detailing Khan-Cullors’ real estate purchases from Black Enterprise, a black-owned media company that covers black-owned businesses, was allowed to be shared by Facebook users. 

This new wave of censorship marks an escalation from Big Tech companies in their war against Free Speech and Expression. Just last month, Facebook censored Lara Trump interviewing her father-in-law and former U.S. Prez Donald Trump, drawing criticism from conservative voices.

In October 2020, Twitter censored the New York Post from reporting an accurate news story about Hunter Biden. Last month, Twitter CEO admitted that his platform made a “total mistake” by barring users from sharing The NY Post’s bombshell news report about Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden’s emails.

EC extends election campaign ban before polls in West Bengal to 72 hours, no campaigning allowed after 7 PM

OpIndia Staff
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EC extends election campaign ban before polls in West Bengal to 72 hours, no campaigning allowed after 7 PM

In the light of the spiralling coronavirus crisis in the country, the Election Commission of India has issued an order to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic during the remaining phases of assembly elections. The Commission has extended the silence period for rallies, public meetings, street plays, nukkad sabhas, bike rallies or any gathering for campaigning purposes to 72 hours before the end of the polls for Phase 6, 7 and 8 in the state of West Bengal.

In general, this period is 48 hours, which means parties and candidates can’t campaign for two days before the elections, now this restriction extends to three days.

Moreover, the poll panel has also reduced the hours available for the election campaign. No rallies, no public meetings, street plays, Nukkad sabhas, shall be allowed on any day during the campaign between 7 pm and 10 am with effect from 7 pm of 16 April 2021, the order released by the Election Commission on Friday said.

In its order, the Election Commission issued a stern admonition to the political parties for occasional violations of the COVID guidelines issued by the poll body during the announcement of the assembly elections for the states of Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and UT of Puducherry.

Taking cognisance of the prevailing unprecedented coronavirus crisis in the country, the Election Commission has asked candidates and political parties to ensure absolute adherence to COVID guidelines in letter and spirit. Violations, if any shall be sternly dealt with and action, including criminal action can be initiated as per the extant legal framework.

The order also mentioned that it would be the responsibility of organisers of public meetings, rallies, etc. to provide masks and sanitisers to every person attending these gatherings at their own cost and account for it in their expenditure. The polls body also asked organisers to ensure proper usage of masks, sanitisers, and also be responsible for maintaining minimum social distancing by everyone.

The EC also asked star campaigners, political leaders, candidates to set an example by following the COVID guidelines and also nudge their followers to do the same while addressing rallies, election meetings and other public events.

District Election Officers and Returning Officers shall take strict measures to enforced COVID guidelines during the elections, the order said, adding that they can cancel public meetings, rallies in case there are violations.

“Special observers and General, Police and Expenditure Observers shall strictly monitor compliance of COVID norms during campaign,” the order said.

The new guidelines will be applicable for the last three phases of assembly elections in West Bengal on 22, 26 and 29 April. The next and fifth phase of polls will take place tomorrow, which means campaigning for it is already over as per existing rules. The elections in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry are already over by 6th April, waiting for the results on 2nd May.

Measures taken by Election Commission to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic

Listing down the measures to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commission said that it has undertaken intensive awareness campaigns to educate voters and all stakeholders connected to the election process regarding the process of fighting against the coronavirus outbreak.

The maximum number of electors per booth has been reduced to 1000 from 1500. Simultaneously, the facilities of casting the postal ballot has been extended to PWD electors, 80+ year old, and COVID-19 suspect/positive patients.

The poll body has mandated the use of masks, face shield, sanitiser, gloves by the polling authorities during the process. Likewise, voters have also been asked to mandatorily wear masks while casting their votes. Stock of reserve masks is kept at the booths for providing to default electors.

Thermal screenings of electors will be conducted by health workers at all polling centres. If anyone has temperature higher than normal temperature, he/she will need to come in the last hour of the poll fixed for COVID-19 patients.

BLM co-founder attempts to defend herself from criticism over buying property worth over million dollars, netizens point out Marxist hypocrisy

OpIndia Staff
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BLM co-founder attempts to defend herself from criticism over buying property worth over million dollars, netizens point out Marxist hypocrisy

Black Lives Matter (BLM) co-founder Patrisse Khan-Cullors has been heavily criticised recently for buying a series of properties worth millions, especially a home that cost $1.4 million in a predominantly White neighbourhood. She appeared on an interview with Marc Lamont Hill of Black News Tonight in an attempt to defend herself.

Patrisse Khan-Cullors said, “I think that is critique that is wanting, and I say that because the way I live my life is in direct support to Black people, including my Black family members. For so many Black folks who are able to invest in themselves and their community, they choose to invest in their family. And that’s what I have chosen to do.”

“I have a child, I have a brother with severe mental illness that I have to take care of, I support my mother and I support many family members of mine. So I see my money as not my own, I see it as my family’s money as well.”

People on social media, however, were not satisfied with her defense. They slammed her over what they considered to be hypocrisy.

Others said that this was ‘Woke politics’ reaching its final form, where it is argued that “My ideology doesn’t apply to me bc (because) I’m black.”

Netizens said that it was the case with every Marxist and Communist movement, where leaders enrich themselves while those beneath them continue to suffer.

Meanwhile, Twitter is censoring media houses for reporting on the matter and users for sharing the links of the report. Facebook is censoring reports from esteemed newspapers as well for reporting on the matter.

Iran increases its uranium enrichment programme to 60%, its highest level ever, following attack on Natanz nuclear facility

OpIndia Staff
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Iran increases its uranium enrichment programme to 60%, its highest level ever, following attack on Natanz nuclear facility

Following an attack on its Natanz nuclear site, widely believed to have been carried out by Israel, Iran on Friday started enriching uranium up to 60 per cent purity, its highest level ever.

The development was announced by parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, who said that Iran has increased enriching uranium to 60 per cent purity, marking a significant escalation of tensions with the United States that was reportedly hammering out a proposal to curb Iran’s nuclear capabilities.

“The will of the Iranian nation is a miracle-maker and it will defuse any conspiracy,” state television quoted Qalibaf as saying. He said the enrichment began just shortly after midnight Friday.

“We are now getting nine grams per hour,” Ali Akbar Salehi of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said on state television, confirming the development. Salehi made the announcement after it was revealed by the speaker.

It is important to note that the initial announcement did not come from the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, the country’s civilian nuclear arm, and instead came from Qalibaf, known for being a hard-line politician and a former leader in the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard already named as a potential presidential candidate in Iran’s upcoming June election.

The development is likely to cast a shadow over Iran’s negotiations with world powers in Vienna over a way to include the United States back into the agreement and lift the crippling economic sanctions it faces.

Frustrated by a series of mysterious attack against its nuclear plants and nuclear scientists, Iran had vowed to increase it uranium enriching capability to 60 per cent from its previous 20 per cent.

While 60 per cent is higher than any level Iran previously enriched uranium, it is still lower than weapons-grade levels of 90 per cent.

Though analysts had then claimed that it was practically impossible for Iran to reach that level of uranium purification, they also raised alarms that if Iran managed to start enriching uranium to 60 per cent, it would be a short step from bomb fuel, which is typically considered 90 per cent or higher in purity.

Israel likely behind the sabotage at Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility

Recently, thousands of machines used to refine nuclear material were destroyed or damaged in an attack at a key site on Sunday when the facility faced a power cut. The inexplicable sabotage at Natanz, Iran’s main enrichment site, had rendered most of the centrifuges damaged and not in the condition to be used. Centrifuges play a pivotal role in the enrichment of uranium to a rarefied level.

Though Israel has not explicitly claimed responsibility of the attack on Natanz nuclear facility, it is widely believed that the sabotage took place under the directions of Tel Aviv. For months now, Israel has been diligently involved in scuttling Iran’s nuclear ambitions. According to Israeli state media, the apparent power cut at the facility was caused by an Israeli cyber operation.

Read- Uranium, missiles and flip-flops: A brief history of the fissions and fusions of US-Iran relations over the years

Israel sees Iran’s nuclear programme as a potential threat to its existence and is determined to prevent Iran from achieving nuclear weapons expertise.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had pledged that he would not allow Iran from gaining the nuclear weapons expertise and his country had twice preventively carried out attacks on the middle-east nations to destroy their atomic programmes.

Shekhar Gupta’s ThePrint accuses the centre of issuing diktats to states on COVID-19, which is far from the truth

Editorial Desk
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Shekhar Gupta’s ThePrint accuses the centre of issuing diktats to states on COVID-19, which is far from the truth

ThePrint editor Shekhar Gupta, who has an ‘expert opinion’ to make on every subject under the sun, has now decided that the central government is responsible for the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic gripping the country. In its latest editorial titled the 50WordEdit of the portal, ThePrint claimed that the Narendra Modi government made the mistake of treating India as a monolith in its Covid management. They claimed that the Modi govt adopted a ‘one size fits all approach, which forces the states to follow diktats from the top and robbed their agency to deal with the pandemic based on their own realities and needs’.

The benefit of commentary like 50WordEdit is that, they can make serious allegations without elaborating on it. without giving any evidence. And this is one such example. Shekhar Gupta claims Modi govt took a one-size-fits-all approach, but didn’t give a single example. Because, there is none, at least from recent times.

It is true that the Indian govt started with this approach at the beginning when the nationwide lockdown was imposed. But after that, there is not any major decision that does not give any flexibility to the states. After the lockdowns were opened up gradually, the orders by the home ministry gave the states the power to decide to impose additional restrictions as per their needs. And states too acted accordingly, for example, different states opened up schools and colleges at different times, based on the Covid situation in their states.

Even now, several states have imposed various restrictions on movement of people to contain the infection, and there is no evidence of the centre not allowing states to decide on their own in such matters.

It needs to be remembered that healthcare is a state subject, and it is up to the state governments to upgrade and strengthen then health infrastructure. State health departments are responsible for the management of healthcare facilities for Covid patients, the centre has not many roles in it apart from extending a helping hand. States were and are free to create new facilities, dedicate new facilities for Covid care, to strengthen testing infrastructure, contract tracing of positive cases etc. There was no diktat from the Modi government regarding such things to the state govts, so it is not clear what ThePrint wants to mean by saying that centre treated India as a monolith.

States have been free to decide their own quarantine, isolation and testing policy from the beginning. While some states made it mandatory to test every incoming passenger and quarantine them, some others didn’t, while others decided on the basis of the source of the passengers. Similarly, some states ordered private hospitals to set aside beds and ICU units for COVID-19 and claimed to have ‘created’ new facilities, while many other states actually built giant temporary hospitals. These examples do not point toward any diktat from the centre to states to follow any particular strategy, as they implemented different strategies to deal with the pandemic.

Contrary to the claim by ThePrint, the central govt is constantly engaging the states in deciding strategies to win the Corona war. PM Narendra Modi has himself held almost a dozen meetings with the chief ministers over the issue. The latest such meeting was on 8th April, where at least some of the opposition CMs were looked like not interested in the serious matter. In the meeting hold via video conferencing which was open for the public to view, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal seemed to be bored, as he was seen slouching on the chair, stretching his hands, and occasionally laughing. Uddhav Thackeray, which heads the state with highest numbers of Covid cases at present, was seen fiddling with his phone, instead of listening what others were saying. Mamata Banerjee, another opposition CM, didn’t even attend the meeting, like several earlier ones.

Soon after the meeting, the central govt accepted one demand made by the govts of Maharashtra and some other states, when it removed the requirement for local bridge trials for COVID-19 vaccines which have been approved by US, EU, UK, Japan or WHO. This punctures the claim that the centre is diktating terms to the states, but it is not the only example of Modi govt listening to state governments on the war against Coronavirus.

The central govt has accepted several such demands in the past one year. The first such major decision was to run special trains to allow migrant labours to return to their home states during the lockdown, agreeing to demands of some opposition ruled states. While the Modi government’s idea was that everyone will stay where they are to prevent the spread of the virus, opposition CMs like Uddhav Thackeray and Arvind Kejriwal didn’t agree to this, and sabotaged the situation by triggering protests by the migrants wanting to return home. After the situation was worsened by a motivated media campaign, the centre was forced to allow the movement of migrants, which ultimately resulted in the virus spreading all over the country riding the trains.

There is not a single evidence that the Modi govt prevented the states from gearing up their health infrastructure. This 50WordEdit by Shekhar Gupta seems nothing else but the ongoing left-liberal media effort to absolve Maharashtra govt of any blame for the Covid-19 situation in the state. The state alone accounts for almost 45% of total active cases in the country, with test positivity rate hovering above 25%. But the left-liberals can’t stop admiring how Uddhav Thackeray sounds ‘reassuring’ when he speaks, completely ignoring the massive mismanagement of the state govt in dealing with the pandemic.

Justice Chandrachud apologises to a lawyer, asks him to go rest since he was fasting for Ramzan

OpIndia Staff
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Justice Chandrachud apologises to a lawyer, asks him to go rest since he was fasting for Ramzan

On Friday (April 16), Justice Chandrachud of the Supreme Court apologised to a Muslim lawyer for not knowing that he had been fasting during the month of Ramzan.

Live Law reported that a lawyer appeared before a 2-Judge Bench of Justice Chandrachud and Justice MR Shah on Friday and pleaded that his matter is listed after Ramzan. “I have been waiting (for the item to reach) all day “, he petitioned. On learning about his ordeal, a disappointed Justice Chandrachud told that the petitioner should have informed him about his fast in the morning itself.

Screengrab of the tweet by Live Law

The Supreme Court Justice said, “I am sorry. You should have mentioned it in the morning, we would have adjourned it. Please go and rest now.” He further added that he has high reverence for those who could fast all day, without drinking a drop of water. “I really admire the ability to fast for whole days without even a drop of water,” Justice Chandrachud concluded.

Screengrab of the tweet by Live Law

Ramzan, the holy month for Muslims, began on the evening of the 13th of April and will end on the evening of the 12th of May.

Rally of dead bodies, threats against CRPF, lying and scaring with ‘detention camps’ so people don’t vote: What viral audio of Mamata Banerjee means

OpIndia Staff
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Rally of dead bodies, threats against CRPF, lying and scaring with ‘detention camps’ so people don’t vote: What viral audio of Mamata Banerjee means

Ahead of the 5th phase of Vidhan Sabha polls in the State of West Bengal, an alleged audio clip of a conversation between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Partha Pratim Roy has appeared on social media.

On Friday (April 16), journalist Payal Mehta shared the alleged audio clip on Twitter. In the said clip, Mamata Banerjee could be heard threatening to jail central armed forces for gunning down four miscreants from the TMC, who had tried to snatch their weapons. Banerjee was heard telling Roy to organise a political rally with the dead bodies in a bid to stir public sympathy and secure votes amidst the ongoing polls.

“Partha, cast your vote first and then we will sit and decide. I will get everyone arrested, including CRPF. Keep all the dead bodies. We will take out a rally with the corpses. Tomorrow, there will be a rally with the dead bodies. Tell their families that the dead bodies can’t be handed over to them. Everything will be fine. Cast your vote and keep calm. They are doing this so that you cannot cast your vote,” Mamata Banerjee said.

She then inquired about the political affiliation of those who were shot by the CRPF. On learning that the deceased are workers of her own party, Mamata Banerjee advised Partha Pratim Roy to lodge a First Information Report (FIR) with the help of lawyers. “File an FIR. Hire a lawyer and don’t do it yourself. I will tell the family members to file FIR after the election. Even police won’t take any statement of the family members now,” she added.

The TMC supremo then said, “We have to file a strong case in consultation with a lawyer. So that everyone can be framed, including their command zone, SP and even the IC. Now, keep calm and vote. Keep strength to our polling agents. Go to the booths and tell people that the security personnel did this so that people are afraid to cast their vote. (Tell that) they (BJP) are doing this to implement NPR and build detention camps.”

BJP leader Swapan Dasgupta commented on the audio, saying that it shows “her utter cynicism & desire to create a political narrative over dead bodies”.

Mob attacks CISF in Sitalkuchi after Mamata Banerjee urged ‘gherao’

A mob attacked the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) soldiers during the fourth phase of elections in West Bengal after TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee asked her followers to gherao the central forces. Four TMC workers were killed after the CISF fired on the violent mob. As per reports, the incident took place at the Jorpatki area of the Mathabhanga block in the Sitalkuchi Legislative Assembly of Cooch Behar district.

Cooch Behar SP defended the CISF action against the lumpen elements, saying that the action was an act of ‘self-defense’. He said that a mob of 300-350 men had attacked the CISF team and tried to snatch their arms that forced the team to open fire on the miscreants. The deceased have been identified as Monirujjaman (28), Hamidul Miyan (30), Nur Alma Miyan (21) and Samiul Haque (20).

As per multiple reports, four people died after central forces open-fired in a polling booth in self-defence, while at another place one person died after miscreants opened fire. Sitalkuchi was on the boil since early morning. According to reports, bombs were hurled outside the booth. Some groups had also opened fire while the police managed to recover bombs from the area, India Today reported.

US intelligence backtracks on Russian bounty claims, here is how media ran unfounded stories to damage Trump’s re-election bid

Dibakar Dutta
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US intelligence backtracks on Russian bounty claims, here is how media ran unfounded stories to damage Trump’s re-election bid

On Thursday (April 15), the US intelligence community finally backtracked on its 2020 report about Russia allegedly offering money to Taliban jihadists to kill American soldiers.

The controversy came to light after the New York Times (NYT) published an article titled, ‘Russia Secretly Offered Afghan Militants Bounties to Kill U.S. Troops, Intelligence Says’ on June 26, 2020. “American intelligence officials have concluded that a Russian military intelligence unit secretly offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants for killing coalition forces in Afghanistan — including targeting American troops — amid the peace talks to end the long-running war there, according to officials briefed on the matter,” the report said.

Throughout the article, NYT insinuated that the Donald Trump administration was privy to the Intelligence report and did not respond to the issue of Russian bounty on American soldiers’ heads. “The officials familiar with the intelligence did not explain the White House delay in deciding how to respond to the intelligence about Russia,” the report added. Furthermore, it alleged, “The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the delicate intelligence and internal deliberations. They said the intelligence had been treated as a closely held secret,” it read.

Screengrab of the New York Times report

The article went on to quote Intelligence officials to allege that the report was shared with the British government, whose forces were among those targetted by the Taliban. It reiterated, “While officials were said to be confident about the intelligence that Russian operatives offered and paid bounties to Afghan militants for killing Americans, they have greater uncertainty about how high in the Russian government the covert operation was authorized and what its aim may be.”

The politics behind the Russian bounty story

The story was published just 2 months ahead of the crucial 2020 US Presidential elections. And it caused a huge dent in the former President Donald Trump’s re-election bid. The mainstream media and the Democratic party was quick to pounce on it and alleged that Trump had been incompetent in taking action and thereby risked the lives of US soldiers.

The Russian bounty story, which was not based on conclusive evidence, became the talking point of the media. Despite Donald Trump calling it a hoax, the propaganda machinery dismissed his remarks as a ‘lie’ and continued to tarnish the Trump administration. It must be mentioned that Trump had clarified that he was not briefed about the story as there was ‘no consensus’ about the credibility of the Intelligence report.

Daily caller made a compilation of several such media networks including ABC News, CNN, and MSNBC. This was the talking point and the idea of Trump’s alleged incompetency was reinforced in the minds of the viewers/voters. Trump, who had come to power with the hope of ‘Making America Great Again’, failed to counter the vicious narrative that he was being targetted to by the Left lobby in the US.

Donald Trump, whose account has now been suspended, had tweeted, “The Russia Bounty story is just another made up by Fake News tale that is told only to damage me and the Republican Party. The secret source probably does not even exist, just like the story itself. If the discredited @nytimes has a source, reveal it. Just another HOAX! “

Screengrab of the tweet

The incumbent US President Joe Biden had claimed it to be a ‘dereliction of duty’ on Trump’s part. Both Republican and Democrat lawmakers asked the then government to respond about the course of action taken in the aftermath of the report.

US Intelligence agencies backtracks on its ‘Russian bounty story’

However, on Thursday, a senior official of the Biden administration hinted that the ‘Russian bounty story’ might as well have been untrue and unproven. The development comes 3 months after Joe Biden assumed the charge at the White House. The official claimed, “The United States intelligence community assesses with low to moderate confidence that Russian intelligence officers sought to encourage Taliban attacks against U.S. and coalition personnel in Afghanistan in 2019, and perhaps earlier, including through financial incentives and compensation.”

He further added, “U.S. intelligence community agencies have low to moderate confidence in this judgment in part because it relies on detainee reporting, and due to the challenging operating environment in Afghanistan, our conclusion is based on information and evidence of connections between criminal agents in Afghanistan and elements of the Russian government.”

The revelation has now become a source of embarrassment for the Biden administration, as it proclaimed Russia’s threat as a grave threat and initiated sanctions against its officials. The sanctions have been imposed in the aftermath of the poisoning of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, the alleged role of Russia in 2020 elections, and the SolarWinds hack. When asked whether Joe Biden regretted attacking Trump over it, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that she would not comment on the previous administration but added that there was enough concern for the Intel to look into the matter.

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