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Coronavirus outbreak: Despite 10-day lockdown, Pune’s COVID-19 woes turn from bad to worse

OpIndia Staff
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Coronavirus outbreak: Despite 10-day lockdown, Pune’s COVID-19 woes turn from bad to worse

As the scourge of coronavirus sweeps across India, the city of Pune has emerged as one of the most potent COVID-19 clusters in the country. The situation in Pune in Maharashtra is particularly dire as the number of caseloads continues to rise sharply.

Despite enforcing a strict 10-day lockdown to arrest the precipitous rise in the coronavirus cases, the penultimate day before the lockdown got over saw a record highest single-day spike of 3,218 in the number of case. The 10-day lockdown in Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad drew to an end on Thursday, July 23.

However, the inexorable surge in the number of coronavirus cases is a testimony to the spectacular failure that the lockdown had been, notwithstanding the economic losses induced by the restrictions.

While the spike in the case can also be attributed to the increased capacity of testing conducted in the city, but the mounting number of cases during a 10-day lockdown period demonstrates that Pune’s coronavirus outbreak is in acute state.

The decision to go on a 10-day lockdown from July 14 to July 23 was taken by Pune district administration with the view to break the transmission cycle of the virus. The decision to impose a lockdown was taken at a review meeting on the Covid-19 situation, attended by Deputy Chief Minister and Pune District’s Guardian Minister, Ajit Pawar, and senior officials.

However, the increased number of cases reported from Pune reveal that lockdown imposed in the city and its exurbs did little to stifle the relentless march of the contagion. While the administrators claimed that the lockdown will help the city in curtailing the number of cases, data from the eight locations that witnessed total lockdown during this month showed that the restrictions had little impact on reducing the spread of the virus in the city.

BJP MLA wrote a letter to PM Modi accusing Maha Vikas Aghadi of negligence towards Pune

A letter written by BJP MLA from Shivajinagar constituency in Pune forewarned the central government and PM Modi of the looming threat of coronavirus crisis facing Pune. In a scathing criticism of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra, Shirole said that the Maharashtra government has left Pune to fend for itself from the surging coronavirus spread. He has accused the government of gross negligence which has pushed the city on the cusp of a medical calamity.

“Pune is just a few days away from a catastrophe. The state government has failed on multiple levels and the citizens are left to fend for themselves. Hence behalf of every citizen of Pune, I seek your intervention and support from the Central Government to provide our city much needed medical infrastructure it needs including large COVID centre,” Shirole requested the centre in a letter marked to PM Modi.

Shirole has further added that the chief minister of the state has till date not called for an update or review meeting via phone/video conference with the elected representatives of Pune and with the ground authorities. Accusing the Maharashtra government of abdication of their duty, Shirole has claimed that even emails from his office have not elicited a response from the establishment.

“Leadership that is paramount in times of crisis is acutely missing. Honourable Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray ji has not made a single visit to Pune in the last 100 days either to oversee the preparedness of the administration or even to encourage the COVID warriors fighting on the frontlines,” the letter read.

Rajasthan: CM Ashok Gehlot threatens mass uprising against the governor, Congress MLAs protest outside Raj Bhawan

OpIndia Staff
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Rajasthan: CM Ashok Gehlot threatens mass uprising against the governor, Congress MLAs protest outside Raj Bhawan

In an unprecedented incident, Congress MLAs backing Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot were seen demonstrating outside the Raj Bhavan, the official residence of the Governor. Despite the fact that Gehlot and Governor Kalraj Mishra already had a meeting between over the issue of ‘commencement of Assembly session’. The Congress supporters were heard shouting slogans such as ‘This autocracy will not be allowed’, ‘justice is our war cry’, and ‘we are with Ashok Gehlot.’

Ashok Gehlot threatens mass uprising

Earlier, in a press briefing, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot urged Governor Kalraj Mishra to commence the Assembly session in order to allow discussion on the rising cases of Wuhan Coronavirus and the current political conundrum in the State. Gehlot, who also has the home ministry, effectively said that if the governor does not comply with their demands, the public will surround the Raj Bhawan and then it will not be his responsibility.

“We will request you to not bow down to any pressure. It’s a constitutional post. You have taken the oath (to uphold the Constitution. Take a decision on the basis of the constitution. If you don’t comply, then it is possible that a mass uprising can take place. And if people gherao Raj Bhavan, then it won’t be our responsibility,” Ashok Gehlot warned.

Governor Kalraj Mishra had earlier met Gehlot and has also interacted with the protesting MLAs.

Political crisis in Rajasthan

The divide with Rajasthan government became public after former Deputy CM Sachin Pilot moved to Delhi with a group of MLAs, claiming that the Gehlot government has lost majority. As the speculations of government collapse grew louder, Gehlot had over his loyal MLAs to the Fairmont Hotel in Jaipur.

On July 14, the Congress party sacked the rebel Congress leader Sachin Pilot from the post of Deputy Chief Minister of the state for allegedly conspiring to topple the government, in collusion with the BJP. The rebel leader has recently moved the Rajasthan High Court challenging the disqualification notices issued to them by the state Assembly speaker on the behest of the State CM. Earlier, Ashok Gehlot had also mocked Pilot for being “nikamma and nakaara’ (useless) and revealed that the duo had not been on talking terms for 1.5 years.

Anurag Kashyap paints late Sushant Singh Rajput as unprofessional just before Sushant’s last film Dil Bechara releases

OpIndia Staff
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Anurag Kashyap paints late Sushant Singh Rajput as unprofessional just before Sushant’s last film Dil Bechara releases

Over a month after actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s tragic demise and on the day his film Dil Bechara is scheduled to release on one of the popular Over the top (OTT) media services, film director Anurag Kashyap targeted the actor and levelled explosive allegations against him.

Anurag Kashyap alleges Sushant Singh Rajput ghosted him after MS Dhoni’s spectacular success

Kashyap, in an interview published on Bollywood tabloid Filmfare, alleged that Sushant Singh Rajput “ghosted” on him following the spectacular success of his movie–”MS Dhoni–The untold story“. Kashyap claimed that he had narrated the story of “Mukkabaaz” to Sushant before the release of MS Dhoni but after it became super-hit, Sushant did not call him back and he had to go on with “Mukkabaaz” without him.

“Years later, in 2016, before the release of MS Dhoni: The Untold Story. I’d written a script, again Mukesh Chhabra went to Sushant. He told him that Anurag had written a script in which he’s looking for an actor/star who is based out of Uttar Pradesh. Sushant heard the script; Dhoni released, Dhoni became a super-hit, he didn’t call me back. I’m not upset, I moved on and went ahead with Mukkabaaz. It’s not like anybody’s upset. I’m so used to this,” Filmfare quoted Kashyap as saying.

Sushant Singh Rajput sought validation from established production houses: Anurag Kashyap

Kashyap also added that like any other outsider or newcomer, Sushant Singh Rajput also craved for validation from established production houses. He claimed that Rajput had apparently walked out of his movie “Hasee Toh Phasee” to work with YRF on “Shuddh Desi Romance“.

“Mukesh Chhabra used to work from my office. We, at Phantom, were making ‘Hasee Toh Phasee‘. We started with Sushant Singh Rajput and then approached Parineeti Chopra. He (Sushant) then went to YRF which gave him a deal to work on Shuddh Desi Romance. He chose the YRF film and dropped Hasee Toh Phasee– a film of an outsider,” Kashyap said.

Alleging that Sushant was seeking recognition from renowned production houses, Kashyap added, “He chose a movie like Drive over the one I was doing because he wanted to work with Dharma. Now people are using his death to drag everybody down.”

The allegations came amidst the raging debate over the prevalence of nepotism in the industry. The debate was sparked off after the shocking death of Sushant Singh Rajput, a quintessential outsider in the Bollywood industry, who gave up his life by committing suicide on June 14, 2020. His sudden demise provoked outrage among his fans and other celebrities such as Kangana Ranaut, who alleged that Bollywood bigwigs’ proclivity of perpetuating nepotism in the industry is one of the reasons why Sushant Singh Rajput took such a drastic decision of ending his life.

Jewish group bullies Indian-origin student in USA for saying that Hindu ‘Swastika’ is a peace symbol and different from Nazi symbol

OpIndia Staff
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Jewish group bullies Indian-origin student in USA for saying that Hindu ‘Swastika’ is a peace symbol and different from Nazi symbol

On Friday, a 21-year-old student named Simran Tatuskar had to face a tremendous amount of bullying on social media after she had tried to portray ‘Swastika’ as a peaceful symbol and include it in the school syllabus. Simran a student of the Brandeis University in Massachusetts, USA.

However, a Twitter handle ‘StopAntisemitism.org’, who claims to expose antisemitism on social media, attacked the Indian-origin Simran Tatuskar for her attempts to introduce ‘Swastika’ in the school syllabus and claimed that she was trying to normalise the “largest symbol of hate in America”.

In its further tweet, the Anti-antisemitism group wrote, “In Nazi Germany, one of the first thing antisemites did was erase the history and persecution of the Jews, minimize their struggles and appropriate their beings. By normalizing the swastika, this is repeating that vicious cycle,”.

As the self-proclaimed protectors of Jews began to harass the Indian-origin Simran Tatuskar, many Indian social media users rallied behind her to school the social media handle for bullying the young girl and also described how Hindu Swastika was entirely different from ‘Nazi Hakenkreuz’ or the hooked cross – the symbol of Nazis, which is often confused with Hindu symbol of ‘Swastika’ due to similar appearance.

Several users also slammed the self-proclaimed vigilantes fighting the anti-Semitism regarding not only their ignorance about Hindu culture but also for defaming symbols associated with Hinduism.

Another social media, supporting Simran, said that the social media handle ‘StopAntisemites’ should immediately issue an apology to her and Hindus for their vile campaign. The user said that such witch-hunting by certain jews will only alienate friends and asked the group to educate themselves before launching such attacks to bully young students.

American politician and a prominent Jew leader David B Cohen also joined the debate, saying that “Hindus, Buddhists & Jains should teach us the true meaning of an important symbol of their cultures, & how the Nazis stole & perverted it. India’s one of the only places where the majority never discriminated vs. Jews.” He said that he knows real antisemitism, and Simran’s comments are not antisemitic. “If a hate group appropriated the Star of David, Jews wouldn’t abandon the symbol. We’d reclaim it and educate others on why it’s important to us,” he further said, although adding that Jews justifiably have a very strong visceral reaction against the Nazi symbol, so it’s always best to proceed with patience and compassion on these matters.

Hindu swastika vs Nazi hooked cross

The ignorance of the handle ‘StopAntiSemites’ was such that it evoked response from senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi. Taking to Twitter, Abhishek Manu Singhvi wrote that Hindu ‘Swastika’ was not the same as the ‘Nazi Hakenkreuz’.

The senior Supreme Court advocate added that Hindus, Buddhists, Jains use ‘Swastika’ as a symbol of peace and prosperity, while Nazis misused the symbol. This is the same as demonizing any other religion for misuse of its tenets and should be discouraged and condemned, he added.

Despite all the clarification by various social media users, the ‘StopAntiSemites’ did not stop threatening and bullying the 21-year-old student for her attempts to restore the real meaning and significance of the ‘Swastika’. As the fallout for the constant bullying, Simran Tatuskar had to clarify her position on the issue and issued deep regrets for the unintentional misunderstanding.

Read- The Swastika in Charlottesville: the symbol needs to be reclaimed from Nazis

After receiving wide-spread criticism on social media its bullying, ‘StopAntisemites’ tried to claim victory and close the matter by saying that Simran has apologised. But a reading of her statement shows that she has not apolologised, but only clarified her position. She only regretted due to misunderstanding created by her post, but didn’t apologised for that.

Simran Tatuskar, in an Instagram post, said, “I would like to clarify my original statement because I regret the misunderstandings that it has caused, and this is an issue for me and my community”.

She added that the ‘Nazi swastika’ represents the horrors of the Holocaust. However, she said, “As someone who is not Jewish, I know I cannot fully understand the Jewish experience and feelings my post evoked, but I never wanted to harm anyone.”

“When I included both symbols in my original post, I wanted to show the visual differences of the left-facing hooked cross Nazi swastika and the right-facing Hindu/Buddhist/Jain swastika for those who were unaware of the difference,” she wrote.

Congress supporter’s PIL against Ayodhya Ram Mandir Bhoomi Pujan dismissed by Allahabad High Court

OpIndia Staff
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Congress supporter’s PIL against Ayodhya Ram Mandir Bhoomi Pujan dismissed by Allahabad High Court

In a big setback for the anti-Hindu lobby in the Congress party, the Allahabad High Court on Friday dismissed the petition filed by Congress supporter Saket Gokhale seeking a stay on the ‘Bhumi Pujan’ ceremony of Ram Mandir at Ayodhya on August 5.

On Friday, the Allahabad High Court quashed the plea filed by Congress supporter Saket Gokhale observing that the entire petition was filed on the basis of assumptions.

The petition was heard by the Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court Justice Govind Mathura and Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh on Friday.

Image courtesy: Allahabad HC website

Earlier, the Congress party supporter Saket Gokhale had filed in Allahabad High Court demanding a stay on the Bhoomi Pujan ceremony at Ayodhya claiming that it is a ‘violation of the coronavirus guidelines’.

The petition filed by Congress supporter Saket Gokhale claimed that the Bhoomi Pujan at Ayodhya is a violation of the ‘Unlock 2.0’ guidelines and demanded the court to stay the event in the interest of public health during a pandemic.

On the issue of historic event violating the coronavirus lockdown, the High Court observed that there is no foundation for the claims and the entire petition is based on assumptions. The HC also noted that they expect the organisers and the Uttar Pradesh government will ensure that all the protocols including enforcing strict social distancing norms will be followed.

“In the view of whatever stated above, we do not find any just reason to interfere in the matter. The writ petition is dismissed.” noted the Allahabad High Court bench.

Ram Mandir Bhoomi Pujan event to be held on August 5, 150 to attend

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting Ayodhya for Bhumi Pujan of Shri Ram Mandir on August 5. The ceremony will be graced by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath among several other invitees.

BJP stalwart and former deputy prime minister LK Advani, who was instrumental in shaping the Ram Mandir movement, is likely to accompany Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the historic event. The Ram Janmabhoomi Tirtha Kshetra has invited 150 guests – including Shiv Sena Supremo Uddhav Thackeray, BJP veterans Murli Manohar Joshi, Home Minister Amit Shah and several CMs, asserting that all rules of social distancing will be followed.

The trust has estimated that construction of the temple will be completed in the next three years i.e by 2023.

Pakistan journalist Hamid Mir speaks on Matiullah abduction case, hints at ISI and the army facilitating intimidation of media persons

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan journalist Hamid Mir speaks on Matiullah abduction case, hints at ISI and the army facilitating intimidation of media persons

While speaking to Voice of America (VOA), Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir hinted at the role of the Pakistan army and its Intelligence agency ISI in masterminding the abduction of fellow journalist Matiullah Jan. At the very onset, Mir accused the Inspector General (IG) of deliberately not appearing before the Supreme Court of Pakistan in a bid to avoid furnishing the CCTV footage which indicates the role of ‘non-civilian authority’ in the forced disappearance of the journalist.

“IG did not come to Court because he knew that the Chief Justice will ask him to produce the footage of safe city cameras. In the footage, it is clearly visible that Matiullah Jan was abducted from outside a school by people who were dressed in police uniform. They had even used a police car for the operation. They wanted to give the impression that it was executed by the cops. However, the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) has refuted claims of any police involvement in the case. According to my information, the civilian government, civilian agencies or the Islamabad police have no role in his abduction.”

Involvement of ‘non-civilian authority’

Hamid Mir informed that he was too unsure about the role of ‘non-civilian’ authority in the forced disappearance of Matiullah Jan, until segments of his show were ‘censored’ by those who have been ‘historically’ accused of executing such abductions. “The last segment of my show was about Matiullah Jan wherein I talked with Ijaz Shah since he was the first to retrieve the CCTV footage. … First, they edited the opening remarks about the journalist’s disappearance. Then, I learnt that more such cuts are being made to the show. And this was done on the behest of a non-civilian authority… The story became crystal clear to me… The accused are those who have been involved in such incidents even in the past.”

Hamid Mir laments about declining press freedom

He explained how the not-to-be-named agency is imposing censorship on Geo News. Mir stated, “They have put Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman behind bars through NAB. Now they use him as a bargaining chip. They call up the Editor-in-Chief and direct them to censor inconvenient things… This is the state of press freedom in Pakistan. When I was attacked, I had named 3 people who I believed was responsible for the attack. And guess what? They never appeared before the court. If you were innocent, then, you could have and argued in court.”

Hamid Mir explains the ‘vulnerability’ of Pakistanis

“Everyone is vulnerable in Islamabad, including bureaucrats, politicians, ministers and opposition leaders. You can come and abduct anyone you want in a police uniform. The cops will deny it and the IG will not disclose the CCTV footage. As such, you have shamed Pakistan all over the world. Earlier, a Minister had made a mockery and now the security agencies are making a mockery of this country,” Hamid Mir concluded.

The abduction of Matiullah Jan

A vocal critic of Pakistan army, Matiullah Jan, was kidnapped on Tuesday, 21 July, from Sector G-6 in Islamabad. Reportedly, he was blindfolded and taken to an unknown location. As per reports, he was driven around the Capital city before being released in an abandoned area in Fateh Jang some 12 hours later. His wife Kaneez Sughra said, “There were more than five people — some in civilian clothes, others in black uniforms — who forcibly picked up my husband.”

Matiullah Jan worked as a freelance journalist and has been written for domestic and international media outlets.

The abduction came a day before he was set to appear before Pakistan’s top court, where he is facing contempt proceedings over a tweet which was critical of Pakistan’s judges and military. His wife had stated that Jan was being pressurised not to attend the court hearing and plead for forgiveness.

Karan Acharya, the artist behind the Rudra Hanuman portrait, puts life into the cloud, wins hearts

OpIndia Staff
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Karan Acharya, the artist behind the Rudra Hanuman portrait, puts life into the cloud, wins hearts

Sharing an image of a naturally occurring cloud, a social media user took to Twitter to request Karan Acharya, the Mangaluru based sketch artist whose ‘Rudra Hanuman’ poster had rattled the leftist ecosystem and people belonging to a particular political spectrum a couple of years ago, to put some life into the image. The talented graphic designer used the image to give it the form of the widely revered Hindu god, Lord Ganesh.

This exemplary artwork won him a lot of accolades on social media. Many praised Karan Acharya for his out of the box imagination and called the artist “blessed”. People were overwhelmed to see how the Mangaluru based graphic designer breathed life into an ordinary picture of a cloud to give it the shape of Lord Ganesha.

Lord Ganesha is one of the most popular Hindu deity, revered as the remover of obstacles. Hindus offer prayers to Ganesha before conducting any Puja or beginning a new project as he is believed to be the Vighna Harta (remover of obstacles), and Hindus widely believe that revering Lord Ganesha before any important task would remove hurdles on the path of success.

As the construction of the historic Ram Temple in Ayodhya is to begin soon, one social media user also asked the artist to make a sketch of Lord Ram as magnificent as the famous Angry Hanuman.

When Karan Acharya became the focal point for his “Rudra Hanuman”

Karan Acharya is the same artist who’s “Rudra Hanuman” poster had given a lot of heartburns to the usual coterie of leftists. The liberal ecosystem backed by people of a particular political spectrum had descended upon the artist, criticising his artwork and equating it with Hindu militancy.

The controversial leftist propaganda website, The Wire, in its vitriolic article titled ‘Militant Hinduism and the Reincarnation of Hanuman’ had said that Hindutva had transformed the ‘benign’ Lord Hanuman into an aggressive ‘destroyer. It contained phrases like “his thunderous expression spells danger, and makes it clear he is no longer a server but a destroyer”. It also proceeded to paint a reincarnation of Hanuman, who it claimed radiated mean energy, in a face filled with frown lines. The Wire furthered that such visuals were an indicator of how in the last few years militant Hinduism has grown roots in India.

The concerted attack on Lord Hanuman had in fact, also prompted some to give 1 stars to Uber drivers for having pictures of the God in their cars.

However, these criticisms were soon overshadowed by the immense love and acclamation the artwork received on social media. Besides receiving the Prime Minister’s support, who had accused Congress of not tolerating “magnificent art”, Acharya’s “Rudra Hanuman” had received a lot of adulation on Twitter. People had then tweeted various pictures of the God with the hashtag #BajrangiTwitter. Since then, an online t-shirt portal, TShirtBhaiya.com has launched t-shirts featuring the image created by Karan Acharya after taking due permission from the artist to use his image commercially.

Congress, India Today get together to promote Rahul Gandhi, end up adding imaginary zeroes in social media views. Read details

OpIndia Staff
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Congress, India Today get together to promote Rahul Gandhi, end up adding imaginary zeroes in social media views. Read details

In what appears as another desperate effort to relaunch the Gandhi Scion–Rahul Gandhi for the nth time, India Today’s notorious “Data Intelligence Unit” seems to have colluded with the Congress party to exaggerate the reach of his recent videos lambasting the Central Government vis-à-vis the Line of Actual Control stand-off with China.

Quoting the Congress social media cell, the India Today report claimed that the videos released by the former Congress president on July 17 and July 20 had so far garnered 15 crore views. “Both videos have been watched by four crore people on Twitter, six crores on Facebook, two crores on Youtube, and shared by two crore users on WhatsApp,” the report published by India Today read.

Rahul Gandhi’s first two videos on Twitter have approximately 45 lakh views, not 4 crores

However, a cursory glance at Rahul Gandhi’s Tweets about the videos criticising PM Modi on the India-China border dispute reveals the true extent of its reach. The India Today report stated that Rahul Gandhi’s videos had been watched by over 4 crore people on Twitter. But the count of views on the video shared by him on the microblogging website suggests otherwise. Rahul Gandhi’s first video which was released on July 17 has so far accumulated 2.7 million views which translates to 27 lakh views.

The Wayanad MP’s subsequent video that was released three days later on July 20, 2020, racked up 1.8 million views, that’s equivalent to 18 lakhs.

The combined views of the two videos are just 45 lakhs, which is nowhere close to the inflated claims of “4 crores” by the Congress social media cell and the India Today report. Perhaps, the Data Intelligence unit of India Today misinterpreted 4.5 million as about 4.5 crores.

Six crore people on Facebook watched Rahul Gandhi’s video?

The tale of exaggeration of the reach of Rahul Gandhi’s videos on India-China stand-off on Facebook similar to that on Twitter. The India Today report overstated that the first two videos posted by Rahul Gandhi on his official Facebook account were viewed by over 6 crore people.

However, the first video posted by Rahul Gandhi on Facebook has been viewed by about 358,000 people so far and the second video uploaded on July 20, 2020, has been watched by 2,37,000 people.

First video on India-China stand-off posted by Rahul Gandhi on Facebook
Second video on the India-China standoff posted by Rahul Gandhi on Facebook

The total views of the two videos amount to around 5,95,000 views, which is approximately 5,000 short of the 6-lakh figure. Far from crossing the 6 crore-mark as stated by the India Today report, the videos have struggled to pass the half a million mark.

The reality about the claims made about YouTube views of Rahul Gandhi’s videos

The report goes on to assert that Rahul Gandhi’s popularity is soaring as people are associating themselves with the former Congress president in his critique against the current dispensation for sweeping under the rug the looming border crisis with China. Citing the Congress IT cell, the report contends that Rahul Gandhi’s attack against the government is gaining traction on Internet as 2 crore people have watched his first two videos on YouTube.

But Rahul Gandhi’s YouTube channel spills the truth that the Congress IT cell and India Today tried to hide with their embellishing account of his latest videos. The first video posted by Rahul Gandhi had so far garnered about 81,000 views while the second video, uploaded three days later, could fetch only 41,000 views until now.

First video on India-China conflict posted by Rahul Gandhi on YouTube

Second video on the India-China LAC standoff posted by Rahul Gandhi on YouTube

When combined, the overall reach of the two videos uploaded on YouTube is close to 1,22,000 but the Congress IT cell inflated it, claiming that 2 crore people have watched his videos on YouTube.

Were Rahul Gandhi’s videos shared by 2 crore people on Whatsapp?

Perhaps, the most outrageous claims made by the Congress IT cell in conjunction with India Today is that the first two videos of Rahul Gandhi were shared by over two crore people on Whatsapp. If one goes by the claims made about the YouTube, Twitter and Facebook views of the videos, it can be easily inferred that the assertions made in the article published on India Today are nothing but whoppers.

In addition to this, it is reasonable to assume that Whatsapp data cannot be accessed by a third party, let alone a political party, to assert that their leader’s reach is steadily expanding. Also, it is unlikely that Whatsapp alone has a staggering 2 crore shares while the videos on other social media platforms like Twitter, YouTube and Facebook registers below ordinary numbers.

Another launch attempt for Rahul Gandhi?

The India Today article about Rahul Gandhi’s so-called phenomenal popularity also added boastful lines from Congress. Congress Social Media cell head Rohan Gupta was quoted saying, “Rahul Ji is getting this kind of traction in his videos because when one speaks the truth, one connects with masses”.

India Today article that added extra zeros converting lakhs into crores

The fact that the Congress IT cell and India Today extrapolated 4.5 million views to 4 crores on Twitter, 6 lakhs to 6 crores on Facebook and 1,22,000 views to 2 crores on YouTube, demonstrates that in their bid to show the resurgence of Rahul Gandhi, they are even willing to embarrass themselves by getting the basic maths wrong.

Kerala: High Court refuses anticipatory bail, ‘activist’ Rehana Fathima to approach SC over controversial video case

OpIndia Staff
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Kerala: High Court refuses anticipatory bail, ‘activist’ Rehana Fathima to approach SC over controversial video case

On Friday, the Kerala High Court reportedly dismissed the anticipatory bail of ‘activist’ Rehana Fathima after she was booked for posting offensive social media video of minor children drawing on her naked body. As per reports, she has now decided to move to the apex court.

As per a report in Mathrubhumi, Fathima has informed that she is hoping for a ‘favourable judgment’ from the Supreme court. Meanwhile, she has also asked the state government to clarify its position on the said issue. The activist claimed that court verdicts are influenced by public opinion and that the phenomenon must change. “I hope to get a favourable judgment from the court. Law cannot always be favourable to a section of people. It is the same for everyone,” she concluded. Rehana Fathima emphasised that everyone has the responsibility of earning their own rights.

Reportedly, she has accused the State government of trying to save its face, amidst the raising debate surrounding the morality behind using minor children for painting on a naked body. Fathima alleged that the Kerala government led by Pinarayi Vijayan is ready to ‘sacrifice anyone and everyone’ and that it was a repetition of the government’s past track record. As per the reports, the government has asked the Kerala High Court to dismisses her anticipatory bail. It argued that people don’t have the rights to engage in ‘whatsoever activity’ with people, including their children, under the pretext of ‘art’. The Kerala government has also asked the court to take cognizance of the activist’s past actions.

‘Body painting’ gets Rehana Fathima in jail

Earlier, the Thiruvalla police of Pathanamthitta district in Kerala had booked Rehana Fathima, under the Juvenile Justice Act and section 67 of the Information Technology Act (Electronically transmitting sexually explicit content) for non-bailable offences. On June 19, she took to her youtube channel to post a 2:00 minute video where she was seen lying on the bed wearing only a pair of red shorts, while her children painted on her naked torso. She also uploaded the same on her Facebook page with hashtag #BodyArtPolitics. According to Rehana, the video was made to reiterate that women need to be open about sex and their bodies in a society where sex and nudity are taboo.

Fact-check: No, Govt of India is not selling 3 Khadi masks for Rs 999

OpIndia Staff
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Fact-check: No, Govt of India is not selling 3 Khadi masks for Rs 999

On Friday, several social media users took to Twitter to share images of an advertisement put out by a certain seller, who claims to be selling three Khadi masks for Rs 999.

The advertisement promotes Khadi masks, which has images of Prime Minister Modi alongside ‘Make in India’ logo. The masks which are priced at Rs 999 for a pack of three were soon passed off as the official masks being sold by the KVIC themselves.

Various social media users, sharing these images of masks, accused the government of selling Khadi masks at a higher price. The trolls associated with the Congress party even mocked Prime Minister Modi as his image was on the advertisement and called him ‘virus’.

Few other social media users said that it was an unacceptable act by the government to sell the Khadi masks at Rs 999. Claiming that safety of Khadi masks was not even guaranteed, another user claimed that the government was using pandemic to promote Khadi.

Trolls, associated with Aam Aadmi Party too jumped on to the scene to ask why would someone buy three masks for such a high price.

As rumours began to circulate that the government was selling masks at a higher price, the Khadi India themselves clarified on Twitter stating that the masks that are being sold at a higher price as ‘Khadi masks’, were not official masks which are being distributed across the country by KVIC.

The Khadi India also said that the manufacturers of these masks were fraudulently using the name of Khadi, to sell their products. “Our legal team is looking into this matter and will take strict action against such promotions,” said Khadi India confirming that these maks did not belong to them.

With an increase in demand for masks amidst the coronavirus pandemic, the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) had recently launched online sales of khadi face masks for affordable rates.

The online sales of masks, which was to be sold at a nominal rate of Rs 30, was started as to benefit people in the remotest parts of the country, particularly those who cannot afford to move out of their houses or visit Khadi India outlets due to various constraints.

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