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The Caravan’s ‘health journalist’ is upset that BMC sanitised the Bachchans’ residence after Amitabh and Abhishek test positive for coronavirus

OpIndia Staff
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The Caravan’s ‘health journalist’ is upset that BMC sanitised the Bachchans’ residence after Amitabh and Abhishek test positive for coronavirus

Vidya Krishnan, the ‘Health journalist’ associated with far-left website ‘The Caravan’ on Sunday expressed her disappointment against the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials for sanitising the residence of legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan after he along with his son Abhishek Bachchan tested positive for the coronavirus.

After Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan and his son Abhishek Bachchan tested positive for coronavirus, they were admitted to the Nanavati hospital yesterday for necessary treatment.

Following that the sanitisation workers of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) arrived at ‘Jalsa’ – the residence of Amitabh Bachchan on Sunday morning to sanitise the residence as a precautionary measure. It is standard practice across the country and also the responsibility of the local bodies in their respective city or village to sanitise the residence of the coronavirus patients.

As workers of the BMC, following the necessary protocol arrived at Amitabh Bachchan to sanitize the place, the Caravan ‘Health journalist’ Vidya Krishnan, who has been in the frontline in spreading fake news during the Coronavirus outbreak in the country, took offence to it and began to foul mouth the legendary actor and his family.

The self-proclaimed journalist resorted to using cuss words against Bachchans and asked whether the actor could not clean his own house. She even claimed that the taxpayer’s money is being wasted on cleaning a rich man’s house. “Or is BMC starting this service for every patient in Mumbai,” she asked.

Image Source: Vidya Krishnan

The ‘health journalist’, continuing to rant, went on to claim that the act of BMC workers sanitising the residence of Bachchan also captured the “medical apartheid” so commonly practised by the Indian government.

“If you’re rich, they come clean your house. If you’re poor, you die like dog on the street..& nobody will give af,” Vidya Krishnan posted an angry tweet.

She, however, did not stop there. Calling Amitabh Bachchan a ‘fascist enabler’, Vidya Krishnan, who has been caught several times now peddling fantasy theories on coronavirus, asserted the nation needed a “One Nation One Health”, where everybody got the same quality of service.

Image Source: Vidya Krishnan

It may be noted that it is standard health protocol to sanitise the houses, buildings and localities where Coronavirus positive cases are detected. And this task of sanitising is carried out by the local bodies like BMC. Moreover, the Bachchan family also pays taxes, and thus they also deserve the municipal services just like every other citizen. Just because they are rich does not mean that the standard health protocol can be ignored by the authorities.

BMC has been conducting sanitisation drives in Mumbai, including slums, public toilets etc, but it seems the the so called health journalist is not aware of that fact. For example, the BMC had launched massive sanitisation efforts in Dharavi, and new Coronavirus cases is on the decline in the Asia’s largest due to efforts of health and municipal authorities.

As Vidya Krishnan continued to express her resentment against the accomplished Bachchans, interestingly, her own left-liberal cabal schooled her for peddling such false propaganda and hatred against the senior actor. They also made her aware regarding how the local bodies in every city sanitized the buildings and localities where corona positive cases were reported.

The social media users also asked her to save her outrage for another day and taught her how there is an established Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) to be followed by BMC officials after they detect every positive case.

The curious case of Vidya Krishnan and her fake stories

With the advent of the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic, Vidya Krishnan, who claims to be a ‘health journalist’ suddenly shot to fame from relative obscurity. As time passed, Vidya Krishnan took to Twitter to spread complete falsehoods and misleading reports on the current healthcare crisis in India.

At first, she conjured up anonymous members of ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) to claim that the Modi government had not consulted the experts before extending the nationwide lockdown. Then, too, ICMR had refuted her claims and clarified that in the month of April, the Task Force met 14 times and that all decisions taken involve the members of the Task Force. 

In March, the online magazine tried to defame the government by maliciously claiming that India is trying to conceal the real situation the country while tackling the novel Coronavirus spread. Even in this article, it was the same writer Vidya Krishnan who had resorted to spreading falsehood.

Vidya Krishan had falsely claimed that “at two separate press briefing held on Friday, both the health ministry and the Indian Council of Medical Research—also a government body—rejected the possibility of local transmission”. But that was a completely false claim because the Indian Council of Medical Research had already stated that by March 14, 2020, India was already at stage 2 of transmission, which means local transmission.

Later in May, Vidya Krishnan was also caught spreading fake news as she had claimed that at least 40 Shramik Express trains had got lost and that the government ‘forgot’ to feed the passengers which led to death of at least 10 people. The Press Information Bureau had to fact-check her to call out her falsehood.

Sachin Pilot quitting Congress? Kapil Sibal ‘worried’ for Congress, tweets about ‘horses leaving stables’

OpIndia Staff
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Sachin Pilot quitting Congress? Kapil Sibal ‘worried’ for Congress, tweets about ‘horses leaving stables’

Political crisis in Rajasthan seems have deepened as senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal took to Twitter to express his concern for the grand old party.

Kapil Sibal said that he is ‘worried’ for Congress. “Will we wake p only after the horses have bolted from our stables?” he tweeted hinting that senior Congress leaders may be quitting the party soon pushing the future of Congress into an even darker abyss. Sibal, however, wasn’t quite clear whether it was an introspective tweet or ‘we’ who are still sleeping in Congress are other leaders who take decisions.

Sibal’s tweet comes at a time when there are rumours that Pilot may quit the party just the way another senior Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia quit Congress earlier this year leading to collapse of Madhya Pradesh government. Scindia quit Congress and joined the BJP earlier this year.

In late last night development, Rajasthan Congress leader Sachin Pilot along with about 25 of his supporting Congress and independent MLAs came to Delhi. Soon, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot held late night meetings with his supporting MLAs at his residence. Meanwhile, Gehlot has accused BJP of indulging in horse-trading and trying to topple his government. Pilot has now sought time to meet Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi.

Mother, niece, and sister-in-law of actor Anupam Kher diagnosed with Coronavirus

OpIndia Staff
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Mother, niece, and sister-in-law of actor Anupam Kher diagnosed with Coronavirus

On Sunday, actor Anupam Kher took to Twitter to inform that his mother Dulari has tested positive for the Wuhan Coronavirus. He informed that his mother had been complaining about the loss of appetite for the past few days. As such, on the recommendation of the doctors, she underwent blood tests and the results were normal. Only after a CT scan was conducted, Kher’s mother Dulari and brother Raju turned out to be positive.

The actor also informed that he and his nephew Praneet had tested negative for the Chinese virus. Besides, he stated that his sister-in-law Reema and niece Vrinda had been diagnosed with the Wuhan Coronavirus. Anupam Kher informed that his mother had been admitted to the Kokilaben Hospital while his brother’s family had quarantined themselves at their home. He also thanked the BMC for doing their job efficiently.

“The BMC officials will now go and sanitise my brother’s house. It was my responsibility to inform you (viewers and fans). If anyone in your family, especially your parents, are complaining about the loss of appetite, then, get them tested for Coronavirus once… Doctors are doing amazing work… Yesterday, I had a chance to interact with them. I am short of words to describe their efforts… Keep us in your prayers and love,” the actor was heard as saying.

Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan test positive for Coronavirus

Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan has also been infected with the Coronavirus. The veteran actor took to Twitter on Saturday to inform about this development about his health. He has asked everyone who came into close proximity with him in the last ten days to get themselves tested. Actor Abhishek Bachchan, son of Amitabh Bachchan has also tested positive for coronavirus. Both are currently undergoing treatment at Nanavati hospital. As per reports, Amitabh Bachchan has mild symptoms and is currently kept in an isolation ward.

Jharkhand: Controversy erupts after LKG and UKG students made to memorise Pakistan and Bangladesh national anthem

OpIndia Staff
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Jharkhand: Controversy erupts after LKG and UKG students made to memorise Pakistan and Bangladesh national anthem

On July 7-8, the students studying in LKG and UKG at Sant Nandlal Smriti Vidya Mandir were asked to memorise the National Anthem of India as well as that of Pakistan and Bangladesh, reported Dainik Bhaskar. The incident took place in Ghatshila town of Jamshedpur in Jharkhand. Owing to the Coronavirus outbreak in the country, all educational institutions have been asked to remain closed. As such, classes are now being conducted online. The homework was thus assigned to the students via their WhatsApp group.

As per the report, the children were divided into three separate groups. While one group was asked to remember the National Anthem of India, the other two groups were given the homework of memorising the national anthems of Pakistan and Bangladesh respectively. Dainik Bhaskar reported that in order to ease the learning process, the teacher Shaila Parveen even shared YouTube videos, featuring the National Anthem of the two countries, in the official WhatsApp group of the class. Moreover, the students were also asked to remember the national symbols of both Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Screenshot of the Whatsapp message sent by Shaila Parveen

Reportedly, this did not go down well with the parents of the students who raised objections against it. The teacher Shaila Parveen has now passed on the blame to the school management. When Dainik Bhaskar reached out to her, she said that daily homework was assigned to the students on the instructions of the school principal. Reportedly, the objective behind the task was to help increase the ‘general knowledge’ of the students. As per the report, the school administration failed to gauge that it would become a ‘controversial’ issue.

Homework withdrawn; netizens demand strict action

Dainik Bhaskar reported that the said homework was withdrawn, following the outrage by the parents, and netizens on social media. The contentious incident left several people miffed with the school administration. Netizens have demanded strict action against the culprits due to the sensitive nature of the case. The district education officer, Shivendra Kumar, however, informed that he did not receive any complaint regarding the matter.

Nevertheless, he emphasized that it was wrong on the part of the school administration to make children learn the national anthem of Pakistan and Bangladesh. Kumar added that such a thing could not be taught in Indian schools and that and that appropriate action would be taken against those involved in the matter. 

Pakistan’s national anthem is Paak sarzameen written by Hafeez Jalandhari, while the national anthem of Bangladesh is Amar Sonar Bangla by Rabindranath Tagore.

After shielding China, WHO chief now congratulates Maharashtra for ‘containing’ coronavirus amid exponentially rising cases

OpIndia Staff
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After shielding China, WHO chief now congratulates Maharashtra for ‘containing’ coronavirus amid exponentially rising cases

The World Health Organization (WHO), which has found itself in a tough spot after failing to speak up about the Chinese pandemic coronavirus and often accused of ‘siding with’ the Chinese government has now hailed Maharashtra for ‘containing’ coronavirus despite the fact that the state has seen the highest number of cases in the country.

Addressing a virtual press conference on Friday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who himself is under fire from critics, claimed there were many examples from around the world that have shown that even if the outbreak is very intense, it can still be brought back under control.

The World Health Organisation hailed the efforts taken by Maharashtra government to contain the spread of the coronavirus in the state, especially Dharavi, one of the world’s largest slums at a time when cases are on the record rise in the city of Mumbai.

“And some of these examples are Italy, Spain and South Korea, and even in Dharavi – a densely packed area in the megacity of Mumbai,” WHO Director-General Ghebreyesus said.

It is pertinent to note that Dharavi, which is located in India’s commercial capital Mumbai, is spread in less than 2.5 square kilometres and has a population over 650,000. Dharavi was the epicentre of the coronavirus in Mumbai, which resulted in the spread of the coronavirus cases not just in the city but also in Maharashtra.

Dharavi has currently 291 active cases, while 1,815 patients have recovered and discharged from health facilities. However, Maharashtra has continued to report fresh number of coronavirus cases.

The tally of the coronavirus cases in Dharavi has reached 2,400 cases after nine new infections were detected. Mumbai has recorded over 91,500 coronavirus cases and 5,241 deaths.

Maharashtra – the epicentre of coronavirus cases in the country

While Dharavi may have managed to contain the virus, the same cannot be said about rest of the city and state as yet. Maharashtra has been pulling the overall average of India’s coronavirus cases. The Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra has been widely criticised for the mismanagement of the coronavirus cases in the state after more than 2.4 lakh people got affected for the Chinese pandemic, making almost one-third of the total cases in the country.

The appalling health infrastructure in the state of Maharashtra, especially in Mumbai, was also evident recently after shocking videos had emerged where it was seen how coronavirus patients and other emergency patients were made to share beds due to a shortage in capacity. The coronavirus patients being treated at Mumbai’s Sion hospital emergency ward were seen sharing beds, with two people being allocated to a bed. With a rising shortage in beds, the patients, many with coronavirus symptoms are also sharing a single oxygen tank.

The videos of the patients lying almost on top of each other, sleeping on shared stretchers or just lying on the floor had also gone viral some days back.

Earlier, another chilling video of the Sion hospital had gone viral on social media in which it was clearly seen that corpses were kept in the ward in which the patients of coronavirus were admitted. The dead bodies of coronavirus patients were kept next to the patients under treatment in a Hospital of Mumbai in the Sion area.

Later, shocking case of alleged negligence by authorities in Maharashtra was reported as at least 12 people died in a span of two weeks in a BMC-run hospital in Jogeshwari, Mumbai due to a shortage in oxygen supply to coronavirus patients.

Maharashtra remains the most-affected state in the country, with nearly 2,46,600 cases reported out of the country’s 8,20,916 cases. The state has also seen 9,893 deaths.

Meanwhile, Mumbai city has alone crossed the 90,000-mark to reach 91,547 cases. The city has also reported 5,241 deaths.

Frustrated at not getting a bank job, teenager sets up his own fake SBI branch in Tamil Nadu, three arrested

OpIndia Staff
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Frustrated at not getting a bank job, teenager sets up his own fake SBI branch in Tamil Nadu, three arrested

The Panruti Police in Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu have arrested three persons, including the son of former bank employees, for cheating customers by running a fake branch of the State Bank of India in the locality.

According to the reports, the 19-year-old Kamal Babu, whose mother retired as a bank employee, ran a fake branch from a room in Panruti. 42-year-old Kumar and 52-year-old Manickam helped him in printing fake SBI pay slips and seals. The 19-year-old is accused to be the mastermind behind the move, decided to set up the fake branch after he failed to get a bank job.

The other accused ran a printing press where all documents relating to the bank were reportedly printed. The third accused was involved in making rubber stamps. 

Accused was frustrated for not landing bank job

Kamal Babu, who is the son of former SBI employees had applied for his father’s post after he passed away about a decade ago. He got frustrated after his application was delayed and hence decided to open a bank by himself. The accused was visiting the bank for several years at an early age and had knowledge with its daily operations. 

The SBI Panruti branch manager lodged a complaint as he found out regarding the functioning’ of a fake North Bazaar branch of SBI in teenager’s house. One of the customers had shown the receipt he had acquired from the duplicate branch, leading the manager to visit the fake branch, who found a similar set up just like bank branch with all the necessary items. 

They immediately lodged a complaint with the Panruti police following which all the three accused were arrested under sections 473, 469, 484, 109 of the Indian Penal Code.

Sachin Pilot reaches Delhi with 25 MLAs amid speculations of Rajasthan government collapse, Gehlot holds late night meetings

OpIndia Staff
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Sachin Pilot reaches Delhi with 25 MLAs amid speculations of Rajasthan government collapse, Gehlot holds late night meetings

Speculations are rife that Rajasthan government may go the Madhya Pradesh way as the infighting between Congress leaders continue and Sachin Pilot reached Delhi on Saturday along with 20-25 Congress and independent MLAs. Meanwhile, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had called for a meeting of Cabinet Ministers at his residence and asked all Congress MLAs to write a letter in his support. As per the report, the meeting was not attended by the MLAs who support Pilot over Gehlot. Gehlot has alleged that a conspiracy is underway to topple the state government run by him.

Following the 2018 Rajasthan Assembly elections, a power tussle ensued between Congress old guard Ashok Gehlot and youth leader Sachin pilot for the coveted post of the Chief Minister. Eventually, Gehlot was made the CM, and Pilot was sidelined. The divide between the two factions, within the State government, seemed to have widened over time.

Meanwhile, the Rajasthan Chief Minister has apprised Sonia Gandhi, State in-charge Avinash Pandey, and General Secretary KC Venugopal of the political turmoil in the state. Ashok Gehlot has reportedly accused the BJP of indulging in horse-trading and making attempts to topple the ‘stable’ government, on the instructions of the Central leadership of the party.

Gehlot accuses BJP of horse-trading

Accusing the BJP of indulging in horse-trading, Gehlot said, “I have tried to take everyone aboard in this fight against the Coronavirus. However, BJP leaders have crossed all levels of inhumanity. While we are proactively trying to save lives and means of livelihood, they are trying to destabilise the government.” Gehlot claimed that the State government was stable and would continue to remain so despite all efforts to the contrary allegedly made by leaders such as Satish Poonia, Rajendra Rathore, and Gulab Chand Kataria. He further alleged that efforts are being made to create a political crisis in Rajasthan, as was witnessed in Madhya Pradesh.

Congress MLAs moved to resort, prior to RS polls

Earlier, the Rajasthan Congress claimed that attempts are being made to destabilise the Congress-led government by luring MLAs ahead of the Rajya Sabha elections. Following the scare, the Congress party has also shifted its 107 Congress and independent MLAs to a resort on the outskirts of Jaipur. The Congress leader Mahesh Josh also sought “strict legal action” against such persons for indulging in corrupt activities.

Telangana: Man takes dead body of his coronavirus positive relative to graveyard in auto rickshaw, flouts safety norms

OpIndia Staff
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Telangana: Man takes dead body of his coronavirus positive relative to graveyard in auto rickshaw, flouts safety norms

A major lapse in following the coronavirus guidelines for the last rites has happened in Telangana when a relative took the coronavirus patient’s body on Friday from Nizamabad Government Hospital to a graveyard using an auto-rickshaw. The body was buried without any supervision from the hospital.

ANI reported that the body of the 50-year-olf Covid patient was handed over to relative on Friday for the final rites. There was no arrangement for an ambulance or a handler who has the authority to handle infected bodies at the burial sites.

Dr. Nageshwar Rao, Superintendent Nizamabad Government Hospital, said that a relative of the deceased works at the hospital. He requested the administration to hand over the body to him to which the hospital obliged. The relative did not wait for the ambulance and took the dead body for the last rites with the help of a person from the hospital.

In the image that has now gone viral, neither the relative of the deceased nor the driver of autorickshaw can be seen wearing any protective gear.

Dr. Rao was quoted by ANI, saying, “A 50-year-old patient got admitted to Nizamabad Government Hospital on June 27 and tested positive for COVID-19. He succumbed to the virus due to comorbidity day before yesterday while undergoing treatment.”

In neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, too, JCB was used to move dead bodies of coronavirus positive patients in at least three instances.

In many states, such a lapse in protocol has happened before. Supreme Court ripped into the Delhi government for mismanagement while handling dead bodies. An 82-year-old Covid patient was found dead in the hospital’s toilet after going missing for eight days. 

Amitabh Bachchan and son Abhishek test positive for Coronavirus, admitted at Mumbai hospital

OpIndia Staff
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Amitabh Bachchan and son Abhishek test positive for Coronavirus, admitted at Mumbai hospital

Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan has been infected with the Coronavirus. The veteran actor took to Twitter to inform about this development about his health. He said that he has tested positive for Covid-19, and has been shifted to hospital.

His family and staff also have undergone test, and the result for the same is awaited. Amitabh Bachchan also asked everyone who came into close proximity with him in the last ten days to get themselves tested. He has been admitted at the Nanavati hospital in Mumbai.

The BigB was last seen in Gulabo Sitaro along with Ayushmann Khurana. The movie was released on web stream platform Amazon Prime Video, as the theatres across the country remain shut due to the Coronavirus Lockdown.

Update: Actor Abhishek Bachchan, son of Amitabh Bachchan has also tested positive for coronavirus.

Both are currently undergoing treatment at Nanavati hospital. As per reports, Amitabh Bachchan has mild symptoms and is currently kept in isolation ward.

After claiming BJP supporters were trolling her in the guise of Shiv Sena supporters, comedian Agrima Joshua apologises to Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance and MNS

OpIndia Staff
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After claiming BJP supporters were trolling her in the guise of Shiv Sena supporters, comedian Agrima Joshua apologises to Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance and MNS

Stand-up comedian Agrima Joshua found herself in a lot of bother after a video clip of one of her performances went viral on social media. In the video, the comedian mocked the Shiv Smarak, a memorial dedicated to the legendary Hindu monarch Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. After the video went viral, MNS workers vandalised the studio the performance was shot at and calls were made for her arrest.

Considering recent developments, Agrima Joshua issued an apology on social media for her tasteless joke that did not sit well with people. Intriguingly, in her tweet sharing the video of her apology, she tagged Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, his son Aditya Thackeray, Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, Congress leader Nitin Raut and MNS supremo Raj Thackeray.

Agrima Joshua donned a Tilak in the video and dedicated her apology specifically to NCP, Shiv Sena, MNS and the Congress party. She said that she could not deliver her apology personally as her residence was in a red zone but expressed her hope that her apology will be accepted and everyone will be able to move on with their lives as usual.

Interestingly, until yesterday, Agrima Joshua was claiming that it was BJP supporters who were trolling her online and abusing her. She went so far as to assert that “One look at my timeline and you’ll see these followers flooding my mentions with filth. No follower of a great warrior will ever stoop to this filth.” She claimed that it was “really obvious” that these were BJP supporters who were abusing her. “Your bhakhts have a very distinct vocabulary for women. I know who you are,” she said.

Agrima Joshua was claiming that she was being used by BJP followers claiming that they were supporters of Shiv Sena. She also tagged Aditya Thackeray in her tweet and said that she was “pretty sure the Shiv Sena, has better things to take care of in Maharashtra right now, than some comic doing her job.” Given the people her apology was addressed to, it appears that the stand-up comic has realised that the abuse was not coming from BJP) supporters.

Tweet thread by Agrima Joshua blaming BJP for abuse by Shiv Sena supporters

Agrima Joshua also has some wisdom to offer as to why there are no pro-government comedians. However, given the manner in which she apologised to the Maha Vikas Akhadi government in Maharashtra, it appears that she is the first comedian to belong to that category.

Tweet by Agrima Joshua

Joke that got Agrima Joshua in trouble

In the controversial viral video clip, Agrima Joshua joked, “I wanted to know more about the statue of Shivaji being erected in the Arabian Sea, so I went to the most trusted site on the internet and that is Quora. I found a well-sized essay written by someone there. The Shivaji statue is a masterstroke by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the people of Maharashtra, he wrote. Another one, realising that the post lacked creativity, added that the statue would have a GPS tracker and a laser light in his eyes to kill the Pakistani terrorists coming from the Arabian Sea. Then I found a third person who commented that it is not Shivaji but Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. I followed him.”

Despite her apology, users on social media are not happy as her apology was dedicated to political parties and not the people of Maharashtra and Hindus from other states who were hurt by her comments.

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