Home Blog Page 5260

This is not the first time Arvind Kejriwal has said he doesn’t watch Rahul Kanwal’s shows, here is an incident from 2014

OpIndia Staff
-
0
This is not the first time Arvind Kejriwal has said he doesn’t watch Rahul Kanwal’s shows, here is an incident from 2014

Arvind Kejriwal today rebuffed journalist Rahul Kanwal for claiming that the Delhi chief minister closely tracks the India Today reports on coverage of hospitals and app reality check. The Aam Aadmi Party supremo posted a disdainful tweet, saying he never watches Rahul Kanwal’s programs.

“Sorry Rahul, I never watch your programs,” Kejriwal tweeted.

Kejriwal’s response was to a tweet uploaded by India Today journalist Rahul Kanwal, in which he claimed that the Delhi Chief Minister is closely monitoring the India Today reports on the coverage of hospitals and reality check of an app developed by Delhi govt to track the status hospital beds in the city. Rahul asserted that Kejriwal had asked for a few days to align what the app reflects with the actual situation in the hospital wards.

The tweet by Rahul was about the complaints that have been raised by patients about the discrepancy in the Mobile app developed by the Delhi government to equip themselves and the residents in tackling the ongoing coronavirus crisis in the national capital. Rahul alleged that the hospital information displayed on the mobile app did not align with the ground reality.

“Glad Delhi CM @ArvindKejriwal watched @IndiaToday #Newstrack coverage of hospital and App reality check so closely. He’s asked for a few days time to align what the App says with what hospitals say is the actual situation in the wards. Cries of relatives of patients were horrifying,” Rahul tweeted.

However, perhaps, in order to downplay the criticism of the Delhi government’s handling of the coronavirus, Kejriwal retorted back with a sniffy tweet, claiming he does not watch his shows.

Past instance when Kejriwal had cast aside Rahul Kanwal’s alle

This is not the first time that Kejriwal had slighted Rahul Kanwal by claiming he doesn’t watch his shows. Earlier in March 2014, Kejriwal had similarly snubbed the journalist for asking uncomfortable questions regarding his duplicity in initiating action against his party member Somnath Bharti, accused of running a spam website.

At an India Today Conclave in March 2014, Rahul Kanwal levelled serious allegations against Arvind Kejriwal of exhibiting double standards in investigating charges on the AAP member Somnath Bharti of running a dubious spam website. Rahul asserted that while Kejriwal asked for police and a judicial inquiry into allegations of corruption against BJP and Congress leaders, in case of Somnath Bharti, he set up an internal committee and gave a clean chit to his party member based on the accused’s denial of having being involved in the scam.

“While you were the Delhi chief minister, you had the authority to carry out a transparent and impartial inquiry into the allegations raised against your party member Somnath Bharti. What did you do then? You called for an internal meeting which simply concluded that Somnath Bharti was not at fault and that his associate had used his name to operate a spam website called Topsites LLC. You clamour for all kinds of inquiry while hurling corruption charges against Congress and BJP leaders, but why not the same standards to your own party members?” Rahul asked.

He further said, “We at India Today investigated the entire matter and found incriminating evidence against the involvement of Somnath Bharti in running the spam website Topsites LLC. We went to the registrar in the United States and retrieved the documents of the company. Not only is Somnath Bharti named as the owner of the company, his signature are also present in the papers that we have recovered. Why did you not commission a full-scale inquiry into the matter?”

A panicked Arvind Kejriwal tried to deflect the blame on Kanwal by saying he should have sent the documents to him for initiating action against Bharti. Kanwal defended himself stating comprehensive coverage of the scam was aired on his show on India Today. However, Kejriwal said, “If you are thinking I will sit and watch all your programs, I don’t do that. I don’t watch them. Frankly, they are not interesting.”

Kejriwal’s standard tic of feigning ignorance to brush aside criticism?

It appears that feigning ignorance when besieged with a barrage of uncomfortable questions and criticism is a standard tic of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal used to salvage his reputation. In 2014, he brushed aside valid criticism and concerns raised by Kanwal on his double standards in being an anti-corruption crusader while turning a blind eye to the irregularities by his party members.

Six years down, in 2020, Arvind Kejriwal uses the same hack to belittle the seemingly legitimate concern put forth by Rahul Kanwal regarding the deplorable conditions of hospitals in Delhi amidst coronavirus crisis. Many residents of Delhi have raised their grievances, highlighting the inadequacies of the hospitals in treating coronavirus patients. Perhaps, Kanwal might be right in criticising the Delhi government for bungling their response to a sweeping pandemic.

The public health crisis is a far more serious issue than charges of corruption against a fellow party member. Kejriwal, for his own good, as well as to assuage the woes of coronavirus patients in Delhi, can for once keep aside his swaggering demeanour and pay heed to the concerns raised by the media channels in refining the Delhi government’s response to the crisis.

Congress leader Archana Dalmia passes off an old image from 2017 as recent one, deletes it after being caught

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Congress leader Archana Dalmia passes off an old image from 2017 as recent one, deletes it after being caught

A senior Congress leader was caught by social media users on Friday after she passed off an old image to claim that it as a recent one.

Archana Dalmia, who is the chairperson of Congress party’s Grievances Cell, on Friday took to social media to share an old image and insinuated that the image belonged to a recent incident in Damoh, Madhya Pradesh, where an infant son had tried to breastfeed on his mother, without realising that the kid’s mother had died.

The Congress leader claimed that the woman had died by the railway tracks of the MP’s Damoh and she was spotted by people in the state.

Archana Dalmia sharing old images on Twitter

However, the Congress leader Archana Dalmia was soon fact-checked by the Railway Protection Force, who replied to her stating that the incident had occured in May 2017. The RPF, in its tweet said that the mother had died after accidentally faling from a moving train near Damoh. After due process, the deceased and child was handed over to her relatives, the RPF said while rejecting claims made by the Congress leader.

Archana Dalmia, who had tried to pass-off an old image as a recent one to target the BJP, however, had to delete her after getting caught peddling fake news.

The incident is nearly three years old

The heartbreaking images of an infant tried to breastfeed on her dead mother lying next to railway tracks in Damoh district of Madhya Pradesh, around 250 km from Bhopal, is an image of May 26, 2017.

According to the reports, the moving images were captured at Damoh when a 17-month-old was seen with his mother as she lied dead. The residents had found the woman’s body and the toddler around 6 am next to railway tracks. The woman had died after bleeding to death after being hit on the head, when she fell-off from the moving train. Fortunately, the child was not injured.

Archana Dalmia history of peddling fake images on social media

Archana Dalmia has a history of peddling fake, misleading images on social media to target the BJP and the Modi government. Just a few days back, in a similar incident, she was caught sharing images from Bangladesh to attack Modi government.

According to fact-checker Ankur Singh, the images shared by Archana Dalmia targetting the BJP, shockingly shared by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, is not even related to India. The image was shot in Bangladesh and is at least two years old.

Congress party resorts to false propaganda amidst coronavirus pandemic

At a time when the country is in the middle of a pandemic, the Congress party has been indulging in spreading blatant lies and misinformation on social media to score political goals.

Congress spokesman Randeep Surjewala had earlier shared an image from Nepal as that of India to play politics over the misery of the poor. The Congress leader had posted the image of a woman, carrying a toddler on her back on Twitter. Surjewala’s tweet was accompanied by a politically motivated caption that read, “New India ka Saach!“

Earlier, the Dalit Congress had taken to social media to share an old image of a Rohingya refugee in Bangladesh to attack the central government for its alleged inefficiency of handling of the migrant workers’ issue. Sharing the image through the official Twitter handle, Dalit Congress had said that Modi govt should envisage the helplessness to the faces of these people and do something to help them.

In another incident, targetting Prime Minister Modi, the Congress party had shared an old image of Narendra Modi from a few years ago to make a misleading claim during the pandemic. The Congress party used a photograph of Prime Minister Modi in which measurements were being taken for his statue at the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum.

The scene depicted in the photograph is from 2016 but the Congress party attempted to portray that it was captured in recent times when the country is suffering a grave crisis in the wake of the economic crisis unleashed by the coronavirus.

Coronavirus: Mild and asymptomatic cases do not need hospitalization, says Delhi Health department

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Coronavirus: Mild and asymptomatic cases do not need hospitalization, says Delhi Health department

The Health Department of National Capital Territory of Delhi has stated in their newly issued notice citing Union Health Ministry guidelines that Coronavirus patients with mild symptoms and those who are asymptomatic do not need any hospitalization.

The notice issued by the Health and Family welfare department of NCT Delhi stated, “It has come to notice that many Asymptomatic patients and mild symptoms patients have been admitted in the hospital facilities. Attention is invited to the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India as well as this department which clearly states that Asymptomatic and mild symptom cases do not need hospitalization and are either recommended to be kept under self-isolation.”

Delhi Health Department, Courtesy ANI

The notice says that tracking and monitoring every single coronavirus case is an exercise crucial towards the efforts to combat and curb the spread of the coronavirus. It states that it is important for the general public and the government must have knowledge about the hospital preparedness in terms of infrastructure and bed availability. The effective tracking of this can be done only when all the hospitals follow a standardized reporting format.

The health department of Delhi asserted in the notice that hospitals must add its daily admissions positive patients, discharges, and changes bed availability status on a real-time basis on that reporting portal shared by the Delhi government to its nodal officers known as Integrated Disease Surveillance Program(IDSP).

It is stated that every single field mentioned on the portal is of utmost importance for the department to have adequate information on each patient. The hospitals must also share details of test samples taken and results on the same day that the vent takes place against each patient’s details.

The data filled here will also be reflected on the daily corona app launched by the Delhi government, hence it is very important that details regarding beds status are filled accurately and on a real-time basis so that the general public and government administration is well aware of the status of beds in each COVID hospital.

Delhi govt’s notice says that any asymptomatic Coronavirus patient or those with mild symptoms will have to be discharged within 24 hours of admission and the concerned District Surveillance officer should be notified about the following. The Delhi Health Department has said that the health workers are directed to strictly comply with the following directions.

Every Sikh wants Khalistan, says Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh on 36th anniversary of Operation Bluestar

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Every Sikh wants Khalistan, says Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh on 36th anniversary of Operation Bluestar

The Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh on Saturday dredged up the issue of Khalistan, saying all Sikhs dream of a separate state and they will happily accept it if the government offers them to have one.

The controversial remarks by the Akal Takht chief came on the 36th anniversary of Operation Blue Star, an operation carried out by the Indian Army to neutralise armed militants hiding inside the Darbar Sahib complex between June 1 and 8, 1984. Singh was interacting with the media on Saturday following the culmination of the annual function at Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs, where he raised the tendentious issue of a separate sovereign state for Sikhs.

Responding to the queries on the slogans being raised in favour of Khalistan, Singh said, “There’s no harm if slogans are raised in favour of Khalistan by hard-liner Sikhs after the function. If the government offers us Khalistan, we need nothing else. We will accept it because every Sikh wants it.”

Singh, however, added that such slogans should not be shouted during the official function of Operation Blue Star.

Singh’s views found concurrence with Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) president Gobind Singh Longowal, who said, ”If the government offers it (Khalistan) we will accept it.”

Early in the day, a bhog ceremony, ardas and kirtan were performed at the Takht in memory of those killed in Operation Bluestar.

According to the sources, the function was held amidst tight security and media was not allowed to cover the event inside the Golden Temple complex. The police reportedly tried to stop activists of various Sikh organisations who came in droves early in the morning to pay their homage at the Golden Temple in contravention to the social distancing norms. However, they managed to get inside the complex following a heated altercation with the police personnel.

A minor scuffle broke out between the supporters of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) and police as Emaan Singh Mann, son of Simranjit Singh Mann was stopped by the forces at the entrance of Golden Temple.  They were subsequently allowed inside the temple after they held a demonstration.

A phalanx of 5,000 police forces was stationed outside the Golden Temple complex to ensure law and order is maintained. Along with the police, health teams were also deployed at the venue to screen the devotees entering the shrine amidst the coronavirus crisis. However, the task force of the SGPC and the police in plain clothes could not ensure social distancing inside the Golden Temple complex

A tale of 2 contradictory orders: How Arvind Kejriwal govt made the Coronavirus fight impossible for doctors at Ganga Ram Hospital

OpIndia Staff
-
0
A tale of 2 contradictory orders: How Arvind Kejriwal govt made the Coronavirus fight impossible for doctors at Ganga Ram Hospital

Amidst the rising active cases of Wuhan Coronavirus in Delhi, the State Government had reportedly issued a set of two contradictory orders that have added to the woes of doctors at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. On June 3, the Arvind Kejriwal-led-Delhi Government had ordered the hospital to stop testing for supposedly flouting ICMR guidelines on Coronavirus testing.

The notice read, “The district has come to know that the hospital is still not using RT PCR app even till today. The hospital is directed to explain why they have not yet started sample collection via RT PCR app within two days of receipt of the order. RT PCR sampling for Coronavirus suspect/ confirmed cases should be stopped with immediate effect.” Interestingly, the Delhi Government also directed the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital to allocate 80% of its total 675 beds for the treatment of Coronavirus cases. The doctors have dubbed the two orders as being at odds with each other.

According to medical oncologist Dr. Shyam Aggarwal, he had received calls from several cancer patients awaiting their chemotherapy session. He informed, “We have maintained they should get Coronavirus tests done once every two weeks because chemotherapy on a patient who is Covid positive can be disastrous. We have told them that if the test is not done, it (chemotherapy) can be harmful to them.”

Aggarwal learnt that several laboratories in Delhi had stopped conducting tests after having called 6-7 labs. Owing to the Delhi Government order, cancer patients are forced to stay without treatment. Reportedly, the hospital would test 150 to 170 Coronavirus samples and conduct 30-40 surgeries per day. All of it had come to a halt since Thursday.

Doctor narrates how a breast cancer patient had to be reluctantly discharged

Dr. Aggarwal narrated the story of one breast cancer patient whom he had to reluctantly discharge due to the government order. He conceded that the woman was scheduled to be operated on Thursday. However, she could not be operated without performing the required tests. As such, the oncologist had to convince her family about the government diktat and reluctantly discharge the patients, despite knowing that cancer might spread. The surgeries of three patients were postponed in a similar manner in the past 2 days.

How a suspected Coronavirus patient could not be tested

On Thursday night, a 12-year-old from Bhind in Madhya Pradesh was rushed to the said hospital’s emergency ward, following complaints of breathlessness, high fever, altered consciousness, and uncontrollable diabetes. Owing to a temporary ban on testing at the hospital, the doctors proceeded with treating the patient assuming that he had Coronavirus. While the health condition of the patient became stable, everyone in the area got exposed to the virus. As such, a separate system had to be created for him.

Pediatric intensivist at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital said, “If we treat him as Coronavirus positive till results are out (which may take longer from outside labs), the patient will end up paying lakhs for adequate protection (PPE, separate doctor, a separate ward with dedicated nurses). And if I keep him with other Coronavirus patients, this innocent child may catch an infection from them.”

What the Delhi govt’s response was about the contradictory orders issued

Two hospitals associated with the hospital, namely Kolmet and the City Hospital with 40 and 140 bed-capacity were earlier converted into Coronavirus facilities. As per the government diktat, only 20% of beds at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital are available for non-Coronavirus patients. A spokesperson of the Delhi Government had claimed that out of 35 accredited ICMR labs, 8 were found to be flouting official guidelines. As such, action was taken against them temporarily. These laboratories had been instructed to not pick up individual samples. However, he clarified that sample sent by hospitals continue to be processed in the accredited labs

When asked to comment on the issues flagged by doctors, a Delhi government spokesperson said: “There are 35 labs in Delhi authorised by ICMR. These eight labs were found not following the prescribed protocol by ICMR. Therefore, action was initiated. As a temporary measure, these labs have been asked not to pick up individual samples. However, samples sent by various hospitals and other agencies will continue being processed in these labs.” In his defence, Chairman of Sir Ganga ram Hospital said that the management had replied to the notice of the Government and reiterated that it was a minor issue. He emphasised that testing services would be resumed very soon.

Amidst the rising cases of Coronavirus in India’s capital city, a case of administrative negligence on the part of Arvind Kejriwal-led-Delhi Government has come to light. On Thursday, Varun Vats, a resident of Rohini, took to Facebook to narrate his harrowing tale of the struggle to get tested for the Wuhan Coronavirus in Delhi. Failed by the Delhi Government, he decided to self-quarantine, amidst high fever and aggravated symptoms of cough, headache, and weakness.

He added that his financial condition motivated him to contact private laboratories, something which may be a far-fetched dream for the impoverished section of the society. He asked, “Who will test them (the poor), treat, and care about them? No testing means no new cases. This is how our beloved CM Arvind Kejriwal wants to decrease the number of Coronavirus cases in Delhi.”

Communist Party is ‘both a court and police station’: Kerala women’s panel chief MC Josephine courts controversy

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Communist Party is ‘both a court and police station’: Kerala women’s panel chief MC Josephine courts controversy

State Women’s Commission chairperson MC Josephine kicked up a controversy after she claimed that her party Communist Party of India (Marxist) was both a court and a police station.

According to the reports, Josephine said this to the media while speaking on the issue of Kadinamkulam incident wherein a woman was sexually harassed by her husband and his friends.

Responding to questions regarding allegations against CPM leader PK Sasi, Josephine said there was no need for the commission to investigate the matter when the victim herself said that an investigation by the party itself would be enough.

Women’s panel chief was in reference to complaints aginst CPI(M) MLA PK Sasi

Josephine, who is also a CPM central committee member, made this shocking remarks while responding to questions on the commission’s indifference in handling cases where communist leaders are accused. A reporter had asked regarding the Commission’s stand on certain cases against CPI(M) leaders.

“I may be the Chairperson of the state Women’s Commission, but I am from the communist party. No other party, other than mine, will take stern action in cases against women. I know which case you are mentioning. In that case, the family members, who are party followers, told me that they need the decision to be taken by the party,” the women’s panel chief said referring to a case involving senior CPI(M) leader and MLA PK Sasi.

“Our party is a court and a police station. No leniency will be shown towards any leader in that regard,” Josephine said.

In 2018, Shoranur MLA PK Sasi was suspended for six months by the ruling CPI(M) government after a woman Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) leader had accused Sasi of sexually abusing her.

Sasi was suspended from the CPI(M)s primary membership after it was found that he had conversed with a woman worker “in a manner not befitting a party leader.”

The women’s panel had then said that they will investigate the matter only if the woman had come out in public or filed a police case.

Congress demands resignation of women’s panel chief

Meanwhile, the opposition party in the state Congress has demanded the resignation of Josephine from the post of state’s Women’s panel chief.

The leader of opposition in the state Ramesh Chennithala said Josephine who heads a quasi-judicial body has made a comment violating the principles of the Constitution.

“A women’s panel chief, who says that CPI(M) means court and the police, has no credentials to occupy that position. She has made anti-constitutional statements while heading a quasi-judicial body which is completely unacceptable,” Chennithala said in a release.

BJP state president K Surendran termed Josephine’s statement as a mockery towards the legal system of the country. 

Celebrities have commercialised dissent in India, they say ‘BlackLivesMatter’ while endorsing racist fairness creams: Kangana Ranaut

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Celebrities have commercialised dissent in India, they say ‘BlackLivesMatter’ while endorsing racist fairness creams: Kangana Ranaut

Days after actress Kangana Ranaut had slammed Bollywood entertainers and celebrities for speaking on ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement while staying silent on national incidents such as Palghar Sadhus lynching, the actress once again exposed the selectivity and hypocrisy of Bollywood stars.

In an interview with BBC’s Lucy Hockings, Kangana Ranaut spoke regarding various issues including the selective activism of Bollywood celebrities, their deliberate silence over important national issues such as Palghar Sadhus lynching incident. She also mentioned how these stand in support of movements like ‘Black Lives Matter’ on one hand while on the other hand, they endorse racist fairness creams.

In the videos shared by the actress’s team on Twitter, Kangana Ranaut was seen responding to questions of the anchors who asked regarding why celebrities, politicians are failing to condemn local hate crimes and injustice while commenting on incidents that occur far away.

Responding to Lucy, actress Kangana Ranaut said, “Well, I think it has become fancy to somehow be part of this bandwagon, which is relevant to west. But, if you see how Asian celebrities and actors work, they are very impactful in this part of the country but I don’t know how they are participating in the social-political reform of America.”

Citing the recent horrific lynching of Hindu Sadhus in Palghar, Kangana Ranaut spoke regarding the selectivity of these so-called celebrities and added how there was not even a single word from anyone as it would probably resonate with the majority sentiment.

“So when you politicise your compassion, your activism, your humanity, of course, you are part of the problem. Because people who inflict pain on others too have a set of people they are kind to. The problem is selective compassion,” Ranaut added.

The actress added that most of the celebrities are being called out in the country for absence of any outrage for the Sadhus, who were killed precisely for wearing saffron clothes. Kangana Ranaut pointed out how nobody wanted to talk about the incident.

The actress also slammed the so-called celebrities for commercialising the dissent by speaking on issues that are occurring far-away while staying silent on issues that are happening within their own country. The national award-winning actress said, “Every country has its own set of issues, we need to first deal with the evil within us, before going out to try and reform the world. We are failing to do that”.

Exposing the hypocrisy of the country’s popular celebrities, the actress said that they endorsed fairness products, while also saying “Black Lives Matter”. The actress asked how dare they indulge in such dubiousness and questioned why no one was asking them.

“What about the million-dollar deals that they were doing and all of sudden how black lives matter. You have commercialized your dissent as an individual, that’s the lowest humanity can hit” quipped Kangana Ranaut.

Later in the show, Kangana Ranaut said that the celebrities in the country are just advertising themselves to promote thier personal interests.

Kangana Ranaut exposes selectivity of Bollywood entertainers

Earlier too, Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut had questioned the silence of these so-called celebrities’ silence on the Palghar Sadhu lynching. In an interview, she had wondered if the ‘Black Lives Matter’ campaign, where Bollywood celebs have chipped in, is perhaps because of the ‘pre-independence slavery genes’.

Kangana had said that the Palghar Sadhu lynching happened a few weeks back but no one said a word. This, especially when it happened in Maharashtra where most of these celebrities reside. Further questioning Bollywood’s selective outrage, Kangana said that how these celebrities would rather fight and side with a white teenaged kid but don’t have a word to say on Indian environmentalists who are doing exceptionally well without any support of help from anyone.

Pakistan: 8-year-old maid Zohra Shah beaten to death after she accidentally let two parrots escape from cage

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Pakistan: 8-year-old maid Zohra Shah beaten to death after she accidentally let two parrots escape from cage

On Sunday, the Pakistan police had reportedly arrested a couple for beating their 8-year-old maid named Zohra Shah to death in a posh locality in Rawalpindi. The family had assaulted the girl because she had mistakenly made two expensive parrots fly away from their cage. The ghastly incident took social media by storm as politicians and human rights activists intensified demands for justice for the victim.

Shah was employed by the accused Hassan Siddiqui, a businessman who sold birds and properties, four months prior to the incident, to take care of his one-year-old infant. The employers had promised the parents to pay for her education. The girl who hailed from the village of Kot Addu in Muzaffargarh in Southern Punjab was cleaning the cage that housed two expensive parrots. But during cleaning it, she accidentally opened its door and the parrots escaped from it. When the birds flew away, a miffed Siddiqui and his wife Umm Kulsoom beat the victim, black and blue.

According to the First Information Report (FIR), Shah had injury marks on her face, legs, ribs, and hands. She was admitted to a local hospital, Begum Akhtar Rukhsana Memorial Hospital, on Sunday where she succumbed to her injuries on Monday. Her body was handed over to the family, following a post-mortem. The autopsy report highlighted that Shah’s death was caused due to the merciless beating. Following the social media outrage, the accused were nabbed. They were also remanded into police custody until June 6.

Pakistan Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari informed that the State Counsel was following the case and that the accused had been senton a 4-day remand. The Ministry had also proposed amendments to the exististing Employment of Children Act of 1991 to classify domestic labour as a hazardous job for children.

Police officer Mukhtar Ahmed informed, “We have arrested the couple and they confessed to their crime and were sent on remand for four days until June 6,” police officer Mukhtar Ahmed, who investigated the case.” He added that the girl child was kicked in her private parts as well and that she was bleeding.

Child Labour in Pakistan

Despite existing labour laws in Pakistan that prevent the employment of children and underaged people, the plight of domestic workers is alarming. As per the International Labour Organisation (ILO), there are more than 8.5 million domestic workers in Pakistan, many include women and children. Reportedly, they are hired on a monthly or yearly basis, and violence against them is rampant in several places in Pakistan.

Last year in January, a 16-year-old Uzma was murdered by her employers in Lahore dor eating some of their food. In the aftermath of the incident, the Punjab Provincial Government passed enacted the Punjab Domestic Workers Act to regulate domestic labour. “Still large numbers of domestic workers in Punjab are not registered doing unpaid work and children are being tortured to death,” conceded Arooma Shahzad, the General Secretary of the Domestic Workers Union. She added that the workers did not receive social security cards and demanded that the government took cognisance of it.

News of Chhota Bheem ditching Chutki to marry princess Indumati is fake, clarifies maker of animated show after netizens outrage over ‘betrayal’ by Bheem

OpIndia Staff
-
0
News of Chhota Bheem ditching Chutki to marry princess Indumati is fake, clarifies maker of animated show after netizens outrage over ‘betrayal’ by Bheem

Social media has given everyone the opportunity to outrage about wrongs in society, and about what they don’t agree. Most of the time people outrage about real-world problems, but increasingly social media users have also started to complain about what is going on in the reel world, in movies and TV shows. Although most of such complaints are related to hate speech, hurting religious sentiments, racism etc, sometimes some people also don’t like the direction a story is taking, and express their dissatisfaction for the same. In a similar incident, recently several people complained about the choice of life partner by popular animated character Chhota Bheem, but now it has turned out that the outrage was based on fake news.

On Friday, netizens were shocked to hear that Bheem, the titular character of the popular animated show ‘Chhota Bheem’ had got married to Princess Indumati, by ditching his best friend and laddoo supplier – Chutki.

Bheem’s decision to hook-up with Princess Indumati by leaving Chutki in the fictional cartoon show caused an unexpected heartbreak across social media platforms. The netizens soon took to social media to demand justice for Chutki and also ran a hashtag #JusticeForChutki across social media platforms.

Photoshopping a still from Bollywood movie – Kuch Kuch Hota Hain, a social media user expressed his frustration against Chhota Bheem’s decision to ditch Chutki to marry Indumati. ‘This is not fair’, he said.

Rohit Balecha said it was extremely disappointing Bheem marrying Indumati at the end despite Chutki risked her life for him. “What about laddoos Bheem,” asked angry Rohit.

Another social media user said Chhota Bheem played with Chutki’s emotions and conveniently married Princess Indumati in the end. “What were you doing the whole time with Chutki,” asked the dejected social media user. He chose money over laddoos, the user quipped.

One user expressed his disappointment by saying, “We can’t bear this. We want justice,” by posting an image from the comedy show “Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah”.

To bring the controversy to an end, the makers of the ‘Chhota Bheem’ themselves had to release a statement clarifying matter pertaining to the show.

The makers of Chhota Bheem responds

Following the outrage by the netizens, who trended ‘JusticeForChutki’, the makers of Chhota Bheem had to release a statement to clarify that the news about Chhota Bheem’s marriage with a princess is fake. They clarified that the characters in the show are still kids, which means it is unlikely that they will get married anytime soon.

In an official statement released on Chhota Bheem’s Facebook page, the makers Green Gold Animation wrote, “We would like everyone to know that all the characters in the show including Chhota Bheem, Chutki and Indumati are all still kids. The viral news stating the characters got married is false and we request everyone to refrain from commenting on it”

Requesting netizens to let these characters stay kids for now, the makers asked netizens not to bring love and marriage into their innocent lives.

“We would like everyone to know that all the characters in the show including Chhota Bheem, Chutki and Indumati are all still kids. The viral news stating the characters got married is false and we request everyone to refrain from commenting on it. Let our favorite kids be children only and let us not bring love and marriage into their innocent lives,” the statement said.

The makers – Green Gold Animation also thanked the people for immense love and support to the show.

Chhota Bheem is one of the popular animated TV shows, featuring kid characters such as Chhota Bheem, Chutki, Raju, Jaggu, Khalia etc. The show, which was first aired on Pogo TV in 2008, has been massively successful and popular among kids.

No, Jyotiraditya Scindia has not ‘removed BJP’ from his Twitter bio: Here is the truth

OpIndia Staff
-
0
No, Jyotiraditya Scindia has not ‘removed BJP’ from his Twitter bio: Here is the truth

The mainstream media often comes up with wildly incorrect conjectures when they are hard-pressed for breaking news. One ‘news’ that was peddled today by the media was the Jyotiraditya Scindia, the former Congress leader who is now with the BJP, had removed his association with the BJP from his Twitter bio.

Several mainstream media channels furthered this news. TimesNow and Financial Express carried the news prominently. The article was laden with conjectures about the speculation of an internal rift in BJP.

TimesNow article about Scindia’s Twitter profile
Financial Express article about Scindia’s Twitter profile

One news portal called News Track even went so far as to say that Jyotiraditya Scindia might be re-joining Congress.

Article by News Track

However, what is being reported is patently untrue. It almost appears as though the media simply woke up today morning and decided to randomly check the Twitter profile of Jyotiraditya Scindia and having not found the word ‘BJP’, creating a story based on it out of thin air.

The fact is that even after joining BJP, Jyotiraditya Scindia never had the word ‘BJP’ in his Twitter bio.

A quick look at the web archive of his Twitter bio would make this fact amply clear. OpIndia went back to archived versions of his bio up until the time he joined BJP and found that the word ‘BJP’ was never mentioned in his bio, to begin with.

Here is a screenshot from the archive of Scindia’s Twitter profile from the 17th of May. As one can see, BJP is not mentioned in his Twitter bio.

Archive of Twitter profile of Jyotiraditya Scindia

On the 9th May too, Scindia did not have BJP in his bio.

Archive of Twitter profile of Jyotiraditya Scindia

It is pertinent to note that Jyotiraditya Scindia joined BJP on the 12th of March.

The only difference when one looks at the profile change from 7th March to 22nd March (of which Archive versions are available), one notices that Scindia had changed his display picture. While he was in Congress, his scarf was that of Congress and once he joined BJP, his scarf changed accordingly. Even right after joining BJP, his association was not mentioned in his Twitter bio.

Twitter profile of Scindia on 7th March and 22nd March

It is thus safe to conclude that Jyotiraditya Scindia, in fact, did not remove BJP from his Twitter bio since BJP was never mentioned in Twitter bio, to begin with.

This is not the first time that Jyotiraditya Scindia’s Twitter bio has created a storm in a tea-cup. Back in November 2019, similar speculation had taken wind about Scindia removing Congress from his Twitter bio. However, an analysis of the Archives revealed that he had changed his bio a month before the speculations started.

1...5,2595,2605,261...7,576Page 5,260 of 7,576