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Coronavirus handling: A chronology of mismanagement and cover-ups by the West Bengal government

Shishir Bajoria
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Coronavirus handling: A chronology of mismanagement and cover-ups by the West Bengal government

Denial cannot be the solution for all seasons. There is a স্থানকালপাত্র (place, time, subject) for everything. Denial also has a ‘sthan kaal patra’. Unfortunately, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee always remains in a denial mode. This has been her standard operating procedure ever since she was elected to the office of Chief Minister where she is constantly in election mode. When there was an outbreak of dengue in the state, her Government refused to acknowledge the existence of dengue. According to the West Bengal Government, deaths that happened were due to causes other than Coronavirus. One could understand why the denial then, as it was to cover-up the poor standard of hygiene and municipal services. But, the Coronavirus pandemic is a completely different animal. The former has a cure, the later does not. Not yet, anyway. The spread of the former can be checked, but one misstep and Coronavirus can swallow people whole. The only way to contain the outbreak of this pandemic is by breaking the chain, which is a challenging task, especially in very densely populated areas. Also, this is not a virus plaguing only West Bengal, it is a pandemic impacting our entire country and also the world.  

While in any other epidemic outbreak there may be a room for catching up, but against Covid19 there is none. In the absence of any vaccine or anti-virus treatment the only way is to help patients tie over the virus attack by support like containing the fever, provide breathing support, etc.  This time around the complete collapse in the state-run hospital infrastructure came out in the open.  The present state of rot is the result of the last 4 decades of complete neglect and politicization of health care starting under CPI(M) rule only to be perfected under the ruling TMC.  

Initially, the State Health Department designated some private hospitals also for Coronavirus treatment. Most of these designated hospitals took immediate steps to set-up a separate designated ward, with all necessary facility.  One such private hospital received 25/28 patients in this ward.  To the utter surprise of all in this hospital, all but 3 patients were overnight moved to a State Government hospital. Presumably, the Health Department did not want the numbers to come under public domain.  The 3 patients left behind as they were on ventilators and Government hospital could not accommodate.   

Videos, recorded by patients or their family members in Government hospitals, started to circulate showing the prevailing pathetic conditions. The veracity of these videos was established by the State Government themselves as a notification was issued immediately after the incident banning the carrying of mobile phones, including by the medical staff, in the Coronavirus wards in the hospitals. The real reason behind such a ban was that the government was afraid of the pathetic condition of hospital, negligence of the state government and data fudging by authorities going viral in media and on the internet.

In a shocking turn of event, Kolkata Police registered an FIR against and detained a Kolkata based Oncologist. His crime- highlighting, on social media, the lack of PPEs and other medical facilities in the hospitals of West Bengal. The FIR was registered under section 153 A of the IPC which deals with causing disharmony and feeling of hatred which disturb public tranquillity. After long detention and interrogation, the doctor was released only after using his mobile to put out two tweets, one thanking Mamata Banerjee for her speedy action and second saying his earlier tweet was wrong. Thereafter his mobile phone was confiscated. The mobile phone was handed back only after a thrashing from the Calcutta High Court and direction to the Kolkata Police to do it as the High Court found that there was no case made out against the doctor looking at his social media posts.

Now let’s understand the chronology of certain event that took place in the state of West Bengal that exposes the mismanagement of and data fudging by the Mamata Banerjee Government:

In a surprise move on 3rd April 2020, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee issued a notification taking away the power of the treating doctors, who sign the death certificates, henceforth they could only issue ‘draft’ death certificate. The final certificate would be issued by an expert committee. It leaves no one in any doubt that this unprecedented step was taken only to hide the figures & causes of deaths in the state.

On 5th April, the Chief Secretary West Bengal in a press conference stated that the Government was not concealing or fudging figures as it was not the time. This sounded like the famous Bangla saying “আমিকলাখাইনি”, where the kid says “I didn’t eat the bananas” when his mother asked, “whose in the prayer room”. Was it a clear sign of the admission of guilt?

While we all know during such an abnormal period the ‘fake news’ manufacturers are working overtime and we have to be very careful not to fall victims to those, but there have been numerous videos of people in certain areas not adhering to the lockdown, dead bodies not being removed from wards which have patients, etc. which have been directly or indirectly accepted by the administration. 

I must say since the arrival of Inter-Ministerial Central Team on 20th April, while the State Government took all possible steps to stop them and not cooperate with them. Four letters were written by the team leader, but the Chief Secretary not only did not consider the need to respond but also said in a press conference they have no time to waste and the team can enjoy their vacation. Despite this attitude of the State Government, there was a positive outcome – the rate of testing doubled and the Government increased the deceased figure albeit shrouded in comorbidity. 

On the 10th April, the Union Home Ministry warned the West Bengal Government of its willful negligence and deliberate inaction in handling the lockdown measures in specific areas of Kolkata like Rajabazar, Topsia, Metiaburz, Narkeldanga, etc. through a letter addressed to the Chief Secretary, and Director General of Police. It was clear that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was pandering to her vote bank even at this time of crisis and endangering the lives of people in the state. In fact, she went to the extent of justifying her stand by saying this is a ‘lockdown with a humane face’. 

On 11th April, West Bengal Doctors Forum wrote to the Chief Minister imploring her to share ‘genuine, transparent & verifiable’ data on Coronavirus and not send the wrong signal to the world. Isn’t it a matter of serious concern that the doctors in the state had to write such scathing letter to the Chief Minister?

On 13th April, Mamata Banerjee’s Government was exposed again for its apathy! ICMR’s nodal testing facility in Kolkata, the National Institute of Cholera & Enteric Diseases (NICED) claimed that “West Bengal govt is not sending enough samples for COVID19 testing.”

Next, Chief Minister was quoted in Anand Bazar Patrika, a leading Bengali daily, saying “onek howeche aar noi”.  In fact, the same paper did an editorial on the same-titled “Aar noiye”. Question is why did she have to say this?   

On 20th April, the Indian Medical Association & seven other medical organizations had to write to the Chief Minister to release ‘real-time, transparent data of COVID19 in West Bengal, including daily medical bulletins of all healthcare workers under treatment’. 

Finally, on 24th April, it was reported that after the IMCT probe, West Bengal’s Covid-19 toll had gone up nearly 4 times in 24 hours. Hence, it was clear since day one that Mamata Banerjee Government was hiding figures of COVID19 cases and also the way it mismanaged the entire situation in the state. No wonder, Chief Minister Banerjee also protested the IMCT’s visit to Kolkata when the Central Government sent it.

Per all the developments so far, the state government seems to stand exposed of its callousness in handling the situation in the state and a concerted effort in covering it up. We can only hope that the Chief Minister keeps political differences aside and come together with the central government to manage the COVID19 situation in the state. 

Today, West Bengal’s abysmal healthcare infrastructure stands exposed due to Coronavirus. What’s more- Mamata Banerjee Government’s attempts to cover it up looks all the more pathetic!

Unfortunately, in this there is no catching-up.

Madhya Pradesh: Dozens who attended funeral of Shahida Bi, who died of Coronavirus, in panic as her sister had died only days ago

OpIndia Staff
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Madhya Pradesh: Dozens who attended funeral of Shahida Bi, who died of Coronavirus, in panic as her sister had died only days ago

Panic has set in after people who had attended funeral of coronavirus positive person Shahida Bi came to know that her sister too had passed away six days prior. As reported by Patrika, the local police of Hanumantal, Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh registered an FIR when people exceeding the limit set by the authorities attended the funeral of Shayra Bi aka Shahida Bi(62). However, after this, panic set in after reports came in that her sister had also passed away on 20th April, a day after Shahida Bi passed away. However, the reason for her death is unknown. An FIR is also registered in Gohalpur station under the same sections when the same act was conducted by people in Gohalpur.

FIR on 40 people in Hanumantal

According to Hanumantal police, Shahida Bi died on April 19 due to coronavirus. As authorities have set a limit for those who join the funeral procession with due protocol in order to curb out the disease, despite that, a crowd of 40 people from relatives and acquaintances gathered by the family. Her burial procession was conducted at Mandi Medar Tekri graveyard. The dead body was taken to the cemetery via Motinala at 11 o’clock that same night. That led to a panic as this route poses the risk of spreading coronavirus throughout the city.

Sister of Shahida Bi also declared dead the very next day

Firdaus Begum(50) who was the resident of Talaiya, Beni Singh died on April 20. Firdaus Begum was the younger sister of Shahida Bi. Firdaus’s husband Mohammad Feroz gathered a crowd of about 50 people of relatives for her funeral. That again led to panic throughout the city. In both the police stations, police registered a case of sections 188, 269, and 270 against those who were involved in the funeral procession.

No action against the lapse on administration’s part

The police may have registered an FIR against the people involved in the funeral of the two, but no action was taken against the lapse of the administration. The coronavirus patient was first handed over to the family members without any investigation report and then allowed to be cremated without following protocol.

Whereas in such cases it is a responsibility of the District Magistrate to follow the corona protocol in the presence of Tehsildar and R.I.

Bandra migrant crisis: Anti-CAA protestor Vinay Dubey who incited mobs to defy lockdown sent to judicial custody

OpIndia Staff
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Bandra migrant crisis: Anti-CAA protestor Vinay Dubey who incited mobs to defy lockdown sent to judicial custody

Anti-CAA activist Vinay Dubey, who had allegedly given a call to migrant workers to gather at Bandra station, has now been sent to a judicial custody after his police custody ended. He has been accused of inciting migrants through social media posts.

Earlier on Tuesday, a Bandra Court had granted him bail on a personal bond of ₹15,000. He was earlier nabbed from Airoli in Navi Mumbai by Navi Mumbai Police.

Dubey was later taken to Bandra Police station by the Mumbai Police. He was arrested under IPC sections 117, 153 A, 188, 269, 270, 505 (2), and Section 3 of The Epidemic Diseases Act. Dubey was produced before a local court on April 15.

Vinay Dubey’s social media campaign

In a viral video, Vinay Dubey said that he would lead a ‘padayatra’ of migrants to Uttar Pradesh. He urged migrants to contact him on WhatsApp and leave a message if they wished to follow on his path. Vinay Dubey repeatedly made the insinuation that it was better to die of the Wuhan Coronavirus than die of hunger. He said that the sole blame for it would lie with the Central and state governments. He also assured that he would take care of their food along the way.

A video was also posted on YouTube on the 14th of April, where he could be seen urging migrants to come out of the streets and gather at the Lok Manya Tilak Terminus. Not only in Mumbai, but he also urged migrants all across India to gather in lacs at the nearest railway station.

Bandra Migrant Crisis

Huge crowds of migrant workers burst onto the streets in Bandra and Mumbra in Mumbai on April 14 demanding to go home amidst the nationwide lockdown imposed in the wake of the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic. In Bandra and Mumbra, the crowds demanded that the state government make arrangements for them to return home. In Bandra, the crowd gathered at Ahle Sunnat Sunni Raza Jama Masjid near Bandra station. Under such circumstances, requests were made in the name of Allah to not congregate in such large numbers and return to their homes.

Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi attacked on social media by trolls for calling out the role of Tablighi Jamaat in spreading the Wuhan Coronavirus

OpIndia Staff
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Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi attacked on social media by trolls for calling out the role of Tablighi Jamaat in spreading the Wuhan Coronavirus

Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, BJP leader and Minority Affairs Minister, slammed the Tablighi Jamaat on Monday for branding themselves ‘Corona warriors’. Calling them out for their atrocious conduct, he accused the Islamic Missionary organization of insulting those who are actually fighting the deadly virus. Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi also pointed out that the action of patriotic Indian Muslims to donate plasma to help fight the Wuhan Coronavirus should not be confused with that of the well-hatched conspiracy of the Tablighi Jammat members to prove every Indian Muslim as a Jamaati. Following the comment, he was trolled viciously on social media by a section of Muslims.

Some people have pointed towards his Shia faith and claimed that the Shia community has caused immense damage to the entire world.

Others wondered why hadn’t the BJP performed his Gharwapsi yet.

Most, however, just showered abuses on Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi for his sensible take on the matter.

The Minority Affairs Minister was also called a disgrace to the community for his criticism of the Tablighi Jamaat which had spread the Wuhan Coronavirus across the lengths and breadths of the country.

Then there were those who accused Naqvi of sycophancy and used his comments to target Prime Minister Modi as well.

The stinging comments came from Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi after a few people chose to whitewash the actions of the Jamaatis in endangering public health by citing the example of some recovered Jamaatis who decided to donate their plasma.

Role of Tablighi Jamaat in spreading the Wuhan Coronavirus

The Tablighi Jamaat fiasco was, undoubtedly, the biggest setback to India’s fight against the Wuhan Coronavirus. The mass gathering at the Markaz Nizamuddin in Delhi, and the subsequent transport of the virus through carriers across the length and breadth of India has jeopardised greatly the safety and health of this country.

However, if the gathering itself was irresponsible borne of a toxic mix of ignorance, stupidity, and callousness, the conduct of some of the Jamaatis that followed could only be attributed to their perversity. Some were also involved in attacking health workers, making bizarre demands and spitting on doctors.

Lutyens’ one-way street: Aye for Siddharth Varadarajan while he spreads fake news, Naye for Arnab Goswami when he asks questions

Deepanshu Aggarwal
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Lutyens’ one-way street: Aye for Siddharth Varadarajan while he spreads fake news, Naye for Arnab Goswami when he asks questions

George Orwell once said, “If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.” It is precisely this liberty in the light of which recent remarks against Sonia Gandhi by Republic TV chief Arnab Goswami need to be evaluated. The outrage against his remarks, displayed by several Congress politicians and some journalists, stems largely from the obedience to the Gandhi family rather than from any care for maintaining decency or civility. The Congress politicians’ reflexive outrage, based on an age-old compulsive reverence for the Big Family, is not a barometer to judge the degree of ‘decency’ in remarks made by Arnab Goswami. Also, it is hardly surprising that the ‘senior’ journalists of Lutyens’ Delhi admonished him too. 

There are two primary reasons for this admonishment. Firstly, Arnab Goswami in the capital’s Lutyens’ ecosystem, has always been considered as an ‘outsider’ journalist from the North-Eastern frontiers of the country. His stupendous rise over the years has only added to that admonishment. After all, it was his strong reputation, as a fearless journalist, that made him bag the all-important interviews of both Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi in the run-up to 2014 General Elections.

Secondly, as is well-known, the connection between the Big Family and the Lutyens’ establishment is akin to an umbilical cord that provides the latter with ‘essential supplies’ of money, access and familiarity – a trio that the establishment uses to manufacture credibility for itself. It uses this ‘credibility’ to present itself as an authority that decides whether something is truth or post-truth, pure or profane, brave or pliant journalism, freedom of expression or its condemnable misuse. Thus, right to freedom of speech and expression, similar to the application of principles of secularism, is a one-way street for the establishment, wherein the street leads to only acclamation and no arraignment of the Big Family. Anyone not following the norms of this one-way street is immediately booked. 

Swapan Dasgupta, a Rajya Sabha MP, in reference to the Lutyens’ cabal, had stated in a debate at Jaipur Literature Festival 2017, “Some people (cabal members) who thought that they had a monopoly over truth and over wisdom found that the masses didn’t agree with them…These people are now confused …and want to say that they’re the repository of the entire truth and everything else is false consciousness.” In other words, for the Lutyens’ establishment, truth is what enters the one-way street while the rest is false consciousness. Thus, an FIR against an establishment journalist for spreading fake news about UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is called a ‘gag on press freedom’ while an alleged attack by alleged Congress party workers on another journalist for calling Ms.Gandhi by her Italian name is called ‘requisite and just retaliation’. So much for press freedom!

In the last six years, the subtle yet deep hypocrisy displayed time and again by the said cabal has been laid bare. An increasing number of people have dented its ‘credibility’ with fierce yet logical arguments and discussions, after uncovering the nexus that exists between the establishment’s multiple sub-groups of so-called activists-journalists and politicians. A quote, in this context, serves as the perfect reminder to the cabal members who claim to be the champions of fundamental or human rights – “If we don’t believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don’t believe in it at all.” Interestingly, this quote comes from an American socialist-anarchist intellectual Noam Chomsky whose multiple comments on the bilateral Kashmir issue between India and Pakistan and ‘dangers of Hindu nationalism’ have been conveniently used, time and again, by the members of the establishment to criticize those who criticize the Big Family and its political decisions since the independence of the country.

Congress-Shiv Sena leaders huddle up to draw false equivalence between Palghar lynching and Bulandshahr murder

OpIndia Staff
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Congress-Shiv Sena leaders huddle up to draw false equivalence between Palghar lynching and Bulandshahr murder

The Bulandshahr incident where two Pujaris (temple priests) serving at a local Shiva temple, were found murdered on Tuesday morning. The prime accused, one Murari alias Raju, who was found roaming half-naked in an intoxicated condition with a sword in his hand, was caught by the police. An investigation is currently on in this case.

However, Congress and Shiv Sena leaders and supporters took to social media to draw false equivalence between the Bulandshahr incident and the Palghar Sadhu lynching where two Sadhus were lynched by a mob of over 100 people as police watched as mute spectator.

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut took to Twitter with a hint of sarcasm, to ask people not to give the Bulandshahr incident a ‘communal colour’ like the Palghar incident.

The Palghar incident drew ire after the videos of brutal lynching where policeman appeared to have walked away as mob overpowered and beat the Sadhu to death went viral on social media.

Congress IT cell members also took this incident to score political brownie points since Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister is BJP leader Yogi Adityanath.

After the Palghar Sadhu lynching incident the Maharashtra government came under lot of fire for the law and order situation. NCP, Shiv Sena and Congress had forged an alliance five months back to form a government in state. That Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi has not condemned the Palghar lynching has also drawn criticism.

Many Congress supporters and workers also tried to mock Arnab Goswami, who was interrogated by Mumbai Police for over 12 hours on Monday for questioning Sonia Gandhi’s silence over Palghar incident.

The Bulandshahr incident 

Two Pujaris (temple priests) were found murdered in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday morning. The two priests have been identified as Jagdish alias Rangi Das (55) and Sher Singh alias Sewa Das (45) who were serving at a local Shiva temple. They used to live in the temple premises. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has taken cognizance of the incident and has directed top officials to inspect the site of crime. He has asked for a detailed report and given orders to ensure that strict action is taken against accused. SSP Bulandshahr Santosh Singh said that one person had been detained.

Palghar Sadhus lynching

The Bulandshahr incident comes days after the lynching of two Sadhus and their driver in Maharashtra’s Palghar on April 16, 2020. Horrifying visuals of the Palghar lynching incident where a mob of over 100 people killed two Sadhus and their driver even as the Police stood there as mute spectators, just letting the barbaric act unfold, had gone viral on the social media. It is pertinent to note here, that by their own admission, the police force with one API and two PSI’s were at the scene of crime well 20 min before the final and deathly reign of hits took place. While the police say that they were overpowered by the mob, the videos show that the sadhus were simply handed over to the crowd by the police personnel.

The Nazma Aapi Saga: When Islamism apologists, like The Print, are abused by Islamists for deviating from the ‘path of righteousness’

Editorial Desk
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The Nazma Aapi Saga: When Islamism apologists, like The Print, are abused by Islamists for deviating from the ‘path of righteousness’

A certain comedian has gained quite a bit of fame in recent times. She is Saloni Gaur, a mimicry artist who has made a name for herself through her caricature of an average Muslim woman. She calls her caricature Nazma Aapi and recently, she has found herself in the midst of a raging controversy. She was accused of Islamophobia and reducing the image of Muslim women to ‘illiterate, abusive and savage’. The accusations came after she offered her take on the Arnab Goswami versus Sonia Gandhi (Antonia Maino) saga while posing as Nazma Aapi.

The Print recently published a defense of Nazma Aapi, authored by one Shubhangi Misra, where it was said that accusations of Islamophobia, although it is a very real real thing, has become lazy and tired criticism these days. “We need to come up with better terms we don’t like,” says the author. In the opinion piece, Shubhangi Misra further explained how it was just comedy and caricature and mimicry often employs the skill of exaggerating certain cliches in order to make people laugh.

That, however, hasn’t gone too well with Islamists on social media who are now outraging against the author of the article and The Print for coming out in support of Nazma Aapi. Sidrah, a known Islamist troll, attacked The Print for allowing two non-Muslim women to decide what ‘Islamophobic’ is. According to her, the caricature is a “manifestation of ignorance and peak privilege” and the character isn’t harmless as is being claimed. Firstly, Sidrah appears to believe that only Islamists get to decide what is ‘Islamophobic’ and secondly, even a harmless caricature isn’t harmless since an Islamist does not believe so.

Image Source: Twitter

According to others on the social media platform, Saloni Gaur has ‘appropriated’ the identity of an ‘oppressed section’ of society and she is lying about the ‘spitting’ part. It isn’t clear what is the lie in there as it is well documented that members of the Tablighi Jamaat did spit on doctors, police, the administration and basically, anywhere and everywhere. It is not fake news, these are facts even if it does not suit the victimhood narrative of the Islamists. But as it so happens, even that is being branded fake news by trolls on social media.

Vidya Krishnan, a supposed ‘health journalist’, who is more interested in politics and does not have as much expertise on healthcare itself criticized Saloni Gaur as well. She too claims that the comedian does not get to decide what is Islamophobic and hopes that she will ‘rethink’ this.

All of this just goes on to capture perfectly the nature of Islamists. It does not matter to them if a particular individual or entity, such as The Print itself, has been toeing their line ninety-nine times out of hundred. They are still going to complain about the one time that they did not and accuse them of siding with the enemy. It does not matter how ridiculous their proposition is, if an entity refuses to bend to their will, then it will immediately be dubbed an enemy.

To be clear, The Print in the past has gone out of its way to appease the Islamist mob. Even in the wake of the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic, Shekhar Gupta’s portal attempted to portray the IT Cell of the BJP as the real villain even while whitewashing the perverse conduct of the Tablighi Jamaat which was single-handedly responsible for spreading the virus across the length and breadth of the country. In the past, it has also spread the ‘righteous Jihad‘ narrative. Yet, it was not enough. A single instance of demonstrating the presence of a spine was enough for Islamists to accuse them of siding with the enemy.

It does go on to show that it doesn’t matter the number of times an individual or entity bats for the Islamist cause, just one instance of lapse is enough for them to be discarded. It is not the first time that something of this sort has happened. Arfa Khanum Sherwani, who has gone so far as to accuse the nurses accusing Jamaatis of sexual harassment of lying, was brutally trolled on social media by Islamists for wishing people a Happy Dussehra, a Hindu festival. India Today journalist Rahul Kanwal, who has a complicated relationship with truth, to put it mildly, received a ton of hate for exposing the contribution of Islamists in the spread of the Wuhan Coronavirus.

What has become clear by now that Islamists will never be satisfied unless there is total submission to their cause. They demand the same submission to the cause of Radical Islam as the average Muslim demonstrates towards the prophet and Allah. The minutest of deviation will not be tolerated. The submission must be total and complete, there is no scope for a single lapse. As The Print has discovered today, so have others in the past and more will in the future. But those whose brains have been addled by a single-minded political agenda will not shy away from doing what they have always done: Whitewash the crimes of Islamists. Because at the end of the day, Islamists are their ideological allies and ideological alliances triumph every logic.

RJD leader Tej Pratap Yadav labels journalist Arnab Goswami as “virus”, hails Mumbai Police

OpIndia Staff
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RJD leader Tej Pratap Yadav labels journalist Arnab Goswami as “virus”, hails Mumbai Police

On Monday, RJD leader Tej Pratap Yadav, took to Twitter to express his glee over the excruciating 12.5 hour-long interrogation session of Arnab Goswami, the Editor-in-Chief of Republic TV, by the Mumbai Police.

Without taking names, he compared Arnab to a “virus” and the cops’ interrogation to the “vaccine”. Tej Pratap Yadav also tweeted with the hashtag “#Mein Mumbai Police ke saath hu (I am with the Mumbai Police)” and thus expressed his support towards the harassment of a journalist at the hands of the law enforcement.

Tej Pratap Yadav is son of RJD supremo and former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav who is currently serving jail term for fodder scam cases. Ahead of 2019 general elections, his son Tej Pratap Yadav had declared himself ‘dusra Lalu‘ (second Lalu) and said that Congress is afraid of him. After he filed for divorce with his wife Aishwarya Rai, Tej Pratap Yadav had accused his wife of defaming him by leaking stories about him to media.

Mumbai Police interrogates Arnab

On April 27, the Mumbai Police interrogated Arna Goswami for 12.5 hours for questioning Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi’s silence over Palghar Sadhu lynching.  He was accompanied by his lawyer Sujay Kantawala and upheld that truth would win.

Before going into the police station for questioning, Arnab said that he will subject himself to the interrogation as a law-abiding citizen. He asserted that he had said nothing wrong and stood by his statement on Sonia Gandhi. The media baron also accused the Maharashtra government of subjecting him to “political, malicious and motivated” charges.

Arnab asked the Mumbai Police Commissioner, Param Bir Singh, to also investigate the midnight attack on him and his wife in the city and accused the cops of covering up the charges against the Congress party. He alleged that the attack on him was ordered by the Vadra Congress and on the instructions of the higher-ups in Congress leadership without doubts.

He further said that “evidence was given to prove that the Congress leadership was involved in instigating and celebrating the attack and therefore I believe that it is completely unfair of the Mumbai police to cover up that case while investigating this case.”

NITI Ayog building sealed for 48 hours after senior official tests positive for coronavirus, Supreme Court employee found positive too

OpIndia Staff
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NITI Ayog building sealed for 48 hours after senior official tests positive for coronavirus, Supreme Court employee found positive too

NITI Bhavan, the building that works as the offices of National policy think tank NITI Aayog, has been sealed for 48 hours after a Director level officer of the institution was tested positive for the Wuhan Coronavirus.

Alok Kumar, Advisor at NITI Aayog told, “A director-level officer at NITI Bhawan has been tested positive for COVID-19. Today at 9 am, he got his report and then he informed the authorities.”

Those who came in contact are advised to undergo self-isolation. Kumar added, “We are following necessary protocol, the health ministry has been informed and all due processes will be followed. So, we are closed for 48 hours.”

Supreme court staffer also tested positive

An employee of the Supreme court also tested positive for coronavirus on Monday. As per reports, the employee of the judicial section appeared for duty on April 16 and came in contact with two registrars. Two of them have been sent for self-quarantine as safety measures.

As per reports, he had last reported to duty on April 16. He was reported positive on Monday. He is now undergoing treatment in a government hospital. As per the standard protocol of COVID-19, all efforts are underway to trace all those who came in contact with the infected employee.

Buliding of Aviation ministry also sealed

Earlier, a staffer from Aviation ministry was also found positive of coronavirus infection. Following that, the building of the ministry had been sealed. All the employees who came in contact with the coronavirus patient are being asked to go into self-isolation.

Prior to that, a housekeeping staff of parliament who works in the lower house was tested positive with coronavirus. The staffer was posted at the Lok Sabha secretariat at 36 GRG road.

Does India Today endorse FIRs for Satire? Anchor fails to mention that retired Major’s tweet was marked ‘satire’, brands it ‘fake news’

OpIndia Staff
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Does India Today endorse FIRs for Satire? Anchor fails to mention that retired Major’s tweet was marked ‘satire’, brands it ‘fake news’

The Cyberabad police had recently faced widespread criticism for initiating action against a Hindu shopkeeper who had displayed the saffron flag on his cart, based on a tweet by a Muslim person who had claimed that the saffron flag by ‘Sanghis’ is promoting religious discrimination. Popular Twitter handle @theskindoctor who often posts photoshopped images for satirical purposes has shared another joke on social media mocking the incident. The post by him was clearly marked ‘satire’, with his handle name mentioned. However, the Cyberabad police, that seems to be missing any sense of humour or the realisation that citizens of India do still enjoy the freedom of expression, filed an FIR against the retired major for “spreading fake news”.

It is notable here that despite the image declaring that it is a satire, and obvious satirical lines in it, like “Deccan Cbronicle” for the name of the newspaper, a report by “Arfa Photoshopwani” and a line at the bottom that said, “Cyberabad police has been declared the most secular police in the world by UNESCO” the Cyberabad police have treated the image as ‘fake news’ and have filed a case against @skindoctor for it.

While one would expect the media establishment, that purports to believe in unbridled freedom of expression even for elements that scream ‘Bharat Tere Tukde Honge, Inshallah Inshallah”, to come out all guns blazing against the Cyberabad police for booking a retired major for a post that was clearly marked satire.

However, media houses like India Today had completely different plans.

The anchor can be heard saying multiple times that the retired major spread ‘fake news’ and spread a ‘morphed image’. The anchor also calls the news that Cyberabad police banning the sale of oranges was “bizarre news” and says that he was booked for “attempting to create communal divide”. She even calls the “fake news” “shameful”.

Interesting, throughout the broadcast, not once did the India Today anchor or the “journalist” who had “more information” on the case mention that the picture by Major Neelum Singh (rtd) had specifically mentioned that it was satire and thus, it could not amount to ‘fake news’.

The post for which Major Neelum Singh (rtd) has been booked

It is interesting that India Today, whose journalist Rahul Kanwal touts their famed “Data Intelligence Unit’ could not even figure out that the picture was not “fake news” since it was marked satire and thus, the Cyberabad police should be called out for gross overreach.

The India Today coverage invited the ire of several Netizens as well.

Clearly, simply because branding satire as “fake news” suits their agenda since it helps them peddle the narrative further that Hindus are now being “hateful” towards Muslims. However, the truth is far from it.

India Today as a brand and its anchor must answer if they as journalists endorse coercive police action against individuals publishing Satire. It is also worthy to note that time and again, the media establishment espouses the virtue of Freedom Of Expression, however, in this case, they have ended up endorsing an FIR for a satirical comment. What is worse is that India Today refused to even acknowledge that the post that Major Neelum Singh (rtd) has been booked for was clearly marked Satire.

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