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Iran: Instagram couple sentenced to 16 years prison, 74 lashes and three months of unpaid labour in absentia for “propaganda against the regime”

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Iran: Instagram couple sentenced to 16 years prison, 74 lashes and three months of unpaid labour in absentia for “propaganda against the regime”

A couple from Iran, Ahmad Moin-Shirazi and Shabnam Shahrokhi, has been sentenced to a total of 16 years in prison, 74 lashes and three months of unpaid labour in absentia by the Iranian court, for posting “propaganda against the regime”, “obscene and vulgar” content and “spreading moral corruption” through their popular Instagram account, reported the Iranian new channel Radio Farda.

With over half a million followers on Instagram, Moin-Shirazi, an entrepreneur and former kickboxing champion was sentenced to nine years in prison, while Shabnam Shahrokhi was sentenced to seven years in prison, 74 lashes and three months of unpaid labour by the country’s Revolutionary Court system. Shirazi and his wife Shabnam Shahrokhi are currently in self-exile in Turkey with their two children.

The couple realised that they were being targeted by the Iranian government some time ago, with the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence summoned them on several occasions and interrogated them for hours at a time. During these meetings, interrogators reportedly told Moin-Shirazi to stop uploading posts and pictures critical of Iran’s domestic policies as well as pictures of his wife without a hijab on.

The social media couple, in 2019, took their two children and fled the country, and are now in self-exile in neighbouring Turkey. They were informed of the court’s sentence through their lawyer, who is going to try to appeal against the verdict.

Social media ban in Iran

Iran has been inherently regressive and obstructive whereas social media is concerned. In January last year, authorities in Iran were preparing to block access to Instagram, extending their crackdown on social media to the only major platform still freely available.

However, despite attempts by the regime to restrict the access, million of Iranians stay connected to the world through social media platforms, even if it means skirting government restrictions.

Tesla Chief Elon Musk has a baby, shares the first picture of the baby boy on Twitter with a cryptic name

OpIndia Staff
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Tesla Chief Elon Musk has a baby, shares the first picture of the baby boy on Twitter with a cryptic name

Tech Entrepreneur Elon Musk on Tuesday took to the microblogging website Twitter to announce that he and his girlfriend Grimes are now proud parents to a baby boy. Musk later shared an endearing picture of himself cradling his newborn in his arms in the hospital. On Monday, Elon Musk had announced that Grimes was “a few hours away” from giving birth and now, the world can’t stop talking about the name of the baby.

The billionaire Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, 48, is in a relationship with the musician Grimes (Claire Boucher) since 2018. This is the couple’s first child together. The SpaceX CEO already has 5 sons and has been divorced three times- twice from the same woman. Musk’s first son reportedly died of sudden infant death syndrome at 10 weeks old back in 2002

When asked to disclose the name of the newborn boy, Musk replied, “X Æ A-12 Musk.”

However, it is unclear whether Musk was serious about the name or if he was being cryptic or simply joking around.

The unusual name caused many on Twitter to wonder as to how the name is pronounced, with one of the Twitter users suggesting “X Ash Archangel.”

The tweet indicated that the genesis of the name could be possibly related to the Scandinavian alphabet Æ, which is pronounced as “ash”. In addition, the user suggested that “A-12” in the name may be a reference to the Lockheed A-12, a CIA aircraft codenamed Archangel.

The Locker Room Controversy: After ‘Bois Locker Room’, chats of ‘Girls Locker Room’ leaked

OpIndia Staff
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The Locker Room Controversy: After ‘Bois Locker Room’, chats of ‘Girls Locker Room’ leaked

Two days after the ‘Bois Locker Room’ Instagram chat took Twitter by storm for glorifying rape culture, another controversy, of a similar nature, has come to the fore. This time around, screenshots of voyeuristic chats between the girls of an alleged version of girls’ locker room are doing the rounds on the Internet. The alleged women-only group is run by girls and is allegedly used for objectifying men and making unsavoury remarks against them.

Besides sexualising and objectifying men, several screenshots of the girls’ version of Locker Room leaked on Twitter reveal that not just boys but girls are also active partakers in perpetuating body-shaming and making sexually explicit remarks.

After the ‘Bois Locker Room’ controversy came to light, several men on Twitter shared the screenshots of the chat groups on social media where girls are seen allegedly objectifying the men, expressing their amorous desires, sharing private pictures of men and commenting on them.

After the appalling chats of ‘Bois Locker Room’ was leaked on the Internet, the Cyber Cell Branch of the Delhi Police took cognisance of the matter and apprehended a 15-year-old juvenile and identified 20 other accused involved in the Boys Locker Room group case. The teenager was arrested after cops discovered his registered phone number that was reportedly switched off.

The Delhi Commission for Woman (DCW) on Monday issued a notice to Instagram and Delhi Police over the glorification of rape by teenage boys in the Instagram chat group that was called the ‘locker room’. The notice read that the ‘Bois Locker Room’ (a variant of the word ‘boys’) is a private group on social media site Instagram with more than hundreds of members being part of it and asked the police to take action against the participants of the groups for normalising and encouraging rape culture through their objectionable chats.

It has also been alleged that the girl from South Delhi who disclosed the ‘Bois Locker Room’ chats was a part of the ‘Girls Locker Room’ chat that used the same language which she accused the boys of using, the same amorous fantasies and shared photos of boys and had discussions about what they wanted to do the boys. However, there is a marked difference between the two groups. While in Bois Locker Room, there was the conversation of raping women and gang-raping women, no such conversation was found in the Girls chatroom.

Now questions are being raised if the Delhi Police will act against the girls using obscene language against the boys and if the Delhi Women Commission will issue a statement against the ‘Girls Locker Room’ and direct a notice to the Delhi Police for acting against the concerned girls.

“Bois Locker Room” Instagram chat group

Recently, social media was awash with repugnant details of an Instagram chat group comprising of boys that discussed ‘gang-raping’ girls in a group called ‘Bois Locker Room’ (Bois, being a spin on the word ‘boys’). The leaked photos of the “Bois Locker Room” (Boys Locker Room) Instagram group had kicked up a storm over the normalisation of rape culture in the country. The group allegedly ran by teenage boys, involved graphic sexualisation and sharing of private photos of underage girls, objectifying them and planning gang-rapes with minor girls.

The petrifying incident came to light after a girl from South Delhi shared a screenshot on social media and busted the said group and a host of other such groups.

“A group of south delhi guys aged 17-18 types have this ig gc named ‘boy’s locker room’ where they objectify and morph pictures of girls their age. 2 boys from my school are a part of it. My friends and I are freaking out, ” she said in a social media post while sharing the screenshots.

The girl also shared a list of participants of the groups and the chat on the group where the concerned individuals are seen sharing morphed and explicit photos of girls and making lewd remarks over them.

16 new cases of coronavirus emerge in Nepal, 15 of then contacts of a Tablighi Jamaat member

OpIndia Staff
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16 new cases of coronavirus emerge in Nepal, 15 of then contacts of a Tablighi Jamaat member

The ministry of health in Nepal has informed that 16 new cases have been registered in the country. Out of the 16 cases, 15 are the contacts of Tablighi jamaat member who is a religious leader and returned from the Markaz event in Delhi. As per reports, they have been quarantined.

All of them were reported positive on Sunday. With these 16 new cases, the number of coronavirus cases in Nepal has risen to 75. The Ministry said on Sunday that 15 out of 16 patients were already quarantined. All of them came in contact with a Muslim cleric who had returned to Nepal after attending the Nizamuddin Markaz event of Tablighi Jamaat in Delhi in March and was later found infected with the coronavirus. Of these 15 people, there are 8 males and 7 females. They all belong to the Nepalgunj region of western Nepal, and one of them is a 7-year-old child. All 15 were asymptomatic, and they are either family members or relatives of the person who had attended the Tablighi Jamaat.

Other than them, a 36-year-old man from Parsa also tested positive for COVId-19 after his swab was tested in the National Public Health Laboratory, Kathmandu on Sunday.

Tablighi Jamaat, a super spreader

It is imperative to say that Tablighi jamaat has played a crucial in giving rise to coronavirus cases in India and also in Pakistan, Malaysia, and Brunei. In March 2020, thousands of people gathered in the Nizamuddin Markaz event in South Delhi. Afterward, an explosive rise in coronavirus cases was witnessed from across the country.

Like India, Tablighi Jamaat attendees were found hiding in mosques in Nepal to evade quarantine. Last month, 12 such persons were found hiding in a mosque in Kathmandu, and later all of them had tested positive for Coronavirus.

The role of Tablighi Jamaat in the spreading of the Wuhan Coronavirus across numerous states of India had come to light when 10 people who had attended the congregation at Markaz Nizamuddin died of COVID-19. Muslim clerics of Tablighi Jamaat organized a congregation in violation of the government’s lockdown orders, providing a conducive environment for the novel coronavirus to proliferate.

India to operate 64 flights to bring back Indians stranded in 12 countries, passengers to bear the cost

OpIndia Staff
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India to operate 64 flights to bring back Indians stranded in 12 countries, passengers to bear the cost

The mission for the evacuation of the Indians stranded abroad is all set to commence at the earliest. Minister of Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri has said that 64 flights will be operated in the first week of operation to bring Indians from different countries from May 7 to May 13.

The Ministry of External Affairs has prepared a chart for the evacuation of 14,800 Indian nationals who are stranded in 12 foreign countries by 64 flights in the first week of operation. They will have to pay for the cost of the flights, and it will not be a free evacuation.

The 64 flights include 10 flights to the United Arab Emirates, 2 flights to Qatar, 5 flights will leave for Saudi Arabia, 7 to the United Kingdom, 5 to Singapore, 7 to the United States, 5 to the Philippines, 7 to Bangladesh, 2 for Bahrain, 7 for Malaysia, 5 for Kuwait and 2 for Oman, says the Aviation minister.

Approximately 14,800 passengers are to be evacuated

As per the joint plan of MEA and the Ministry of Civil Aviation, approximately 14,800 passengers will be evacuated from 12 different countries. Flights from India will leave for the Philippines, Singapore, Bangladesh, UAE, UK, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, USA, Oman, Bahrain, and Kuwait. On the first day, the evacuation process will see 10 flights repatriating 2300 Indians.

On Day 2, expectedly 2050 Indians will arrive in various Indian cities such as Chennai, Kochi, Mumbai, Ahemdabad, Bengaluru, and Delhi from nine different countries. Similarly on Day 3, some another 2050 Indian nationals are expected to arrive in Mumbai, Kochi, Lucknow, and Delhi from 13 countries spread across the Middle East, Europe, South East Asia, and the USA.

On day 4, according to the plan of the aviation ministry in collaboration with MEA, it will evacuate 1850 stranded Indian nationals from eight countries including the USA, UK, and UAE.

The Evacuation Plan

Flights will be on payment basis

Those who want to come back to India on the special flights arranged by India will have to pay for the cost of the flight operations, as the govt is not going to make payments for the same. The rate tor London-Delhi, London-Mumbai, London-Ahmedabad and London-Bengaluru flights have been fixed at Rs 50,000. While the cost of the Chicago-Delhi-Hyderabad will be around 1 lakh. Tickets from UAE may cost around Rs 15000.

Passengers have to go through the protocols issued by the ministry

Prior to boarding the evacuation flights all Indians are required to fill forms and submit a copy each to the health and immigration counter at arrival. The passengers are required to go through a health check-up to state whether they are suffering from fever, cough, diabetes, or any respiratory disease. The form is similar to one filed by passengers arriving back to the country during the early days of coronavirus outbreak.

The guidelines indicate that the passengers will be screened before they are allowed to board flights for their return, and only asymptomatic passengers would be allowed to travel. During the journey, they will have to follow the protocols issued by the health ministry and the Civil Aviation Ministry.

Not more than 50 people in weddings, no more than 20 in funerals: MHA issues national directives for public gatherings and offices during lockdown

OpIndia Staff
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Not more than 50 people in weddings, no more than 20 in funerals: MHA issues national directives for public gatherings and offices during lockdown

On Tuesday, Punya Salila Srivastava, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), read out the national directive announced by the Ministry, amidst the Wuhan Coronavirus lockdown. She informed that wearing masks and maintaining a minimum distance of 2 feet is mandatory in public space. Moreover, spitting in the open has now been made a punishable offence.

MHA on Public Gatherings

The MHA Joint Secretary has made it clear that the congregation of more than 5 people is not allowed in shops or in any public space. Again, the gathering of more than 50 people is prohibited in weddings. More than 20 people cannot attend the last rites of deceased individuals. It is mandatory to abide by social distancing guidelines during such gatherings.

On Workplaces

The MHA Joint Secretary has also informed that all offices need to provide thermal screening, besides face masks and hand sanitisers. The employers of such companies have been tasked to ensure the registration of their employees on the Aarogya Setu app. Social distancing guidelines need to be followed.

The Ministry has also directed that the offices have to be sanitised between work shifts. The list of dedicated Coronavirus hospitals are also be provided to the employees. The Government has also recommended the offices to avoid physical meetings, besides maintaining highest standards of health and hygiene.

Extension of lockdown

On May 1, the Union Home Ministry issued a notification which said that the lockdown will be further extended for two weeks. The lockdown was first imposed from 25th March to 14th April, which was later extended till 3rd May. Now the lockdown will continue till 17th May, as per the new order of the union govt, but the extended lockdown has a large number of relaxations।

Different districts in the country has been classified as red zone, orange zone and green zone. While most restrictions will go away in green zone districts, the lockdown will continue in red zones, while orange zones will see limited relaxations. Schools, colleges and educational institutions, malls and cinemas continue to remain closed.

Tamil Nadu: Madras HC intervenes, govt withdraws order asking only Hindu temples to pay Rs 10 crores to CM’s Coronavirus relief fund

OpIndia Staff
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Tamil Nadu: Madras HC intervenes, govt withdraws order asking only Hindu temples to pay Rs 10 crores to CM’s Coronavirus relief fund

The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department of Tamil Nadu on May 4 took back its order dated April 22 that had asked Hindu temples to transfer Rs 10 crores to the State to the Chief Minister’s Coronavirus Relief Fund. This order came after the Madras High Court found it ‘not legally tenable. While withdrawing the order, the HR&CE Department said that it was withdrawing the earlier order for ‘administrative reasons’.

While taking up three petitions against the 22 April HR&CE order for hearing, Madras High Court’s public interest litigation (PIL) bench comprising Justices Vineet Kothari and Pushpa Sathyanarayana observed that the order was ‘untenable’.

The three people who had filed the petition against the HR&CE circular were TR Ramesh, President, Hindu Temple Worshippers Society, Tamil daily Dinamalar editor RR Gopaljee and one other person. Maintaining that it has found merit in the argument of the counsel of the three petitioners, the HC bench adjourned the matter to May 8 and directed M Karthikeyan, counsel for the HR&CE department, to produce the relevant order passed by the Commissioner of the department, withdrawing the circular.

“In the meanwhile, the department shall not act upon the circular, against the temples included in the said circular,” the bench said.

The Tamil Nadu government, in turn, on Monday, informed the Madras High Court that it has decided to stop a move of utilizing surplus funds lying with the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department for COVID-19 mitigation efforts and also to withdraw the circular in this regard.

TN govt withdraws direction to 47 temples to give Rs 10 crore of surplus income to CM relief fund
TN govt withdraws direction to 47 temples to give Rs 10 crore of surplus income to CM relief fund

47 temples have to pay rupees 10 crores: Tamil Nadu government order

The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment Dept (HR & CE) of the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) government in Tamil Nadu had directed 47 temples to give Rs 10 crore of surplus funds to CM relief fund.

Tamil Nadu govt order

HR&CE Principal Secretary K Panindra Reddy had directed all officials working under him in 47 temples including Madurai, Palani, Thiruchendur, Tiruttani, Thiruvannamalai, Rameswaram, Mylapore, and others to contribute Rs 35 lakhs each from the surplus funds towards feeding the poor due to lockdown. Other temples have been directed to give an amount ranging from Rs 15 lakhs to 25 lakhs. All 47 temples were ordered to transfer the surplus fund of 10 crores to CM Corona Relief fund.

This move had come under severe criticism as questions were raised on Edappadi K Palaniswami government’s prejudice against Hindus’. Dissent grew as people criticised the government for not demanding the same from the Christian and Muslim institutions, which were receiving government grants yearly.

Gives free rice to Mosques, but asks Hindu Temples to pay 10 crores

As part of its appeasement politics, the ruling AIADMK government in Tamil Nadu had ordered the distribution of 5,450 tonnes of free rice to 2,985 mosques of the state on April 16 in the month of Ramzan, so that those who were keeping Rojas would not suffer. This rice at Rs 21/kg will cost the Tamil Nadu government little over Rs 11 crore.

Earlier the Madras High Court had rejected the petition, refusing to interfere with the Tamil Nadu government order to distribute free rice to mosques in the month of Ramzan.

At the beginning of the festival of Ramzan, the Tamil Nadu state government announced a major benefit to Muslims. The Tamil Nadu government had announced that 5,450 tonnes of rice would be given to 2,895 mosques this year for preparing porridge.

Unlike Muslims, Hindus don’t get anything in festivals

No similar help or plan is given to prepare offerings to the village deities of Hindus during Chaitra and other months. The Tamil Nadu government collects more than Rs 3000 crore per year from Hindu temples through Hundi collection, offerings, darshan tickets, special program fees, etc., while only Rs 4-6 crores are given for maintenance. Rest 2,995 crore rupees remain with the government.

At the same time, Srivilliputhur Vaishnavit Math Chief Sadgopa Ramanuj Jiyar urged the Tamil Nadu government to spend the temple money to give to the priests and servants. Dr. Krishnaswamy, the head of Puthia Tamizhagam has appealed to the CM to refund the amount of Rs 10 Crores received from the temples.

Arnab Goswami approaches SC to quash fresh FIR against him by Mumbai police, seeks restraint against the “servant and agents” of the State of Maharashtra

OpIndia Staff
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Arnab Goswami approaches SC to quash fresh FIR against him by Mumbai police, seeks restraint against the “servant and agents” of the State of Maharashtra

While the vendetta against Republic TV Editor in chief Arnab Goswami continues unabated the senior journalist is also resolute to pay back his oppressors in the same coin. In yet another development, Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami has filed a petition seeking quashing of a fresh FIR filed against him.

Notably, this petition comes a day after the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra, headed by Shiv Sena supremo Uddhav Thackeray, on behalf of the Deputy Commission of Mumbai (Zone III), had filed an application in the apex court of the country alleging that the Republic TV Editor-in-Chief was “browbeating” the police.

Arnab today moved the apex court seeking quashing of a fresh FIR against him registered on May 3 on a complaint filed by Secretary of Raza Educational Welfare Society, Irfan Abubakar Shaikh. 

Goswami has moved the Supreme Court seeking for this FIR to be quashed and for a blanket direction that no cognizance of any complaint is taken by any court on any FIR registered by the police on the same cause of action as in the present writ petition.

He has also sought a restraint against the “servant and agents” of the State of Maharashtra from filing any FIR against him in relation to his debate programs on the issue of the Bandra incident.

Arnab Goswami claims Congress building fake narrative of a fabricated migrant crisis

In his petition, Goswami has claimed that the Congress Party ecosystem also tried to build a fake narrative of a fabricated migrant crisis in Mumbai.

In his petition, he claims that Republic TV was the first channel to report the fact that political interest groups, mainly leaders of the Congress, were spreading fake news and orchestrating lockdown violations in Mumbai, which is a matter of national concern.

Goswami in his petition claims that the FIR is “politically motivated” and goes on to claim that same has been registered as the Mumbai Police “harbours ill will” against him.

Goswami’s petition says that since the Police realise that the anchor could not be “framed” in the case relating to objectionable comments made against Sonia Gandhi, a new FIR has now been registered.

The plea reads: “…the Mumbai Police, has registered the FIR based on a complaint filed by the Respondent No 3 (Irfan Abubakar Shaikh), which is patently false, vindictive, frivolous, malicious and precipitated with malice.”

Goswami re-asserts in his petition that the Bandra incident was a “fake migrant crisis” that he “unearthed” through his debate program. He has also sought adequate security to be provided to his family and his colleagues at Republic TV.

Fresh FIR against Arnab Goswami on May 3

On May 3, 2020, a new FIR was registered at Pydhonie police station on the complaint of Irfan Abubakar Shaikh, secretary of Raza Educational Welfare Society and a resident of Null Bazar in South Mumbai. The complaint said that Arnab Goswami had tried to create hatred against the Muslim community by linking the Bandra protests with a mosque near the protest site even though there was no such link.

Raza Academy had organised the August 2012 protests at Azad Maidan in Mumbai which escalated to riots. The most shocking incident of the Azad Maidan Riots was the desecration of Amar Jawan Jyoti memorial by the Muslim mobs. The war memorial is dedicated to the fighters of 1857 – the First Indian Freedom Struggle.

Shaikh said that on April, in a show on Republic Bharat anchored by Arnab Goswami, footage of the Bandra protest by migrants near Bandra railway station was used. The complaint said that protestors had only gathered at an open space near the mosque, but there was no link between the mosque and the protests. But “Arnab purposely highlighted the mosque to create communal disturbance in the city,” the complainant alleged.

Shaikh has also alleged that there were many other comments and debates on the channel which had blamed Muslims for spreading Coronavirus in the country. “Goswami had made many such hate filled comments against the community, targeting it,” he said.

The complaint notes that Arnab Goswami linked the Bandra Mosque to the migrants’ protest without any reason and gave a communal colour to the protest.

On 27th April, Arnab Goswami was interrogated for over 12 hours by Mumbai Police at NM Joshi Marg Police station in Mumbai. He was questioned after the Congress party filed more than 150 FIRs against him in various states of the country. The Supreme Court had merged all the FIRs into one and transferred to Mumbai. The apex court had also granted interim protection of three weeks to the Republic TV Editor. Republic Network’s CFO was also questioned for several hours in the same case.

Congress had in gloves with Mumbai police

The Congress party opened a war front against Arnab Goswami after he had questioned Congress President Sonia Gandhi over her silence on the Palghar lynching case where two Hindu saints and their driver were brutally killed by a mob in the presence of police. Arnab Goswami had used the birth name of Sonia Gandhi, and had insinuated that she will take the lynching as a success story after forming the govt in Maharashtra. Launching an attack against Sonia Gandhi, Arnab Goswami had questioned if she would have maintained the silence she is exhibiting today had Christian padres been killed instead of Hindu sadhus in the horrifying lynching incident in Palghar. Taking objections to the comments, Congress party had filed police complaints in various states against him, mostly in Congress ruled states.

Arnab Goswami was also attacked by two Congress goons in the wee hours of the intervening night between the 22nd and the 23rd of April. Although they had confessed to be Congress members before the security officer of Arnab Goswami, the Mumbai police refused to mention that in the FIR registered in the attack. Goswami alleges that attack on him is being ignored by police, while the entire police force have gone after against him.

Congress brings Coronavirus to green zone Amethi, one of the migrants illegally moved from Rajasthan to UP by Priyanka Gandhi tests positive

OpIndia Staff
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Congress brings Coronavirus to green zone Amethi, one of the migrants illegally moved from Rajasthan to UP by Priyanka Gandhi tests positive

Even at a time when the country is unitedly putting up a brave fight against the spread of the coronavirus, the principal opposition party, the Indian National Congress, has exploited the crisis by engaging in petty politics and potentially sabotaging the central’s government’s efforts to contain the raging pandemic.

Recently, the Congress General Secretary, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, violated the government-mandated Inter-state travel guidelines and employed her personal resources to extract 72 stranded migrant labours to Amethi from the coronavirus-ravaged Rajasthan, a state ruled by the Congress party. The migrant workers were then sent to their respective homes after their medical check-up was carried out.

However, Priyanka Gandhi’s supposed act of benevolence, designed to garner sympathy from the migrant workers of Amethi, the district where her brother Rahul Gandhi was trounced by the BJP stalwart Smriti Irani in the 2019 General Elections, spelt doom for the region which was a green zone until the arrival of migrant workers from Rajasthan. As one of the persons who were brought back to UP from Rajasthan by Priyanka Gandhi has now tested positive for Coronavirus.

The Amethi District Officer wrote a letter to the UP government, informing them about the arrival of migrant workers from Rajasthan and Coronavirus red zones such as Ajmer without any prior notice to the local administration. The letter dated May 2 said that a bus was stopped at the Inhauna border of the Amethi district carried 28 passengers, and a driver and a cleaner, who had a travel pass authorised by Ajmer District Magistrate along with the medical reports of 29 people. Out of the 28 passengers, 11 of them were women.

Letter by Amethi District Officer

The District Magistrate, Arun Kumar, mentioned that all the members of the Bus had been mandatorily quarantined as per the government notification and their swab samples had been sent to test for the coronavirus. Citing the Home Ministry guidelines for Inter-district and Inter-state movement of individuals except for medical reasons and another provision that enables the transfer of migrant workers from one state to another with their mutual consultation and agreement, Kumar claimed that the Ajmer District Magistrate authorised travel pass in gross violation of the guidelines issued by the central government.

Furthermore, the letter asserts that neither the state administration nor the district administration in UP was informed before the generation of Inter-State vehicle pass by the Ajmer District Magistrate. He also added that the Bus was not stopped at Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh border and was intercepted only at the Amethi district border.

Highlighting that it is a matter of grave concern that people from COVID-19 red zones such as Ajmer are being allowed to freely travel across the country, Kumar urged the UP government to take necessary action in this regard.

Days after the Amethi District Magistrate wrote the worrying letter to the Uttar Pradesh government, one of the 28 people who had returned to Amethi in the bus from Ajmer has tested positive for the coronavirus. The patient is a 45-year-old woman named Shah Bano, a resident of Kamroli. The reports of 7 others had come back negative while the reports of remaining passengers are still awaited. The administration now fears the spectre of lurking coronavirus cases in the district, especially after the Congress party facilitated the return of migrant workers from Rajasthan which is reeling under the scourge of coronavirus outbreak.

Another shocking incident is that while the migrants who come from Rajasthan were kept in quarantine by Amethi administration, district Congress president Pradeep Singhal and other local Congress leaders visited the camp to distribute relief material. People are kept in quarantine to keep them out of contact with other people, but Congress leaders went to the camp to meet them, which is a complete violation of norms. According to reports, Pradeep Singhal also managed to get the bus to cross the state border using his connections.

So while the Congress party unabashedly gloats that its leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra deployed private resources to get back distraught migrant workers, it is worth noting that her endeavour of scoring a few political brownie points amidst the pandemic has not only undermined the district’s battle against the Coronavirus but has also massively jeopardised the safety of people in Amethi and denuded it of its green zone status.

After the first COVID-19 case was detected in Amethi, the district administration ordered to seal the area to contain the spread of the virus. Therefore, the area which could have enjoyed the relaxations from 4th May as a green zone had to go into restriction because the Wuhan Coronavirus was brought to the place from Rajasthan by the Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

Coronavirus cases in Mumbai: Shiv Sena leader mocks former MP Kirit Somaiya for his lisping, later brazens it out

OpIndia Staff
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Coronavirus cases in Mumbai: Shiv Sena leader mocks former MP Kirit Somaiya for his lisping, later brazens it out

Shiv Sena leader Rahul Kanal yesterday took to Twitter to mock BJP’s Kirit Somaiya for raising concern about the growing number of coronavirus cases in the Worli neighbourhood of Mumbai. The Former MP Somaiya had taken a swipe at Shiv Sena’s “Worli Model” gimmick in a tweet claiming that the COVID-19 cases in Worli, which are already more than 800, will soon reach 1000, a highest for any containment zone in the country.

However, the harsh reality of the bungled handling of coronavirus in Mumbai by the Maha Vikas Aghadi government did not sit well with Shiv Sena leader Rahul Kanal who derided Somaiya by mocking him for his lisp.

Kanal tweeted, “Aleeee tumhi ghali zopha ho, kasa saathi tumhi kay pan boltat, tilit tomaiya ji zala tumchya kamala baga ani amchya baga diffelence aahe naa, telhi (delhi) madhe kakana victhara,aamhi kaam kartoye acting aani setting nahi, tumhala patnaar nahi, water boy aaahat tech Kara!(

The translation to the above tweet says, “You are inconsequential, why are you bothering to comment? See the difference between your work and our work Tilit Tomaiya (Kirit Somaiya), ask uncle(PM Modi) in Delhi, we do work, not acting, you won’t like it, you are a water boy and you should stick to it”

Many users on Twitter were incensed with Kanal’s shameful conduct of mocking someone for his speech disability. One of the Twitter users, Amruta Joshi, posted a tweet condemning lisp shaming by Kanal. Urging him to argue on facts, she advised Mr Kanal to have a modicum of respect for dissenting voices.

However, instead of feeling apologetic for his actions, Kanal brazened it out claiming that the BJP leader was indulging in a propaganda campaign and therefore he was compelled into responding in a manner that reflected the characteristics of the individual.

“Mam exactly what I meant give respect take respect, but not botched up Nos, this is the time to be positive and get constructive, if he just wants propaganda out of anything, don’t like this either but characteristics of an individual force you to reply in their language…,” Kanal responded.

The sham of Worli Model

Of late, an attempt is being made by the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra to tout the Worli Koliwada Model as a perfect example of the containment zone in the country to cover up its apparent shortfalls in dealing with the raging coronavirus crisis in Maharashtra. Recently, a five-member Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT), headed by an additional secretary, Manoj Joshi, was on a two-day visit in Mumbai on April 21 to assess the state’s preparedness in battling the coronavirus outbreak.

Besides visiting Kasturba hospital and the BMC headquarters, the team paid a visit to G-south ward, comprising of slum pockets of Worli Koliwada and Jijamata Nagar, the zone with the highest number of positive coronavirus cases in the city.

However, as the IMCT visit in Mumbai was about to conclude, a spurious report was published in the Times of India claiming that the IMCT team which was in the city to review the state’s readiness in fighting the spread of the coronavirus “felt” that Worli Koliwada can be a perfect model for the rest of the country in containing the coronavirus outbreak.

The article published in the Times of India cites a press release issued by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) to claim that additional secretary, Manoj Joshi hailed the Worli Koliwada model as the best example of the coronavirus-free zone in the country, asserting that the model is worth replicating in other areas to break the virus chain.

Essentially, this means that the article published in the Times of India was based on the inputs from the Maharashtra state government and not from the additional secretary Manoj Joshi himself. OpIndia spoke to a few officials who denied the knowledge of any such model existing and had expressed apprehensions that Joshi could have been misquoted. While our attempts to reach Mr Joshi failed, sources have claimed that Times Of India has misquoted the official, presumably, due to the press release by the state government.

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