The Union Home Ministry has exempted agriculture-farming and allied activities from the ongoing nationwide lockdown to ensure uninterrupted harvesting of crops. In a relief to farmers during the 21-day lockdown, the government has brought agriculture and allied activities under the exempted category in order to maintain the availability of grains in the market.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer’s welfare said that the step taken will allow unhindered harvesting of crops. The categories which are exempted from the lockdown includes the agencies engaged in the procurement of agricultural products, including MSP (minimum support price) and ‘mandis’ operated by Agriculture Produce Market Committee, farming operations by farmers and farmworkers in the field and Custom Hiring Centers(CHC), farm machinery, manufacturing and packaging units of fertilizers, pesticides and seeds, and intra and inter-state movement of harvesting and sowing related machines.
Agriculture and Farmer’s welfare minister Narendra Singh Tomar has been constantly monitoring issues related to the farmers since the lockdown was enforced Tuesday midnight.
As per reports, the government has issued necessary directions to the concerned ministries and departments and designated officials of the state and Union territories implementation of the decision.
It is said that the decision will facilitate unhindered activities related to agriculture and farming to ensure that the common man continues to get essential supplies and farmers don’t face various difficulties during the lockdown.
The Union ministry earlier announced that people below the poverty line across the country will be given wheat at Rs2 per kg and rice at Rs 3 per kg at concessional rates for the next three months. The Modi led government had approved the world’s largest food security scheme that proposed every person will get 27 kg ration per month for the next three months, in which the wheat will be priced at Rs 2 per kg, instead of Rs 27 per kg and rice at Rs 3 per kg instead of Rs 37 per kg.
Uttar Pradesh government will take action against Delhi Aam Aadmi Party MLA Raghav Chadha for spreading fake news of UP govt harassing migrant workers. Media advisor to UP Chief Minister, Mrityunjay Kumar said that UP govt and police will take definite action against a tweet posted by the AAP MLA from Rajinder Nagar.
यह सरासर झूठी ख़बर है, ऐसी महामारी के समय भी इनकी पार्टी गंदी राजनीति खेलने से बाज़ नहीं आ रही है, इतना नीचे कैसे गिर सकती है आम आदमी पार्टी? इस ट्वीट पर उत्तरप्रदेश सरकार और पुलिस निश्चित कार्यवाही करेगी। https://t.co/h0HwKsBFXn
Today evening Raghav Chadha had tweeted that according to sources, Yogi Adityanath is getting those migrant workers chased and beaten who are going to UP from Delhi due to the nationwide 21-day lockdown imposed to combat Covid-19. He said that the UP CM has said them, ‘why you went to Delhi, now you will be never allowed to go to Delhi. He appeals to UP government for not to do this, and not to increase the problems of people during this difficult time.
Screenshot of Raghav Chadha’s tweet
The AAP leader was responding to media reports
claiming that the migrant labours in Delhi had rushed to go to their native
places after water and electricity to their houses were cut. It has been reported
that rumours were spread saying that the lockdown will go on for 3 months, and
after that Delhi govt transported the migrants to UP border using DTC buses. According
to Uttar Pradesh government, the migrant workers were told that UP buses were
waiting for them at the border, and had dropped them at the border, where there
was no bus from the UP govt. It later forced the UP govt to work overnight to
arrange around 1000 buses to transport those people stranded at the Delhi-UP
border to take them to their native places.
Basically, to do away with the migrant workers in the
national capital amidst the pandemic, the AAP government allegedly spread the
rumour that buses have been waiting at the UP borders to take them to their
respective households. This impelled the mass exodus of these migrant
labourers, who were forced to camp at the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border, in an
attempt to return to their respective villages.
After the UP government had accused the Delhi government of
playing petty politics using such tactics, the AAP leader responded to it by saying
that the Yogi Adityanath had got the migrants beaten, which is a complete lie.
Media reports show that UP government had mobilised huge number of buses to
evacuate people stranded at the state border, and no report mentions anything
about those people beaten by UP police.
Therefore, Mrityunjay Kumar asserted that it is completely false, and during such epidemic the Aam Aadmi Party is playing politics. ‘How low the Aam Aadmi Party can descend?’ he asked, and assured action on the tweet.
Even as the nation continues its fight against the Wuhan Coronavirus and tries to stop the spread of the virus, lots of media organisations as spreading panic by claiming that India will face situations like other countries and the current measures are not enough to stop the pandemic to descend into stage 3, which is community spread. Such a report was published by news agency IANS, which was carried by news portals like NDTV and National Herald, which cited a study on Coronavirus done by The Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy (CDDEP) in collaboration with John Hopkins University, US. The report claimed that the study has found that the ongoing 21-day national lockdown will not be able to contain the spread of Coronavirus. A screenshot of the cover of the report about India and Coronavirus was widely spread on social media, which showed the logos of CDDEP, JHU and the Princeton University on it.
But when one social media user asked the University whether the study was done by one of their students, the University responded that the use of their logo in the report is unauthorised, and they will be taking the matter with CDDEP. Now, even Princeton University has distanced itself from the report. Taking to Twitter, Princeton Univeristy too said that the use of their logo was unauthotised and they were looking into the matter.
We did not authorize this use of our logo. We’re looking into it to get it fixed. Thank you.
The report was published on 24th March, so presumably, it was published before the national lockdown as it announced by PM Narendra Modi at 8 PM on that day. It disagrees with such a measure and says that border closures at this stage have little to no impact and add further economic disruption and panic. “A national lockdown is not productive and could cause serious economic damage, increase hunger, and reduce the population resilience for handling the infection peak”, the report says.
In an interview with controversial journalist Barkha Dutt for her venture Mojo, CDDEP director Ramanan Laxminarayan had said, “if we have to do a lockdown, it would be now. We should lock down now, for a two-week period”. He had stressed that “we need it immediately.” The interview was published on 21st March, but surprisingly, just three days later, Laxminarayan’s report published a report arguing against the nationwide lockdown to control Coronavirus spread.
It is important to note that Dr Ramanan Laxminarayanan is not a doctor. He has a PhD degree who is recently being projected as a doctor and a health expert by several news organisations.
Ramanan Laxminarayanan is a UPA-era public health entrepreneur and has worked for a little-known not-for-profit organisation named Public Health Foundation of India for the last four years.
It is rather interesting that an unverified report was touted by the media to paint a grim picture of India, from which John Hopkins University and the Princeton University have distanced themselves only days a PhD holding was touted as a ‘Doctor’ to fear-monger against India during the Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak. The media’s credibility, which has an ever dwindling credibility, seems at an all-time low when even amidst an epidemic, facts and people who are touted as experts are not even verified before spreading panic amongst the people.
Update: Responding to this report, Princeton University said that they have contacted the researchers at CDDEP, and their logo is being removed from the report as the university didn’t authorise the same.
We've reached the researchers and they are fixing the University's logo in the report as we speak. The work was indeed done at Princeton and is being submitted for peer review.
But Princeton University said that the work was indeed done at Princeton and is being submitted for peer review. This means CCDEP had published a report making sweeping conclusions even before its peer review was done. This is a questionable act by the organisation, as no research report is published without doing peer review.
A 38-year old resident of Munger in Bihar who died on 21 March and had tested positive for Wuhan Coronavirus has found to be infected two members of his family and two employees of the private hospital in Patna where he was being treated. And now it is suspected that a large number of people are in danger of contracting the Covid-19 who had come into contact with the two employees and his family members, and a chain of community transmission may have been triggered.
The hospital employees- ward boy and the lab technician behaved irresponsibly after coming in contact with the COVID-19 positive patients, and endangered many people, according to a report.
The lab technician is said to have come in contact with around 50 people at multiple locations whereas the ward boy also attended a wedding in Patna where at least 80 people were present.
Among these 130 people, 110 people have been placed under isolation, 44 in Patna and 66 in Munger, while efforts are on to identify and monitor others who may have come into contact with the COVID-19 infected persons.
Doctors, nurses and other staff working at Sharnam hospital are also under isolation. The hospital hasn’t reported any COVID-19 case after that. Moreover, other family members and relatives of the man are also in danger as AIIMS Patna, where the man had died, had handed over the body to the family for his last rites.
The man from Munger who got infected by a novel coronavirus in Qatar and died on March 21 at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, has clearly left behind a trail of infections in Patna and Munger districts.
A doctor in Patna said, “the four cases of COVID-19 in Bihar are indicative of the community transmission of the virus, which is a reason enough for the officials to step up the quarantine measures.” There is a possibility of the number of cases may boost up.
The deceased was first admitted to a private hospital in Munger and later shifted to Sharnam Hospital in Patna. He was later brought to AIIMS, Patna, on March 20 when his health worsened. Because he was already suffering from chronic kidney disease, he was put on dialysis at AIIMS. The AIIMS staff noticed that he had severe respiratory distress.
As he had a history of overseas travel, the AIIMS authorities sent his samples for test on March 20, the day he was admitted.
The hospital released his body when he died on March 21 before the last reports arrived which later confirmed him as the first case of COVID-19 in the state of Bihar. The family had taken the body to Munger for the last rites.
After the carelessness of the two employees of the private hospital, the staff of AIIMS also showed carelessness as they released the body before the arrival of his test reports, potentially endangering the health and life of the family members of the deceased.
After business tycoons like Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries, Anand Mahindra, the chairman of Mahindra Group and Vedanta chairman Anil Agarwal pledged their support amidst the unprecedented crisis that has triggered widespread lockdowns across many parts of the country, Ratan Tata, the former chairman of the Tata group, has also risen to the occasion to extend assistance to the government in their fight against Wuhan Coronavirus.
Taking to Twitter, the Tata Group Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata pledged Rs 500 crore to fight Covid-19 pandemic.
Ratan Tata on Twitter wrote: “The Covid-19 crisis is one of the toughest challenges we will face as a race. The Tata Trusts and the Tata group companies have in the past risen to the needs of the nation. At this moment, the need of the hour is greater than any other time.”
The COVID 19 crisis is one of the toughest challenges we will face as a race. The Tata Trusts and the Tata group companies have in the past risen to the needs of the nation. At this moment, the need of the hour is greater than any other time. pic.twitter.com/y6jzHxUafM
The funds will be used for Personal Protective Equipment for the medical personnel on the frontlines, respiratory systems for treating increasing cases, testing kits to increase per capita testing, setting up modular treatment facilities for infected patients, knowledge management and training of health workers and the general public, Ratan Tata said.
Prior to this, Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance has announced a slew of measures taken by the conglomerate to shore up India’s battle against the Covid-19. Reliance has decided to step up production of 1 lakh masks per day, free fuel to emergency vehicles carrying Covid-19 patients and free meals to the needy ones in several cities to support the livelihood of those affected by the coronavirus outbreak.
Besides undertaking a slew of measures to shore up India’s battle against the Covid-19, Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance had also announced initial support of Rs 5 crores to Maharashtra Chief Minister’s Relief Fund to combat coronavirus spread. It also announced that it has set up India’s first COVID-19 dedicated hospital in Mumbai.
Anand Mahindra, the chairman of the Mahindra group, not only offered resorts under Mahindra Holidays as temporary care facilities for the patients, but he also claimed that his group’s project team would stand ready to assist the government and Army to help set up care facilities and that Mahindra Foundation will be setting aside a fund to help the worst-hit tide over the current crisis.
Vedanta chairman Anil Agarwal has pledged an amount of Rs 100 crores to fight the pandemic of coronavirus that has hit the nation.
As India strives to contain the spread of deadly Wuhan Coronavirus which have devasted several first world countries in the world, today prime minister Narendra Modi appealed the citizens of the country to monetarily contribute towards this effort by making donations. Although there is already the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund where people can make donations, the union government has launched “Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund” to receive public donations for the fight against Covid-19.
The Uttar Pradesh government on Saturday accused Arvind Kejriwal led AAP government in Delhi of playing petty politics, lying and spreading rumours, risking the lives of migrant workers at the time of a crisis as serious as the Coronavirus pandemic, according to a report by Indian Express.
The UP authorities stated that the Delhi authorities disconnected the water and electrical energy connections of individuals. “Throughout lockdown, individuals weren’t even supplied meals and milk in Delhi,” stated the report quoting UP govt sources. The UP authorities have also alleged that DTC buses dropped off individuals on the Delhi border within the title of assist.
The Delhi government spread unnecessary rumours by making announcements that there were buses at UP border ready to drop individuals to their locations, said the UP govt.
Basically, to do away with the migrant workers in the national capital amidst the pandemic, the AAP government allegedly spread the rumour that buses have been waiting at the UP borders to take them to their respective households. This impelled the mass exodus of these migrant labourers, now camping at the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border, in an attempt to return to their respective villages.
The report said that the UP CM Yogi Adityanath has stayed up till late last night to overlook the arrangements in order to help these stranded migrants, mostly hailing from UP and Bihar, to return back to their respective homes as soon as possible.
“Till late in the night, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was busy issuing instructions for arranging buses for the purpose,” the spokesman said, adding that the CM also directed officials to arrange for food and water for such people and their families. “At night, transportation officials, drivers and conductors were called from home,” said the statement, adding that 1,000 buses were arranged at night to bring back people stuck on the Delhi border.
On Saturday morning, senior police officers reached the Charbagh bus station in Lucknow to ensure that those arriving there were provided with food and water.
The buses later left for Kanpur, Ballia, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Azamgarh, Faizabad, Basti, Pratapgarh, Sultanpur, Amethi, Rae Bareli, Gonda, Etawah, Bahraich and Shravasti.
State’s DGP Hitesh Chandra Awasthi and Lucknow Police Commissioner Sujit Kumar Pande, were personally present at the bus depot to monitor the arrangements, the spokesman added.
The Uttar Pradesh government has claimed that these migrant workers will be ferried home to their respective villages free of cost but will be screened for the novel coronavirus first.
As India strives to contain the spread of deadly Wuhan Coronavirus which have devasted several first world countries in the world, today prime minister Narendra Modi appealed the citizens of the country to monetarily contribute towards this effort by making donations. Although there is already the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund where people can make donations, the union government has decided to set up a specific fund for Covid-19, due to the gravity of the situation posed by it.
The prime minister tweeted, “It is my appeal to my fellow Indians, kindly contribute to the PM-CARES Fund. This Fund will also cater to similar distressing situations, if they occur in the times ahead.”
It is my appeal to my fellow Indians,
Kindly contribute to the PM-CARES Fund. This Fund will also cater to similar distressing situations, if they occur in the times ahead. This link has all important details about the fund. https://t.co/enPvcqCTw2
He informed that people from all walks of life expressed their desire to donate to India’s war against Covid-19. “Respecting that spirit, the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund has been constituted. This will go a long way in creating a healthier India,” PM Modi tweeted.
The public charitable trust with the name ‘Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund’ (PM CARES Fund)’ will be a dedicated national fund with the objective of dealing with any kind of emergency or distress situation, like the current Covid-19 pandemic. Prime Minister is the Chairman of this trust, and its members include Defence Minister, Home Minister and Finance Minister. This
Citizens who want to make donations can go to the pmindia.gov.in and donate to the PM CARES fund. The details for making the donation are:
Name of the Account ——— PM CARES Account Number ————– 2121PM20202 IFSC Code ———————— SBIN0000691 SWIFT Code ——————— SBININBB104 Name of Bank & Branch —– State Bank of India, New Delhi Main Branch
Donations can be made using Debit and Credit Card, Internet Banking, UPI, and RTGS/NEFT. The UPI ID of the fund where donations can be made is pmcares@sbi.
As
usual, donations made to PM CARES Fund will be exempted from Income Tax under
section 80(G) of the Income Tax act.
The
Prime Minister also tweeted
details about the fund.
A notification published by the govt of India said that the pandemic of COVID-19 has engulfed the entire world and has posed serious challenges for the health and economic security of millions of people worldwide. In India too, the spread of coronavirus has been alarming and is posing severe health and economic ramifications for our country. The Prime Minister’s office has been receiving spontaneous and innumerable requests for making generous donations to support the government in the wake of this emergency, the statement said.
“Distress situations, whether natural or otherwise, demand expeditious and collective action for alleviating the suffering of those affected, mitigation/control of damage to infrastructure and capacities etc. Therefore, building capacities for quick emergency response and effective community resilience has to be done in tandem with infrastructure and institutional capacity reconstruction/enhancement. Use of new technology and advance research findings also become an inseparable element of such concerted action,” the statement issued by the union govt said.
This
fund will enable micro-donations as a result of which a large number of people
will be able to contribute with smallest of denominations. The statement adds
that PM Narendra Modi has said that public participation is the most effective
way to mitigate any issue and this is yet another example of the same.
The Congress-ruled Punjab Government has failed to trace 1330 out of 55,000 Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) who returned to the State from foreign countries after the 30th of January in the midst of country-wide lockdown in a bid to control the spread of Wuhan Coronavirus. Reportedly, these returnees evaded quarantine under the nose of the administration. The missing NRIs belonged to Rural Jalandhar (204), Ludhiana (172), Mohali (128), Gurdaspur (118), and Hoshiarpur (63).
Keeping in mind the alarming health risk posed by these untraceable passengers to the society, the State Ministry of Home Affairs has issued directions to the law enforcement authorities to find and quarantine the missing people for 14 days. The Divisional, Deputy and Police Commissioners have been asked to divide the districts into sectors and appoint Section officers for 8-10 villages.
Chief Secretary of the Punjab Government, Karan A Singh, was quoted as saying, “Till date, more than 48,000 NRIs have come to the state and almost all of them have been traced baring a few as the passport numbers and address given by them were incorrect. We have again written to the Union government to verify and send us the correct address.”
He also claimed that Punjab is the only state to have been able to track people who have returned from abroad. Singh added that a few people kept under home quarantine have expressed their displeasure but he appealed to them to stay at their homes.
Earlier, around 167 people who were suspected of being infected Wuhan Coronavirus had been missing in Ludhiana, while only 29 had been traced, said Dr Rajesh Bagga, the city’s civil surgeon. He added, “Two teams have been tasked to find the people coming from abroad, in which police have been given responsibility for finding 119 people. They have found 12 people so far and the other team is from the health department, in which they were given the responsibility to find 77 people. 17 people have been traced by the health department team while the rest of 167 people are still missing.”
To battle the deadly Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak, the central, as well as the state governments, have time and again reiterated the importance of social distancing and urged people to stay confined to their houses. While the Government is imposing stringent restrictions to ensure that the spread is contained, several people throughout the country have been purposely violating the lockdown risking theirs and other people’s life. Uttar Pradesh police have arrested a Muslim cleric in Bhagpat area for urging people to gather to offer Friday Namaz at the mosque amidst Coronavirus lockdown. He allegedly used the microphone to invite all the members of his community to join him for the mass prayer (Namaz) at the Mosque. Following the announcement, few alert locals informed the police who then reached the Mosque and arrested the cleric.
According to Kotwali in-charge Arvind Kumar, a case has been registered against the arrested Maulana under IPC sections 269 (Negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and 270 (Malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life).
Snapshot of the report published by the Hindi daily Dainik Jagran
Bhagpat in Uttar Pradesh reported its first case of coronavirus on March 26. A 32-year-old Bhagpat man who returned from Dubai recently tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday. The patient in question had travelled via public transport after deboarding the flight at the Delhi airport, confirmed the doctor currently treating him.
Uttar Pradesh police have also arrested two teachers, Imran and Madan, from the madrasa located in Muradnagar area in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. Deliberately defying the nationwide lockdown orders the teachers had locked up 20 students inside the Madarasa and continued with the classes.
An Imam was arrested in Bulandshahr while cases were registered against about two hundred others for violating the lockdown orders. According to reports from Bulandshahr, a case was registered against 22 people, including two imams, for offering prayers in mosques despite the nation-wide lockdown in Jahangirabad and Dibai areas of Bulandshahr district, police said on Friday.
Santosh Kumar, the Senior Superintendent of Police in Bulandshahr, said that ignoring repeated warnings, around two dozen people were offering namaz at a mosque in Mohalla Kayastha Bara of Jahangirabad. On receiving information, when police station in-charge reached the spot, the people fled. Meanwhile, Imam Nazir Ahmed, who was offering prayers, was arrested and a case was registered against 21 people.
In a similar incident, several people were offering prayers at a mosque in Kaser Kala village in Dibai area of the district. When the police reached the spot, the people fled. Police were bringing the imam Amir Hamza, after arresting him but due to strong resistance from people, the cops let him off to avert any untoward incident. However, the police registered a case in the matter.
@RakeshA12572734#कोरोना_वायरस के संक्रमण से बचाने के लिए सोशल डिस्टेंस बनाए रखने की अपील किए जाने के बाद भी कुछ लोग बाज नहीं आ रहे हैं।बुलंदशहर के डिबाई में दो मस्जिदों में लोगों की भीड़ नमाज पढ़ा रहे दो मौलनाओं को गिरफ्तार किया गया है https://t.co/3CYuUw1wI6#COVIDIOTS
In another incident reported from Hardoi, as many as 150 people were booked for offering prayers collectively in a mosque despite the lockdown in the district, police said on Friday.
In yet another shocking act of deliberate violation of lockdown, a Muslim mob on March 26, not only assembled at a local mosque in Mainpuri, Uttar Pradesh but also attacked the policemen for asking to avoid mass prayers (namaz) in the view of nationwide lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the report, the Muslim had assembled at a local mosque in Bhogaon, Mainpuri on Wednesday to offer namaz at a time when Uttar Pradesh government has issued orders that no religious places will be kept open for prayers during the lockdown. The local administration had also appealed the Muslims to not assemble at the mosque.
However, the Muslims had defied the rules to assemble at the mosque. On receiving information that people had gathered at the mosque located in Mohalla Mohammad Saeed town of Bhogaon, Inspector Pahup Singh reached the mosque with fellow policemen. When asked to open the door of the mosque, the mob became angry and refused to open the doors of the mosque. Thereafter, the Muslim mob unleashed themselves on the policemen as they attempted to disperse the mob. The police had to call for reinforcements to control the mob. However, Muslims have denied any attack and claimed that they are offering Namaz at home.
As the menace of coronavirus prompted several states across the country, including Uttar Pradesh, to impose blanket restrictions against the movement and congregation of people to blunt the spread of the virus, Muslim mobs have repeatedly descended on the streets to offer namaz.
Just two days back, in a similar incident, a Muslim mob in Meerut created a ruckus over being stopped from offering namaz in the mosques by the city police. Scores of Muslims had hit the streets at around 5:30 PM on Sunday in Meerut following the 5-minute celebration of gratitude expressed towards the frontline workers fighting the coronavirus.
Defying the rules, they had assembled at different mosques in the town- Sisiganj, Safety Tank, Rajbandh Market, Kotwali, Lisadi Gate and Nauchandin, to offer the evening prayers. Despite repeated attempts by the police to dissuade Muslims from marching towards the mosques, many Muslims ignored police’s appeals and instead created a ruckus after police tried to impede them from assembling at mosques in the view of the surging coronavirus cases in the country.
A day after the horrific terror attack by Islamic terrorists at a Gurudwara in Shor Bazar area in Kabul, Afghanistan, leaving 28 dead and at least 15 injured, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has now requested the Modi government to fly the Sikh families out of Afghanistan.
Taking to Twitter, Punjab CM urged External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to evacuate the Sikh families from the terror-hit Afghanistan. He requested the Modi government to airlift the Sikh families who are currently in the ‘moment of crisis’.
Dear @DrSJaishankar, there are a large number of Sikh families who want to be flown out of Afghanistan. Request you to get them airlifted at the earliest. In this moment of crisis, it’s our bounden duty to help them.
Ironically, Capt. Amarinder Singh’s request to evacuate persecuted minorities from Islamic countries such as Afghanistan comes despite the fact that he had himself opposed the Modi government’s idea of giving refuge in India to the persecuted minorities of the three neighbouring countries through Citizenship Amendment Act.
After the historic legislation was passed, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh had slammed the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act or CAA calling it against the secular fabric of the country. He said that the ongoing situation in India is similar to the one witnessed in Germany during 1930s under the leadership of Adolf Hitler.
Opposing the act tooth-and-nail, the Punjab Congress government had even passed a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in the state assembly.
However, Punjab CM Singh seems to have now realised the need for the humanitarian law which provides for citizenship to minorities such as Sikhs in Afghanistan who have been persecuted at the hands of Islamic terrorists for years now. He has now sought help from the Modi government for the evacuation of Sikh families stranded in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, pro-Khalistani terrorists have also begged the Indian government seeking evacuation of stranded Sikhs in Afghanistan. Jaswant Singh Thekedar, the founder of pro-Khalistani Dal Khalsa terror organisation, has requested the Indian government to shelter the remaining families of Sikhs and Hindus from Afghanistan.
On Wednesday, armed Islamic terrorists attacked a Gurudwara in Shor Bazar Area of Afghanistan killing at least 28 people and left hundreds injured. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack, however, the possible role of the Tehreek-e-Taliban backed by Pakistan has not been ruled out.
It was later reported that the Islamic State communique had claimed the responsibility for the attack. An Indian identified as Mohammed Sajid Kuthirummal alias ‘Abu Khalid al-Hindi’ from Kerala had reportedly carried out the attack in order to avenge the supposed ‘plight of Muslims in Kashmir’.
In 2016, Mohammed Sajid Kuthirummal had escaped from Kerala to join Islamic terror outfit ISIS. Before he escaped, he was a shopkeeper in Kasargod, Kerala. He had joined ISIS along with 14 others from Kasargod itself. Mohammed Sajid Kuthirummal was wanted by NIA in its 2016 Kasargod ISIS module case and had a red corner notice out against him.
