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As 22 MLAs ditch Kamal Nath, the MP CM writes to Governor alleging horse-trading of MLAs by BJP, requests floor test in assembly

OpIndia Staff
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As 22 MLAs ditch Kamal Nath, the MP CM writes to Governor alleging horse-trading of MLAs by BJP, requests floor test in assembly

Congress government led by Kamal Nath in Madhya Pradesh is at the brink of collapse following the resignation of 22 MLAs after the bigwig Jyotiraditya Scindia ditched the party to join BJP recently. Probably troubled by the thought of losing his rank, Kamal Nath met the MP Governor Lalji Tandon on Friday in Bhopal and handed over a letter in which he alleged horsetrading of MLAs by BJP, an allegation which the later has refuted.

While handing over the letter to the Governor, CM Kamal Nath requested to ensure “release of MLAs held in captivity in Bengaluru”. In the letter, Kamal Nath also requested that the floor test is done in the forthcoming session of the assembly on a date fixed by the Speaker.

The ruling Congress in Madhya Pradesh has alleged that 19 of the rebel Congress MLAs, including 6 cabinet ministers, have been held “captive” by the BJP in a resort in Bengaluru.

“On March 8 2020, the Bharatiya Janata Party arranged three chartered aircraft to whisk away 19 MLAs of the Congress party to Bengaluru. Since, then 19 MLAs, of whom six MLAs are cabinet ministers, are incommunicado in a resort arranged by BJP. Nobody is allowed to access and/or any sort of communication with the 19 captive MLA’s.” the letter stated.

It further alleged that on March 10, BJP leaders reached the Speaker’s residence to hand over the resignation letter of the rebel MLAs. “None of the 19 MLAs were present to tender resignation at the speaker’s residence,” the letter alleged.

Citing the incidents mentioned above, the letter accused the BJP of complicity in the conspiracy to topple the state government.

Meanwhile, Lalji Tandon had issued notices to all the rebel MLAs to appear before him on Friday, asking them to clarify if they quit the party voluntarily or were pressurised to do so.

The high octane political drama in Madhya Pradesh kickstarted with the resignation of former Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, following which 22 MLAs including six ministers followed suit and resigned from the assembly.

The concerns of Kamal Nath is apprehensible knowing that with the resignation of the 22 Congress MLAs, which is still to be accepted by the speaker of the Madhya Pradesh assembly, the strength of the assembly will reduce to 206, with the Congress having 92 seats, and the BJP, having 107 seats. In this situation, BJP can easily cross the halfway mark of 104 for a majority, thus forcing the collapse of Kamal Nath-led government in the state. 

Fact-check: Did Coronavirus spread in Italy due to a Pakistani or due to ‘hug a Chinese’ campaign?

OpIndia Staff
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Fact-check: Did Coronavirus spread in Italy due to a Pakistani or due to ‘hug a Chinese’ campaign?

With the outbreak of the deadly COVID-19 coronavirus in Italy, social media has been abuzz with news that the patient zero in Italy has been identified as a Pakistani immigrant who refused to self-isolate.

Multiple media outlets had reported that an unnamed Pakistani migrant in Italy continued to deliver Chinese food despite being tested positive for coronavirus.

News report suggesting Pakistani migrant refusing to self-isolate even after testing positive for coronavirus.

In medical terminology, patient zero is someone who is the first documented patient when there is an outbreak. The news item suggested that the Pakistani migrant then compounded the risk by continuing the delivery of Chinese food. The wnd news links to a summit.news report which further links the story to one ‘Free West Media’ report. The News Feed Media report linked in summit.news report, however, talks about YouTuber PewDiePie.

Read: PewDiePie makes racist remarks against Indians after losing the YouTube subscriber battle against T-Series

Now, as it turns out, it is fake news. According to Associate Press, Italy is yet to identify its patient zero. World Health Organisation spokesperson Stephanie Brickman confirmed to AP that Italian authorities are yet to identify patient zero of the virus.

‘Hug a Chinese’

Another piece of news that has been making rounds is that the Mayor of Florence, Italy, initiated a ‘Hug a Chinese’ campaign to “eradicate prejudice” against the Chinese and encouraged random pedestrians to essentially ‘hug’ a Chinese.

‘Hug a Chinese’ movement

At first, this news seemed absolutely fake as when the world is advocating social distancing to ensure the spread of highly contagious virus is lessened, anyone encouraging hugging anyone in middle of an outbreak is ridiculous. However, the above news is not fake.

Dario Nardella, Mayor of Florence, Italy, on February 1 initiated a ‘Hug a Chinese’ campaign on Twitter.

He did this to ‘fight the psychological terrorism’ against the Chinese. This is not satire.

He was even hailed for the fight against ‘racism’.

Read: Former Chief Election Commission SY Quraishi wishes PM Modi gets infected with coronavirus

While there is no conclusive evidence that the ‘Hug a Chinese’ campaign might have spread coronavirus in Italy, as not all Chinese people are carriers of virus and hence they should not be discriminated against, it does not take away the fact that the campaign was perhaps not well thought of. It put political correctness over common sense and precaution.

Coronavirus in Italy

After China, Italy has seen the highest number of deaths from the deadly virus. Over a 1,000 people have died in Italy while the global figure is at over 4,600. In past 24 hours only almost 200 people have died in Italy due to coronavirus. Italy has tightened its quarantine and the US has banned flights to Europe.

Vast Burial pits dug in Iran’s Qom due to massive coronavirus casualties now visible from the space

OpIndia Staff
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Vast Burial pits dug in Iran’s Qom due to massive coronavirus casualties now visible from the space

The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in such massive casualties in Iran that two vast trenches of 100 metres that are now visible from space were dug at the Behesht-e Masoumeh complex in Qom, reported The Washington Post. The evacuation work in Qom, a city located about 130km south of Tehran, began around February 21 but it was expanded rapidly to keep with the rising number of deaths (429 according to official figures).

The story was unearthed by two journalists, namely Dalton Bennett and Erin Cunningham. In a Twitter thread, Bennett talked about a viral video that triggered the investigation into the case. As the man recording the video pointed out, close to two dozen dead bodies (sealed in black sleeping bags) were to be disposed off at the morgue at Behesht-e Masoumeh.

On March 3, another video surfaced allegedly showing Iranian authorities carrying corpses of coronavirus victims to the dedicated section at the Behesht-e Masoumeh cemetery. The man recording the video claimed that around 80 bodies had been buried while the Government put the number to 34.

The Washington Post reporters sought help from Planet Labs, the largest earth observation satellite network, and an analyst named Fabian Hintz from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey to ascertain that the video was shot at the morgue in Qom, Iran.

The journalists collected high-resolution satellite images from Maxar Technologies, a company that specialises in combining space infrastructure and Earth intelligence capabilities, and discovered that the excavation work for a new section of the morgue began around February 21. Another image from March 1 shows two large trenches with a combined length of that of a football field.

A senior analyst from Maxar Technologies revealed that the excavation work undertaken at the site in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak was clearly different from the burial practices of the past. Fabian Hintz from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey used “colour infrared satellite imagery” to determine changes in chlorophyll that could help track changes at the site.

Moreover, historic imagery data released by Planet Labs confirmed instances of recent excavation at the Behesht-e Masoumeh cemetery. The same was independently ascertained by Maxar Technologies. The deadly pathogen, coronavirus, that originated in Wuhan, China has affected around 10,000 people in Iran until now.

Earlier, 44 people in Iran died due to consumption of bootleg alcohol due to the rumours that it can cure coronavirus infection. Also, hundreds have been hospitalized after consuming the methanol in an effort to curb the disease. According to the Health Ministry Official Ali Ehsanpour, the deceased and others who are hospitalized consumed the toxic methanol instead of ethanol. Seven bootleggers have been arrested in connection with the incident.

It may be noted that China has ordered immediate cremation of coronavirus victims and banned burial and other methods of preserving the bodies, so that the virus does not spread which may happen in case of burial. China, where the virus originated and is worst hit by it, has also banned funeral ceremonies for those who die due to the infection.

US President Donald Trump to not undergo coronavirus test after meeting infected Brazilian official

OpIndia Staff
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US President Donald Trump to not undergo coronavirus test after meeting infected Brazilian official

The White House has informed that US President Donald Trump will not undergo coronavirus test, despite meeting an infected Brazilian official, Fabio Wajngarten, at his resort in Florida on Saturday. Wajngarten who serves as Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s communications secretary had accompanied the latter in his US trip and attended an official meeting with the US President.

Reportedly, Fabio Wajngarten had developed flu-like symptoms and was diagnosed with coronavirus. The same was confirmed by a second test. He had earlier uploaded the photo of his meeting with Trump on Instagram along with the caption, “Make Brazil Great Again.”

Speaking about the issue, Donald Trump told reporters, ” I did hear something about that. We had dinner together in Florida at Mar-a-Lago with the entire delegation. I don’t know, if the press said Wajngarten was there, then he was there. But we did nothing very unusual. We sat next to each other for a period of time, had a great conversation. He’s doing a terrific job in Brazil, and we’ll find out what happens. I guess they’re being tested right now?.”

He added, ” Let’s put it this way, I am not concerned.”

Eduardo, the son of Jair Bolsonaro, tweeted that his father was not showing any symptoms of the deadly disease but added that they were awaiting the results.

Stephanie Grisham, the spokesperson of Donald Trump, was quoted as saying “The White House is aware of public reports that a member of the Brazilian delegation tested positive for COVID-19. Exposures from the case are being assessed, which will dictate the next steps. Both the president and vice president had almost no interactions with the individual who tested positive and do not require being tested at this time.”

On Thursday, a cautioned Trump greeted Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar with the Indian traditional “Namaste” and avoided all forms of physical contact. He said, “We did not shake hands today. We looked at each other and said what we are going to do. You know, sort of a weird feeling. I just got back from India. And I did not shake any hands there. And it’s very easy because they go like this “

The coronavirus pandemic has also affected Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau. She had developed mild symptoms and following the medical advice was put in isolation. Earlier, Prime Minister Trudeau had self-isolated after his wife developed symptoms for the deadly virus which has claimed lives of thousands across the globe.

Unnao case: Kuldeep Singh Sengar sent to 10 years imprisonment for murder of rape victim’s father

OpIndia Staff
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Unnao case: Kuldeep Singh Sengar sent to 10 years imprisonment for murder of rape victim’s father

A Delhi Court has sentenced all convicts including expelled BJP leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar to 10 years imprisonment for murder of the Unnao rape victim’s father. Sengar and his brother Atul are also to pay Rs 10 lakh each as compensation to victim’s family.

Earlier this month, Delhi’s Tis Hazari court held him guilty of culpable homicide for the custodial death of Unnao rape victim’s father. Out of the 11 accused in the case, the court convicted 7 including Sengar, who is also convicted in Unnao rape case, and acquitted 4 others. The court observed that though Sengar had no intention of killing the rape victim’s father but he was so badly beaten that he died of the injuries sustained by him.

The Unnao rape survivor’s father died in police custody on April 2018. According to charge-sheet filed in July 2018, the victim’s father, along with his co-worker were returning to their village, Makhi, when they had an altercation with one Shashi Pratap Singh. Singh called his associates-Sengar and his brother Atul who reached the spot and beat up the Unnao rape victim’s father and his co-worker. The father was taken to the police where an FIR was filed against him and he was arrested.

The charge sheet mentions that Kuldeep Sengar was in contact the whole time with the district police superintendent and Makhi police station in-charge Ashok Singh Bhadauria. He later also talked with the doctor who examined the father. Kuldeep Sengar, his brother Atul, the Makhi police station in-charge, Sub-Inspector Kamta Prasad, Constable Amir Khan and six others were charged with the conspiracy of murdering the Unnao victim’s father.

Delhi riots: Police on high alert ahead of Friday prayers, security tightened around ‘sensitive’ places

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi riots: Police on high alert ahead of Friday prayers, security tightened around ‘sensitive’ places

In view of recent anti-Hindu riots in Delhi, which has claimed at least 50 lives and left over 250 injured in northeast Delhi, the Delhi Police has sounded a high alert across the national capital and tightened security at ‘sensitive places’ ahead of the Friday prayers.

According to the reports, the Delhi police have increased security in sensitive areas across the riot-hit North-East Delhi ahead of Friday prayers in the national capital following the anti-Hindu riots.

On the day of US President Donald Trump’s visit to India, the national capital had witnessed large-scale violence under the garb of anti-CAA protests. The anti-CAA riots turned communal in Delhi resulting in severe violence on the streets of  Delhi. The anti-Hindu riots that engulfed the streets of Delhi have resulted in deaths of around 50 persons and more than 250 people sustained injuries in the violence that started on Sunday.

The injured include around 70 persons from the security forces. On Wednesday, home minister Amit Shah had informed in the parliament that 700 FIRs have been registered and more than 2,600 people arrested based on evidence.

Read: There is a conspiracy behind Delhi riots, money came from abroad and rest of the country for it: Home Minister Amit Shah

Moreover, as many as 1,922 rioters have been identified by using facial recognition software, he said, adding that driving licence, voter ID data are being used in the software. More than 40 special teams have been constituted to arrest those identified. Moreover, 50 serious cases of murder, attacks on religious places, hospitals, and educational institutions have been handed over to 3 SITs. The people who have been identified, whose details such as names, addresses and car numbers are with the government, were going to be arrested, Shah said.

Hindu family in Meerut plans to leave the village after Muslim neighbours kill their pet dog, harass them: Report

OpIndia Staff
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Hindu family in Meerut plans to leave the village after Muslim neighbours kill their pet dog, harass them: Report

A family in Meerut’s Panchli Khurd village is planning to leave the village and go away after facing repeated harassment in their Muslim majority neighbourhood. As per a report in Jagran, the family’s pet dog was recently beaten to death by their Muslim neighbours.

The family of Ramcharitra in Panchli Khurd village lives in a Muslim majority neighbourhood. As per the Jagran report, Ramcharitra is a contractor who works in Bengaluru. Ramcharitra’s minor daughter Deepa has informed that on 14 February, their pet dog had bitten the grandson of their neighbour Shabbir.

Shabbir’s family reportedly was angry over the incident and they had alleged that Ramcharitra’s family have deliberately let their dog attack Shabbir’s grandson. On 8 March, Shabbir’s family had allegedly attacked the dog and beaten it to death.

Ramcharitra’s family had reportedly approached the local police station but their complaint was not registered. Deepa has informed that despite repeated attempts to file a complaint and take action on Shabbir’s family for killing the pet dog, there has been no response so far.

The family has alleged that due to the Muslim-majority population in the area, police hesitates to take action against them. The family has also informed that since Ramcharitra does not live in the village, the family has been facing repeated threats and harassment from the neighbours. The minor daughter has alleged that they have been beaten by Shabbir’s family in the past too. After repeated incidents of harassment, the family has said that they are planning to leave the village and go to Bengaluru.

The local ASP has stated that they will look into the matter and take appropriate action.

Coronavirus: 76-year-old who died in Karnataka had COVID-19, relatives had shifted him to private hospital without doctor’s knowledge

OpIndia Staff
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Coronavirus: 76-year-old who died in Karnataka had COVID-19, relatives had shifted him to private hospital without doctor’s knowledge

A 76-year-old man from Karnataka’s Kalaburagi became the first victim of the deadly pandemic in India. He has been confirmed positive for COVID-19, state Health Minister B Sriramulu confirmed on Thursday night.

According to the reports, in an official notification, a senior health official Dr Suresh Shastri said that the lab test has confirmed that the deceased man had COVID-19. Previously, the doctors had suspected that the man had coronavirus, however, the test had not confirmed it.

Reportedly, the deceased returned to Kalaburgi on February 29 from the Middle East and passed away on Wednesday. He went to a private hospital in Kalburgi district on March 5 and was admitted there following respiratory issues and hypertension. On March 8, he was shifted to a hospital in Hyderabad in the nearby state of Telangana. His family reportedly checked him out of the hospital the same day and his death occurred late at night.

According to the Union health ministry official, the old man visited Saudi Arabia on January 29 and returned to India a month later on February 29.

“He was a known case of hypertension and asthma. He reached back to Hyderabad on February 29 and went to Kalaburgi. While he was asymptomatic on his return, he developed symptoms of fever and cough on March 6. One private doctor visited him at his home and treated him there,” the statement read.

However, on March 9, the Kalaburgi man’s health deteriorated with aggravated symptoms and a private hospital in the town provisionally diagnosed his case as mid-zone viral pneumonia and suspected COVID-19.

“The samples were collected on March 9th by Viral Research Diagnostic Laboratory, Gulbarga Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS), Kalaburgi collected his sample to rule out the COVID-19 and dispatched it to VDRL, Bangalore Medical College & Research Institute, Bengaluru to rule out Coronavirus. Without waiting for the test results, the attendees insisted and the patient was discharged against medical advice (DAMA) and the attendees took him to a private hospital in Hyderabad,” said the statement.

Though Kalaburgi District Health Officer met the patient’s relatives and requested them to shift the patient to an isolated ward within GIMS, according to the instructions of the Deputy Commissioner of the district, the relatives did not heed them and moved the patient without the officer’s knowledge to Hyderabad.

Read: Mamata Banerjee says government is trying to ‘divert attention’ from the Delhi riots by ‘creating’ coronavirus panic

“The patient was admitted in a private hospital in Hyderabad and treated. Later he was discharged and while he was being brought back he died on the way to GIMS, Kalaburgi on Tuesday,” a said the statement.

Currently, all precautionary measures as per protocol such as contact tracing, screening and home quarantine of the contacts have been initiated by the Kalaburgi district health and family welfare department and being monitored continuously.

Apart from the deceased, Karnataka has confirmed five other positive cases of the novel coronavirus. The fifth case, confirmed on Thursday is of a 26-year-old man who recently returned from Greece.

Coronavirus is a deadly respiratory disease which has killed more than 4,600 and so far more than 1,26,0000 cases are reported globally, according to the World Health Organisation. The outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was first reported from Wuhan, China, on 31 December 2019.

On Thursday, the number of people infected with coronavirus in India rose to 73, with fresh cases reported from Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Ladakh. The transmission of the virus takes place when someone who is infected comes in contact with another person. According to medical experts, coughing, sneezing or even shaking hands with an infected person can cause exposure.

Sensex plunges during initial trading, trading halted in Nifty for 45 minutes after it hits lower circuit limit

OpIndia Staff
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Sensex plunges during initial trading, trading halted in Nifty for 45 minutes after it hits lower circuit limit

The Sensex has plunged to 3090.62 points and is currently under 30,000 points at 29,687.52. The Nifty has also tanked by 966.10 points to 8,624.05 points. The trading has been halted for 45 minutes at Nifty as the market fell by 10% in the initial trade and hit the lower circuit limit.

The market trading has been halted for the first time since May 2008. Trading will resume at 10:20 AM.

Update: The Sensex gained 242.2 points, currently at 33,020.34.

Former Chief Election Commission SY Quraishi wishes PM Modi gets infected with coronavirus

OpIndia Staff
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Former Chief Election Commission SY Quraishi wishes PM Modi gets infected with coronavirus

Former Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi on Thursday indirectly wished that Prime Minister Modi be tested positive for the deadly COVID-19 coronavirus that has now become a global pandemic.

On Thursday, an Islamist took to social media to share the news that Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro has tested for the deadly coronavirus. Taking a dig at the incident, the radical Islamist went on to wish that Prime Minister Modi, who had recently met the Brazilian President Bolsonaro during the Republic Day celebrations, too should test for the contagious disease. Jair Bolsonaro has been tested for the virus after his secretary Fabio Wajngarten tested positive. Bolsonaro’s results are still awaited.

While it is not a new phenomenon to see rabid Islamists get excited at the prospect of Prime Minister falling ill, what was shocking was that former Election Commissioner SY Quraishi too turned out to be an Islamist who could wish ill on the PM. Quraishi retweeted the tweet which was in poor taste.

A Twitter post retweeted by SY Quraishi wishing PM Modi tested positive for Coronavirus.

SY Quraishi who had until now put up a ‘secular’ face and was often hailed for his objective assessment, seems to have dropped his masks off. Quraishi, an accomplished Muslim man, perhaps has now decided to openly express his Islamist credentials by tweeting death for PM Modi through coronavirus. It is rather disturbing to comprehend that Quraishi was once responsible for India’s Election Commission which is supposed to be as neutral as they come.

While these very “intellectuals” who have pretended to be ‘neutral’ all these days, their death wish for PM Modi betrays their stand. The so-called intellectuals, Islamists who have traditionally been anti-Modi, had often worn the cloak of neutrality to mask their hatred and bias and it is at such times that their masks slip, giving a glimpse into their real hostility.

This is not the first time that somebody from the “liberal-secular” coterie had wished ill for Prime Minister Modi. Former NDTV journalist cum troll, Sunetra Chowdhury had a few years ago in 2009 had expressed glee when Narendra Modi had been diagnosed with Swine Flu.

Sunetra Chowdhury’s tweet from 2009

Earlier as well, a journalist associated with The Quint, Suprateek Chatterjee, had tweeted that he was happy to know that Prime Minister Modi was one year closer to death. Incidentally, it was just past PM’s birthday for him when he tweeted, as the Modi hater was in the US when he expressed his desire to see Modi dead. He was a repeat offender and had brazened it out when The Quint disassociated themselves from him.

Even a Times Now journalist had waited for Modi to be assassinated, and another columnist with The Quint wanted Modi to be shot dead.

Update: After being called out by netizens for his hateful behaviour, Quraishi has undone his retweet and claimed that he was trying to ‘report’ the hateful tweet as ‘offensive’ when he retweeted it ‘by mistake’.

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