On Mahashivratri, the last day of Maha Kumbh, the number of devotees taking a holy dip may touch 3 crore by the end of the day. The final figure of devotees at the 45-day-long Maha Kumbh may touch 66 to 67 crore. This is almost double the size of USA’s population, which is 34 crore. The huge turnout of devotees has unnerved the opposition, which had been feeding fake videos about death of thousands in stampede. Yogi Adityanath had remarked that “while the devouts will find their faith, vultures will search for bodies and pigs will look for garbage”. Akhilesh Yadav is a seasoned politician who understands the loaded meaning behind this remark. Yogi is right when he alleges that fake narratives were sought to be created since Day 1. You will remember, when the Maha Kumbh began, it was alleged that special trains were running empty, but visuals of huge gatherings rubbished this charge. It was alleged that the water quality at Sangam was not fit for bathing, but devotees replied to this charge on camera. When it was alleged that thousands died in the stampede and bodies were thrown into Ganga, those levelling such allegations did not know this was the age of AI, and several thousands drones and CCTV cameras were taking live visuals. How can anyone dare to throw the bodies in the river? Yogi rubbished each and every charge that was made. This was necessary. Each fake narrative was demolished. These fake news had no impact on the millions of devotees who thronged the Maha Kumbh. The numbers continued to increase. People were watching live visuals on TV and were looking at the flow of river Ganga. It is a bitter truth that if such a huge congregation of any other religion had taken place, none would have dared to make baseless charges. This Maha Kumbh will be remembered for ages to come.
CAG report : The truth about Delhi liquor scam
The CAG report on the controversial Delhi liquor policy, placed in the Assembly, clearly states that Delhi government suffered a loss of more than Rs 2,000 crore and licensing process norms were not followed. The report says, rules were framed without the sanction of Lt. Gov. and cabinet in order to benefit the liquor cartels. There was no transparency while fixing liquor prices. Interestingly, AAP leader Atishi claimed that the CAG report was related to the liquor policy framed during Sheila Dixit’s rule. Atishi claimed that the losses were not due to the policy but due to Lt. Governor, CBI and ED. Atishi and AAP leaders are good at giving spin to facts. Their policy seems to be: Attack is the best defence. The CAG report presented on Tuesday clearly states that the new liquor policy was framed during Arvind Kejriwal’s rule and it was meant to benefit a handful of businessmen. It was Kejriwal and his men who drafted the policy causing loss to the exchequer. CBI and ED are already probing the charges, but AAP is yet to give specific replies to the charges made in the excise scam. AAP leaders forget that the government in NCT has changed and Rekha Gupta’s government has access to all files. Neither can the truth be hidden nor can a spin be given. Anymore.
A new son on the rise in Bihar
In Bihar, a new son is on the rise. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s 49-year-old son Nishant Kumar has appealed to people to vote for his father. He has also appealed that his father be declared the CM candidate for the NDA alliance. Nishant Kumar is unmarried and he had been keeping a low profile after completing his studies in engineering. On Tuesday, a billboard was erected outside JD(U) office “appealing” to Nishant Kumar to join politics and lead the party. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav advised Nishant Kumar to marry first before joining politics. He also advised him to beware of alliance leaders like Chirag Paswan and Jitanram Manjhi. Till now, Nitish Kumar’s son has been staying away from active politics, but nobody can say with finality whether he would contest this year’s Bihar assembly elections or not. Rumours are rife in the Bihar capital about Nishant being pressurized to join politics and take over his father’s legacy. Nishant is being told by his close advisers that his father has his own support base in Bihar, which can be transferred to him. Some of them have told Nishant that he should take up the responsibility given the health of his father. Indications are that Nishant Kumar’s heart is now melting. Slowly.
Preity Zinta’s courageous step
A false news about film actor Preity Zinta is a clear example of how social media is being misused to spread lies. Kerala Congress spread a lie about Preity Zinta that she had taken Rs 18 crore loan from the crisis ridden New India Cooperative Bank in Mumbai, and she got her loan written off after she reportedly allowed her social media handle to be used to favour BJP. Preity Zinta reacted immediately. She wrote on X: “I operate my social media accounts myself and shame on you for promoting FAKE NEWS! No one wrote off anything or any loan for me. I’m shocked that a political party or their representative is promoting fake news & indulging in vile gossip & click baits using my name & images. For the record, a loan was taken and FULLY PAID BACK – over 10 years ago. Hope this clarifies and helps, so there are no misunderstandings in future.” By the time, Preity Zinta reacted, thousands of netizens wrote defamatory remarks about her. I would like to praise Preity Zinta for showing courage by putting the truth before the people and forced Kerala Congress to tender apology. Normally, most of the celebrities ignore such fake news, but it encourages those who peddle lies on social media. Such liars and fake news peddlers must not be spared. If they refuse to apologize, they must be dragged to courts. Until and unless two or three fake news peddlers are not punished, this trend will not stop.