Chennai: Even as the entire world is fighting against the coronavirus pandemic, ‘incidents’ that have been happening in India lately have been diverting the public’s attention from the virus either voluntarily or involuntarily.
In other words, the country is winning over the crisis with diversions. News Today lists out a few topics that overshadowed Covid-19.
India vs China
The clash between India-China and the incidents that followed was the much talked about topic even during the pandemic. Since 5 May 2020, Indian and Chinese troops were engaged in clash at the Sino-Indian border. Apart from India and China, several other countries were also keenly watching the developments.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the injured soldiers in the border. This was followed by India banning over 50 Chinese apps. Sources also reported that both the countries even held back goods that were supposed to be sent to one another. The cold war seems to continue even now as the tension has not resuced in the border.
Rajasthan Rumble
Eighteen months after coming to power, infighting between Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his deputy, Sachin Pilot in Rajasthan created ripples in the political scenario.
The furious young turk claimed Gehlot doesn’t have the strength to sustain the government, but Congress said 109 MLAs have sworn allegiance. Later, Sachin and his supporters were disqualisfied following which they have appealed in the Rajasthan High Court .
Notices served to them by the Rajasthan Speaker asked them to explain ‘anti-party activities’, failing which they would be disqualified. Since Sunday, Sachin Pilot has been in Delhi along with some 20 MLAs.
To make sure they get the message, the Congress sent the notices via SMS, WhatsApp, email and post and even pasted documents in Hindi and English on walls outside their homes across Rajasthan. It is alleged that the BJP is behind Pilot, a charge which the ruling party in the Centre has denied.
Nepal nitty-gritty
Nepal, which was seen as India’s friend, is proving to be a headache lately. After a string of words and acts from the neigbouring country, Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s latest claim that Lord Rama was born in Ayodhya village of Nepal and not in India became the hot topic of debate.
Oli made the claim while addressing a programme to mark the birth anniversary of Bhanubhakta Acharya. He said, “Till now we have remained under the belief that Ram, the man Sita married, was an Indian. He was not, he was a Nepali. Balmiki Ashram is in Nepal and the holy place where King Dashrath had executed the rites to get the son is in Ridi. Dashrath’s son Ram was not an Indian and Ayodhya is also in Nepa.”
The Nepalese Prime Minister also asked how Lord Rama could come to Janakpur to marry Sita when there was no means of communication. He added that it was impossible for Lord Rama to come to Janakpur from Ayodhya in India.
The bilateral ties between India and Nepal came under strain after Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated a road connecting the Lipulekh pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand. The inauguration of 80-km-long road did not go down well with Nepal government with Kathmandu claiming that the road was built on Nepalese land. Nepal recently updated its political map and included some Indian territories in the new map.
Assam Apocalypse
Another thing that grabbed media attention in a big way is the recent floods in Assam claiming more than 60 lives. Most of the rivers in the State are in spate, and the India Meteorological Department has forecast more rain in the coming days.
Over 34 lakh people in 26 of the 33 districts in the State are affected by the devastating floods. The Brahmaputra and eight other rivers in Assam are flowing above the danger level.
According to the Assam disaster management body, 3,371 villages are under flood waters and standing crops in 1.28 lakh hectares have been ruined. More than 44,000 have been moved to State relief camps. Apart from this over 80 per cent of the Kaziranga National Park has been inundated and 66 wild animals including two rhinos have died, the forest department officials said.