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A national newspaper published a "news report" recently that was patently false and agenda-driven. That piece looks very earnest and innocuous at first glance, but it is a product of crafty propaganda in the garb of news
Here is a short thread about the piece:
Here is a short thread about the piece:
In April, Centre arbitrarily allocated O2 to Delhi from WB & Odisha and asked Delhi to "lift" it without giving Delhi the logistics for it. Obviously the O2 didn& #39;t reach Delhi for more than a week - and throughout that period Centre claimed in Court that Delhi had enough O2.
But when Courts had had enough, Mehta began saying Delhi wasn& #39;t getting O2 because it didn& #39;t procure tankers for transporting the O2.
The Courts rejected this claim: "If Centre is allocating the O2, it is their responsibility to supply it."
The Courts rejected this claim: "If Centre is allocating the O2, it is their responsibility to supply it."
Instead of fact checking Mehta, a national newspaper published his version verbatim, blaming Delhi for the oxygen crisis, absolving Centre of all blame.
Whatever little criticism of the Centre was carried was reported as "AAP& #39;s claims"
Whatever little criticism of the Centre was carried was reported as "AAP& #39;s claims"
The report used Tushar Mehta& #39;s talking point: Delhi should& #39;ve purchased O2 tankers in advance but instead wasted crucial time in court when it should& #39;ve been procuring tankers
Pretty strong expert public health/legal opinion right? Wrong. It& #39;s a quote by a Faridabad transporter
Pretty strong expert public health/legal opinion right? Wrong. It& #39;s a quote by a Faridabad transporter
Isn& #39;t it amazing how a heroic legal battle that ended up in actually getting Delhi it& #39;s fair share of oxygen from the Centre is dismissed as a waste of time?
How could Delhi "predict" that Centre will allot O2 from Durgapur in WB? What kind of nonsensical claim is this?
How could Delhi "predict" that Centre will allot O2 from Durgapur in WB? What kind of nonsensical claim is this?
The report deflects blame again, "So what if Centre didn& #39;t install the PSA plants it was supposed to. Why didn& #39;t AAP install plants in its own hospitals?"
Let& #39;s say AAP had done that. How would it have resolved the crisis in Pvt hospitals like Batra, Gangaram & Jaipur Golden?
Let& #39;s say AAP had done that. How would it have resolved the crisis in Pvt hospitals like Batra, Gangaram & Jaipur Golden?
PSA plants would& #39;ve been very useful, but Delhi& #39;s demand was several times more than PSA plants can generate. The crisis was that demand was rising and the Centre was refusing to acknowledge the need for more supply and then when it acknowledged, it refused to provide logistics
But the report doesn& #39;t suggest that at all! In fact it says, Delhi also failed in "managing" internal supply of oxygen.
This is victim blaming of the worst kind. There was a massive supply shortfall. Of course "internal supply" was disrupted - but because of EXTERNAL reasons!
This is victim blaming of the worst kind. There was a massive supply shortfall. Of course "internal supply" was disrupted - but because of EXTERNAL reasons!
