From BJP Gujarat president CR Paatil stating, “not a single labourer migrated from Gujarat,” during the coronavirus lockdown to news outlets claiming that Patanjali's 'Coronil' has been recognised as a medicine for COVID-19 by the World Health Organisation, here’s all that misled the public this week.
1. BJP’s Gujarat Chief Makes Misleading Claim on ‘Migrant Exodus’
While addressing a gathering of party workers on 18 February, Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Gujarat president CR Paatil stated that “not a single labourer migrated from Gujarat,” during the coronavirus lockdown.
However, his statement falls short on facts, as reports and studies state that migrant workers in Gujarat had been compelled to leave for their native places due to lack of work, wages, and a guarantee of food in the state.
In fact, the Gujarat High Court had noted on 11 May, that migrant labourers were living in the “most inhumane and horrendous conditions”, as several were seen on the highways.
You can read the full story here.
2. Indian News Outlets Falsely Claim ‘Coronil Got WHO Recognition’
Several Indian news outlets and other social media users shared a misleading claim on the internet stating that Patanjali's 'Coronil' has been recognised as a medicine for COVID-19 by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The claim came right after Baba Ramdev launched the “first evidence-based medicine for COVID-19 by Patanjali” in the presence of Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari.
However, we reached out to the WHO, who said that it has not reviewed or certified the effectiveness of any traditional medicine for the treatment of COVID-19. Patanjali, too, issued a clarification on Twitter, and said that the “WHO GMP compliant CoPP certificate to Coronil is issued by DCGI, Government of India and not WHO”.
You can read the full story here.
3. No, Priyanka Didn’t Snub Rape Survivor’s Family From Rajasthan
Several social media users amplified a false claim shared by news channel Republic Bharat, that Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi snubbed the family of alleged rape survivor who hailed from Rajasthan, while addressing a gathering in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday, 23 February.
We watched the LIVE streaming of Priyanka Gandhi’s address in Mathura that was aired on Congress’ official handle and found that she stopped her speech mid-way.
Further, Journalist Prashant Kumar tweeted that Priyanka Gandhi had “given immediate attention” to the girl from Rajasthan.
You can read the full story here.
4. No, That’s Not the Footage of NASA’s Perseverance Rover!
A viral video showing visuals of NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover with manipulated audio was shared to claim that it shows the organisation’s Perseverance rover that touched down on the red planet on 18 February.
We came across a report published by NASA on 4 March 2020, wherein the organisation had released highest-resolution panorama of the Martian surface captured by Curiosity rover.
On comparing the viral visuals with the panorama released in March 2020, we found several similarities between the two.
You can read the full story here.
5. No, State Govts Do Not Charge More Tax Than Centre on Petrol
Several posts on social media claim that the ‘state government’ is charging more tax than the Central government on petrol. The posts also give a dubious price build-up without referring to a particular state, alleging that the state government is charging a Value Added Tax (VAT) of over Rs 40, while the Central government charges an excise duty of Rs 16 to Rs 18.
However, we found that the claim is false as the component of the Central tax is more than that of the state tax in the prices of petrol.
The Centre imposes an excise duty on fuel, which remains the same across all states. Rs 32.90 per litre of excise duty is levied on petrol and Rs 31.80 a litre on diesel, as of February 2021.
The state governments, on the other hand, impose a Value Added Tax, which differs across states.
The Quint’s WebQoof team contacted Hemant Sirohi, a petroleum dealer, who stated that no state government is taking more tax on petrol than the Centre. Currently, Rajasthan government is taking the maximum tax, at 36 percent.
You can read the full story here.
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