DailyOh! Mukul Roy returns to TMC, to Chinese rover that has sent pics from Mars
Mukul Roy had joined the BJP in November 2017. When he returned to TMC today, Didi Mamata Banerjee said that he has come back home.
Mukul Roy has come back home. At least that is what Didi Mamata Banerjee said when Roy returned to Trinamool Congress from the BJP this evening.
Didi said it — it is indeed a ghar wapsi. Roy, one of the founding members of the TMC, was BJP’s first import from the party in November 2017. He had quit TMC due to alleged differences with Abhishek Banerjee. And today when Roy returned to TMC, it was Abhishek who felicitated him.
Not just Roy senior, but also his son, Subhranshu Roy, who joined the BJP after the 2019 Lok Sabha election, has also returned “home” to TMC.
BJP national vice president Mukul Roy and his son Subhranshu Roy join TMC in the presence of West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, in Kolkata. pic.twitter.com/WS9oFE2J79
— ANI (@ANI) June 11, 2021
The khela is not complete though. Besides Roy, many other leaders had also joined the BJP ahead of the Bengal Assembly Elections. Not everyone is given as warm a welcome as the Roys. The others are still waiting to return “home” to TMC, despite issuing public apologies over joining BJP.
It was a mistake, want to join TMC now: BJP workers issue public apology over microphone at a village in Birbhum ! pic.twitter.com/ccU70rKIEm
— Indrajit | ইন্দ্রজিৎ - কলকাতা (@iindrojit) June 8, 2021
While the politics, crisis and mitigation continue in the eastern end, the western end is dealing with a very different crisis. The kith and kin of the 17 people, who died in a massive fire at SVS Aqua Technologies’ chemical plant, have refused to accept the mortal remains until their demands are accepted.
The demands are fairly simple and straightforward. Foremost, they want SVS Aqua Technologies to pay a compensation of Rs 25 lakh to each family that lost a member in the fire. Next, the company must take lifetime responsibility of educating the children of those who died, besides that one family member be given a permanent job. Further, all officers of the company should be made co-accused in the case.
Compensation is their primary demand. And it is also our Word of the Day today. The Oxford dictionary defines it as “something, typically money, awarded to someone in recognition of loss, suffering, or injury.” It comes from the Latin word compēnsō that translates to “balance” or “offset (one thing against another)”
And it is this offsetting money against the lives lost that the Pune families are demanding. They have also said that they will go on a fast unto death if their demands are not accepted.
We can’t blame them when we look at the history of compensations, or the lack of it. Take for instance, the Chernobyl nuclear disaster that occurred on April 26, 1986. Some are still waiting for compensation from the government.
The Soviet Union claimed they paid £882 million in compensation (£2.5 billion in today’s money). This, they claim, was given to 1,16,000 people who were evacuated from the Chernobyl area in Ukraine. However, 65 per cent of this (£574 million or £1.6 billion in today’s money) was not paid for by the Soviet Union. Eventually, the Ukrainian government and the Russian government have given some compensation. But not what was claimed or promised.
Coming back from the historical calamities to the calamity that has shaken the world since last year — the Covid-19 calamity. Well, not so much of a calamity in India anymore we would want to believe. Today is the fourth day in a row when daily infections in India are below one lakh. The country reported 91,702 new cases of Covid this morning — the lowest single-day rise in infections in around two months. India, meanwhile, administered over 3 lakh doses of vaccine in the last 24 hours.
The cases of sedition charges slapped against dissenters added one more to its tally. The latest being Lakshadweep actor-model Aisha Sultana. This comes after Sultana allegedly said, "Lakshadweep had zero cases of Covid-19. Now, it is reporting a daily spike of 100 cases. What the Centre has deployed is a bio-weapon. I can say this clearly that the central government has deployed bio-weapon," during a debate on a Malayalam TV channel. BJP's Lakshadweep unit president Abdul Khader filed a complaint filed with the Kavaratti police in this regard, who have booked Sultana on sedition charges.
Another one who continues to be behind bars is wrestler Sushil Kumar. A Delhi Court has extended the judicial custody of the wrestler till June 25. Kumar was arrested in connection with the Chhatrasal Stadium murder case of former junior national wrestling champion Sagar Dhankhar.
Let us take you from the happenings in the Blue Planet (the good ol’ Earth) to the recent pictures of the Red Planet. The Chinese National Space Agency (CNSA) has released the images clicked by its Zhurong rover after the touchdown on Mars. The images were released this morning and include a panoramic view of the landing site and the rugged Martian terrain.
The remote-controlled Chinese motorised rover reached the surface of Mars on May 23. China is now officially the first nation to orbit and land a vehicle on Mars in its maiden attempt.
If you need some more global fare, we suggest you look towards the Middle East. Tomorrow is a day that the foodies in the Middle East will eagerly look forward to. It is International Falafel Day on June 12, a day marked with great gusto in Egypt, Israel and the Middle East where falafel is popular street food. You don’t have to travel all the way to sample it, just a few steps to your kitchen will suffice. We recommend you try making the falafel over the weekend. As ever, the recipe is on us and the efforts are on you. Happy cooking and bon appétit!
We will meet you on Monday with more. Have a great weekend!
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