'Artificial rain' fraud, BJP govt wants to steal Lord Indra's credit: Saurabh Bharadwaj
New Delhi (PTI): The Aam Aadmi Party termed the Delhi BJP government's cloud seeding experiment on Tuesday a "big fraud" and said it might attempt to steal the credit of (Hindu rain god) Lord Indra if actual rain happens.
There was no immediate reaction from the BJP.
After 53 years, Delhi conducted cloud seeding trials to induce artificial rain as pollution levels surged and the weather department ruled out any trace of rain in the horizon.
The trials were conducted in parts of the city, including Burari, north Karol Bagh, Mayur Vihar and Badli, with more such exercises planned over the next few days, according to Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa.
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said that her government is trying out cloud seeding to see if it could solve Delhi's pollution problem.
In a statement, AAP's Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj said the BJP government has "committed fraud even in the name of rain".
Citing data from India Meteorological Department that confirmed no rainfall anywhere in Delhi on Tuesday, Bharadwaj said, "The BJP government is claiming to have carried out artificial rainfall, but not a single drop fell anywhere in the city."
Kondli MLA Kuldeep Kumar and Burari MLA Sanjeev Jha also confirmed that there was no rain in their constituencies.
"It seems even Lord Indra is upset with the BJP," Bharadwaj remarked, pointing out that there was no trace of rain in Central Delhi either.
He said there were news reports that said rain is forecast for the city on Tuesday.
Taking a dig at the ruling dispensation, he said that if Lord Indra indeed makes it rain, the BJP ministers will hold a press conference and claim that it was their doing.
"Lord Indra won't come down to clarify who caused the rain, so the BJP will take full advantage of it. This government can even claim credit for Lord Indra's work because after all they have to pay the contractor for the trial," he said.
Later in the day, Bharadwaj visited Central Delhi to inspect if there was rain. "Not a single drop has fallen here," he said.
"The BJP will wait for an actual shower. And the moment Lord Indra brings rain, they will steal even his credit and say 'we made it rain'. Lord Indra will bring the rain while the BJP government will foot the bill," he added.
While the AAP was in power, it had also considered holding cloud seeding trials as a measure to tackle pollution but failed to secure permissions.
Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said, "Historical data shows that rain happens at 50 per cent humidity. If the IIT Kanpur experiment is successful, it will be historic, as rainfall would have occurred with 10-15 per cent humidity. If the (cloud seeding chemical) mixture induces rainfall, it will be the biggest solution," Sirsa added.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
2nd WT20I: Shafali, spin trio do star turns in India''s seven-wicket win
Visakhapatnam (PTI): Shafali Verma hit a blistering unbeaten 69 as India made short work of a paltry target to outclass Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second Women’s T20 International here on Tuesday.
India now lead the five-match series 2-0 after another one-sided victory, having restricted Sri Lanka to a modest 128 for 9 through a collective display of disciplined bowling from the spin trio of seasoned Sneh Rana, ably complemented by young spinners Vaishnavi Sharma and Shree Charani.
During the chase, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana (14) fell cheaply but Shafali, enjoying new found confidence after a stellar show in the World Cup final, sent the bowlers on a leather-hunt during her 34-ball knock, winning it for her team in just 11.5 overs.
The hosts have now completed back-to-back successful chases within 15 overs which speaks volumes about the unit's sky-high confidence.
Shafali's innings had 11 punchy boundaries apart from a maximum.
The floodgates opened when left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera bowled a few flighted deliveries and Shafali would step out everytime to hit her over extra cover. Her footwork against slow bowlers was immaculate whether stepping out to loft the ball or rocking back to punch or pull.
Seeing her confidence, the newly appointed Delhi Capitals skipper Jemimah Rodrigues (26 off 15 balls) also attacked as the duo added 58 runs in just 4.3 overs.
By the time Rodrigues was out trying to hit one six too many, the match as a contest was over. Shafali completed her half-century off just 27 balls and completed the formalities in a jiffy.
Earlier, off-spinner Rana, who got a look-in after Deepti Sharma was ruled out due to fever, showed her utility keeping the Lankan batters under tight leash with figures of 1 for 11 in 4 overs, including a maiden which certainly is a rarity in T20 cricket.
Charani, who made an impression during India's ODI World Cup triumph, took 2 for 23 in her quota of overs, while Vaishnavi after an impressive debut in the opening encounter, finished with 2 for 32, not letting the Islanders get easy runs in her second spell.
The last six wickets fell for just 24 runs, but what stood out during India’s bowling effort was their superb ground fielding. After a patchy show in the previous game, the improved sharpness in the field resulted in three run-outs.
Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu (31 off 24 balls) looked in good nick as she deposited length deliveries from seamers Kranti Gaud and Arundhati Reddy over the ropes but it was Rana, who kept her quiet by repeatedly pitching on good length.
Unable to manoeuvre the strike and with the big hits suddenly drying up, Athapaththu chanced her arm at another delivery in which Rana had shortened the length slightly.
Not having transferred the weight into the lofted shot, Athapaththu's hoick was pouched cleanly by Amanjot Kaur at long-off.
This was after Athapaththu's opening partner Vishmi Gunaratne (1) had offered a simple return catch to Gaud.
Hasini Perera (22 off 28 balls) and Harshitha Samarawickrama (33 off 32 balls) did stitch a stand of 44 but they could never set the tempo against the Indian spin troika.
Once Hasini offered a tame return catch off a Charani full-toss, Sri Lankans never recovered and lost wickets in a heap towards the end.
