When should I come to see your govt schools: Kejriwal to Assam CM Sarma as Twitter spat grows
New Delhi (PTI): The Twitter spat between Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Assam counterpart stretched on to Saturday with the AAP chief asking Himanta Biswa Sarma when should he come to see the schools of the northeastern state.
The argument between the two leaders in the virtual space began after Kejriwal had on Wednesday tweeted that a closure of schools is not a solution and there is a need to open more schools across the country, and shared a link to a news report claiming a "closure" of some schools in Assam.
Both Kejriwal and Sarma have exchanged several virtual verbal volleys in the past three days.
On Saturday, the AAP supremo tweeted in Hindi, "There is a saying we have -- If someone asks 'When should I come' and they say 'Come whenever you can', then it means 'Don't come ever'. I had asked you -- 'When should I come to see your government schools', you didn't tell me. Tell me, when should I come, only then I can come."
His fresh tweet came in response to the remarks made by Sarma on Friday on the microblogging site.
In a series of tweets, he had shared some of the differences between Delhi and Assam, mocking Kejriwal.
"Dear @ArvindKejriwal Ji, Your ignorance is painful. Let me help you. Assam is 50 times bigger than Delhi! Our 44521 govt schools teach 65 lakh students - against your 1000+ odd schools. Our army of dedicated teachers number 2+ lakh; Midday meal workers 1.18 lakh. Fathom it?" he tweeted.
In another tweet, Sarma said, "And yes, when you're in Assam, which you so desperately wish to, I will take you to our Medical Colleges, 1000 times better than your Mohalla Clinic. Also meet our bright Govt school teachers and students." He added in Hindi "quit bothering about making India no.1, Modiji is doing that".
Sarma had taken to Twitter on Thursday to lash out at Kejriwal over the amalgamation of schools and asked him to "do his homework" before commenting.
"Dear @ArvindKejriwal Ji-as usual you commented on something without any homework! Since my days as Education Minister till now, please note, the Assam government has established/taken over 8,610 new schools," he had tweeted.
He had also asked how many schools did the Delhi government start in the last seven years.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief had responded to Sarma's tweet on Friday.
"Oh, it seems you took offence. My intention was not to point out your faults. All of us are one country. We have to learn from each other, then only India will become the number one country," Kejriwal said in a tweet in Hindi.
He further had said he is willing to visit Assam and asked Sarma when should he go to the northeastern state.
"You show me your good work in the field of education. You come to Delhi, I will show you the work in Delhi," he said
Kejriwal had tweeted on Wednesday in response to a news item claiming that the Assam government had closed 34 schools due to poor results.
Sarma later claimed that since his tenure as the education minister, the state government has, from 2013 till now, provincialised or taken over private schools into the government fold and this includes 6,802 elementary and 1,589 secondary schools, 81 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya, three Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Avashik Vidyalaya and 97 tea garden model schools.
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2 Indian nationals part of crew of luxury cruise ship that reported hantavirus outbreak
London (PTI): At least two Indian nationals are part of the crew of the Dutch vessel MV Hondius which reported a hantavirus outbreak with five confirmed cases and three deaths so far, according to the BBC.
The luxury cruise ship, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, began its journey on April 1 from Argentina’s Ushuaia and is expected to arrive in Spain’s Canary Islands on May 10.
About 150 passengers and crew from 28 countries were initially aboard the luxury cruise, but dozens disembarked on the island of St Helena on April 24, according to the report.
Of the 28 nationalities onboard, 38 are from the Philippines, 31 from the UK, 23 from the US, 16 from the Netherlands, 14 from Spain, nine from Germany, six from Canada, and two crew members from India, among others, the BBC reported.
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The World Health Organization said on Thursday that five of the eight suspected hantavirus cases had been confirmed.
A 69-year-old Dutch woman, confirmed to have the virus, has died; her Dutch husband and a German woman were also among the fatalities. Their cases are being investigated.
The UN health agency has said the outbreak is not the start of a pandemic.
Maria van Kerkhove, an infectious disease epidemiologist at WHO, told a news briefing that the situation is not the same as six years ago with Covid-19 because hantavirus spreads through “close, intimate contact”.
Van Kerkhove said “this is not Covid, this is not influenza, it spreads very, very differently”. She said authorities had asked “everyone to wear a mask” on board the MV Hondius.
Those in contact with or caring for suspected cases, she added, should “wear a higher level of personal protective equipment”.
Hantavirus typically spreads from rodents - but in the latest outbreak the transmission between people was documented for the first time, the WHO said.
Meanwhile, health authorities are racing to trace dozens of people who have recently disembarked from the Dutch vessel MV Hondius.
Oceanwide Expedition said 29 passengers, of at least 12 different nationalities, had left the MV Hondius in St Helena, the British Overseas Territory.
It also said the body of one deceased person—now known to be a Dutch man - was taken off the vessel.
Seven of those who left the cruise liner were British nationals.
