1. A thread on the new stories published over last night on the #ElectoralBondsTracker page.

Based on the disclosures made last evening by SBI and hundreds of corporate filings.

reporters-collective.in/electoral-bond… 1. Keventer group donated Rs 320 crore to BJP while the Enforcement Directorate was chasing it. The group’s companies weren’t making much profit but generously donated crores of rupees to parties.
reporters-collective.in/trc/keventer-g…

Day 3 of #ElectoralBondsTracker. In case you missed the stories late last evening.

Before you read, join us in thanking those who must remain anonymous: The data-crunchers, whistleblowers; politics, banking and industry insiders who have been helping us.

Now, get up to date 👇 1. He was once a co-accused with Amit Shah in the sensational Sorahbuddin fake encounter case in Gujarat. Then all were exonerated. Murderers never found. But, we found his company & family donating Rs 28 cr (at least) to political parties reporters-collective.in/trc/vimal-patn…

#Thread: Does the State Bank of India, with a staff strength of more than 2 lakh employees, need 4 months to put out details on #ElectoralBonds?

My @reporters_co colleague @tapasya_umm & I dive into internal govt and bank records to find evidence and answers. Stay with us 👇 2. We found evidence that proves four things:

i) SBI took orders and instructions from Union finance ministry at every step to process and run Electoral Bonds for years.

ii) It responded with great speed to provide granular as well as aggregated info on the bonds to the govt.

#Thread India's eyes have moved off #Manipur. But the fires that the powerful lit in the state will burn for more than a generation. A twitter note reflecting on us who watch it from afar. 1. It is understandable that many average citizens from the respective communities have been outraged at the mayhem and in anger blamed the other side entirely for it. This is what the violence was supposed to deliver for the powerful - hate and anger.

#thread. Regarding the disgusting abusive treatment by BJP official Malviya of journalist Sardesai and latter's handling of the ugliness. 1. Its a no brainer to state Malviya showed crudity and ugliness on TV. Was abusive.

#Thread: Barefaced Government Lies.

1. A couple of months back an official (a trusted source) told us at @reporters_co something incredulous. @reporters_co 2. He had no reason to lie. Quite to the contrary. But we just couldn't come around to believing him.

#Thread: "People Have Moved On."

1. People, communities and societies have sophisticated ways of coping with grief. Our response to the loss of loved ones during the Covid-19 pandemic has been so.

2. NONE of those methods are premised on erasing history or memory. 3. I have personally suffered the loss of several across different cultures of my loved ones within India. Witnessed the sadness, the anger and the grief of our families. Sat with many trying to find a coping mechanism to move ahead while grieving.

Small #thread: As a journalist when you ask someone specific questions or make specific allegations, the most fundamental journalism ethics require you to present the substantive bits of their response in your story fairly. Not doing so is just bad journalism. 2. In good newsrooms reporters and editors not doing so have got sacked.

#Thread: A little long. Please stay with me till the end.

We @reporters_co handed over the #GujaratDeathRegisters to a team of researchers & doctors at Harvard Univ, Berkeley et al. Our way of producing investigative journalism collaboratively with experts across domains.

1/n Their scientific assessment is now out. Gujarat govt claims only 10,075 people died of #Covid19 since 2020. Harvard's research findings: Death Registers for just one month, April 2021, nail the govt's lies and project the scale of the tragedy.
medrxiv.org/content/10.110… 2/n

#Thread: Why the creation of Ministry of Cooperation under the second most powerful man in the Union govt, Amit Shah, perhaps deserves more serious attention. Read on 1. Historically politicians of many hues, ideologies have played to control cooperatives in their regions to weild and influence this power and resource.

A thread on #SunderlalBahuguna:

1. The best way to pay homage to a legend is to, at least, after his passing, reflect upon her/his life and works critically. To learn the right lessons from the lives of such public persons who impacted others' lives disproportionately. 2. SLB and Chandi Prasad Bhatt created and speared a brand of environmentalism that further hurt the hills of Uttarakhand and its people. This legacy of the two was whitewashed by urban environmental writers and activists.

#Thread: To all the stooges telling journalists not to report the government induced carnage.

It takes courage to breath in the air of death, pandemic and despair every day to keep at it. Many young journalists today do it as their call of duty... 2. They do it even as many editors and owners of publications dither from calling a spade a spade. They do it as these editors spend more time worrying how to tone the news down and keep the masters happy

#Thread: Some good news.

(Please stay with me till the end.)

1. We are setting up a new Fellowship Program for Independent Journalists.

To create and establish it, I have joined as the Media Lead at the National Foundation for India @NFI_India. 2. The new Media Fellowship Program will respond to the current crisis in journalism, strengthens credible reportage and enable independent journalists.

I will be working with NFI's Executive Director, Biraj Patnaik @birajpat to co-create the Fellowship Program.

@Moyuriee okay, this shall be a longer response.

1. When the Bonds were first announced as a scheme, I remember I read every govt record in public domain and smelt a rat. A big sewer rat of an idea. ...2 @Moyuriee 2. They principally went against all principles of a transparent electoral process that is responsive only to citizens and not to any other artificial entity, such as a corporate...3

#Thread.

Hey friends. Have a short story to tell. About journalism. A dream. Some thoughts. And a plan.

Will you please stay with me till the end?

I urge you to. 1. We won @ACJIndia's award for Investigative journalism this year. It was for the Electoral Bonds series that ran eventually into 10 parts, 7 languages and 11 publications.

I purposefully use 'we'. It took a whole village of people to get the series out.

#Thread:

In keeping with enthusiasts congratulating UP for suspending all labour law for 3 years. My new proposals for further reforms

1. Environmental laws tend to be rent-seeking too. So suspend them all for five years. Everyone can set up any kind of polluting unit anywhere. 2. Market, polluting entrepreneur and communities can openly negotiate how much pollution they want in their waters, lungs ans food

#Thread: Some Fresh revelations on #Lockdown Investigations:

Govt brings out @NITIAayog's Dr Paul in defence
(

https://twitter.com/VidyaKrishnan/status/1253637098235543552?s=20_

)

Today he claimed disease is under control.

Read the truth here: article-14.com/post/no-action…

Releasing now:
1. From Paul & ICMR's presentations 2. But, first. Lets pause. A hat tip to some tenacious and sharp journalists on the health beat who have been helping us all see the truth when the government obfuscates it. And to ask the right questions. Doggedly.

Most of these are women journalists (say, yeay!).

Now....

A thread on Modi govt's #COVID Lockdown package:

1. Its good the govt has finally woken up to financially ameliorate the impacts of an unprecedented and unplanned locked down. But, as always, the govt seems to have made more out of the package than exists. Read on: 2. The doubling of LOANS to Self Help Groups from Rs 10 L to Rs 20 L. The total disbursed amount this year to SHGs under the scheme has been ~ Rs 1,500 crore. Total budget for year was approx Rs 9,000 cr. So dont expect money to suddenly go out and its certainly not budgeted+.

Thread 👇. Please stay with me till the end. 1. We published the #ElectoralBonds Investigations as a multi-language collaborative journalism effort.

For some of us, the collaboration meant reviving the spirit and strength of journalism. Pooling the will and resources to do deep-dive journalism. Showing its possible.

A Thread on #ElectoralBonds Investigations. Please stay with me.

There is something useful towards the end of this tweet-trail.

1. Happenings in Maharashtra show why #ElectoralBonds, a to flush secretly funnel unaccounted money into politics, is dangerous for our democracy. 2. The #Electoral Bond Investigation series, hosted by @HuffPostIndia, was based on #CommodorePapers. Transparency activist, Commodore Lokesh Batra (retd) retrieved the docs under the RTI Act.

Thread on Crony Capitalism and BJP:

Baba #Ramdev comes out supporting BJP in #HaryanaAssemblyPolls. Reminder: M L Khattar's BJP state govt has helped Ramdev and his Patanjali group make a killing - illegally turning his dubious purchase of #Aravalli hills into real-estate gold. 1. #Patanjali Investigations Part1: #Ramdev's business group has acquired and privatised huge parts of village commons in #Aravalli hills of Haryana. Exposing the group's illegal & dubious real-estate deals. Part 1 of 3. With @Kum_Sambhav :
business-standard.com/article/curren…