Anandiben takes oath as MP’s acting Governor

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Anandiben takes oath as MP’s acting Governor

Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel was on Wednesday afternoon sworn in as acting Governor of Madhya Pradesh by the state High Court Chief Justice Ajay Kumar Mittal.

Anandiben has been the state Governor in the past.

She arrived here to take additional charge following extension in leave by Madhya Pradesh Governor Lalji Tandon, who has undergone a surgery at AIIMS, Lucknow.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, his predecessor Kamal Nath, Bhopal MP Pragya Singh Thakur, state Minister Tulsi Silawat and former minister Bhupendra Singh were among those present at the brief ceremony.

Anandiben will administer the oath of office to new ministers who will be inducted into the Shivraj Singh Chouhan ministry on Thursday.

Boiler explosion at a thermal power plant in Tamil Nadu

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Boiler explosion at a thermal power plant in Tamil Nadu

Six people died and 16 suffered burn injuries in a boiler explosion at a thermal power plant in the Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu this morning.The blast took place at a power plant of the central government-owned NLC India Limited in Cuddalore, about 180 km from state capital Chennai. This is the second blast at the power plant in two months.All those injured were rushed to the Apollo Hospital in Chennai, officials said.

“The boiler was not in operation. We are investigating the incident,” R Vikraman, one of the directors of the power plant, said.”Among the sixteen injured, six are regular employees and 10 are contract workers. We are collecting details of those who died,” he added.

In a tweet, Union Home Minister Amit Shah condoled the deaths. “Anguished to learn about the loss of lives due to a blast at Neyveli power plant boiler in Tamil Nadu. Have spoken to CMOTamilNadu and assured all possible help. CISFHQrs is already on the spot to assist the relief work. Praying for the earliest recovery of those injured,” he wrote.

The company generates 3,940-megawatt electricity. The plant where the blast took place accounts for 1,470 megawatts. The company employs 27,000, including 15,000 contractual workers.

Several deaths linked to accidents at industrial units have been reported in the last two months.

On Monday, two people were killed and four were hospitalized after gas leaked at the Visakhapatnam unit of the firm Sainor Life Sciences.

In May, 11 people, including two young children, were killed and over 1,000 were hospitalized after gas leaked overnight at the LG Polymers facility in Vizag. The incident was compared by many to the 1984 Bhopal Gas leak, one of the worst industrial disasters in history when gas leaked from a pesticide plant operated by Union Carbide and killed over 3,500.

Bengal BJP chief allegedly attacked by Trinamool men

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Bengal BJP chief allegedly attacked by Trinamool men

West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh was allegedly attacked by Trinamool Congress-backed miscreants at Rajarhat-New Town located on the north-eastern fringes of Kolkata.

The incident took place when the state BJP president went there with his supporters to talk to people in the locality.

“I went there with some of my supporters to talk to people and had tea at Rajarhat market area. But Trinamool supporters stopped me on the way and heckled my party men. When my security personnel tried to stop them, the miscreants also heckled them. I have shifted to a new house in the area. Local Trinamool supporters must be having some serious problems with that. I don’t understand why,” Ghosh said.

He further alleged that some of his party members were beaten by Trinamool-backed goons. “They also vandalized some of our vehicles,” he said.

“My party colleagues will lodge a complaint with the local police. I will also inform the Kolkata Police commissioner about the incident,” Ghosh added.

Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress’ Lok Sabha leader Sudip Bandopadhyay said that it was a small incident. “Every day I hear about such allegations from the state BJP. But we don’t need to worry. It was a very small incident,” he said.

Senior Congress leader and the party’s Lok Sabha MP from Berhampore in Murshidabad Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury condemned the attack on the state BJP chief. “This is absolutely uncalled for. I condemn such attacks,” he said.

Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Sujan Chakraborty said: “Such incidents of Trinamool-sponsored political hooliganism are happening everywhere in Bengal. The ruling formation here is attacking all their political opponents.”

Rahul assures nurses to raise compensation issue before govt

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Rahul assures nurses to raise compensation issue before govt

Former Congress Chief Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday assured the nurses working as the frontline fighters against the COVID-19 pandemic that he will take up their issues with the government. He told them that he will write on their behalf to the government to compensate the families of the nurses who died while performing their duties.

As part of the series of interactions, Rahul Gandhi held a conversation with nurses on the Doctor’s day.

While interacting with the former Congress Chief, Vipin Krishnan, a nurse working at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi, who along with his wife, has been infected with corona, informed him that two nurses in the national capital died due to COVID pandemic. “Rahul ji I would like to bring something to your attention. Two nurses have died in Delhi, they were from South India. However, they are yet to receive the compensation of Rs one crore announced by the Delhi government,” Krishnan told the Congress MP from Kerala’s Wayanad. Krishnan further said that the government should do something for them. “I want to bring this to your notice since you are the opposition leader,” he said.

Responding to the AIIMS staff, Rahul Gandhi said, “I’ll write a letter and see if we can expedite that.” Krishnan to a question of the Rahul Gandhi over the condition of the medical facilities in Delhi and India said, “I would like to highlight some statistics. We have 1.2 million registered allopathic doctors in India. We have around 3.7 million registered nurses in India. When we are coming to the ratio, it is 1:1500 for doctors and 1.7:1000 nurses in India. The WHO recommended ratio is 1:1000 doctors and 3:1000 nurses when coming to the recommendations of the WHO.

“Running short in the scenario of human resources, but still we are fighting hard. But in our country, the scenario is entirely different. There is a sea of difference between government hospitals and private hospitals in India,” Krishnan said.

To this, Rahul Gandhi asked Krishnan, what difference does he see. Krishnan said, “When we look into the private sector, there is a lot of discrimination. Private nurses are saying that their salaries are being cut. How will they care for their families during this pandemic? In such a situation, I think the government must help them and pay their entire salaries.”

Rahul Gandhi also asked about testing not being allowed in many hospitals in Delhi to which the AIIMS nurse said, “This is indeed a sad state of affairs. I want to inform you about some statistics. On May 27, the infection rate in Delhi was 13.7 percent we were doing 7,000 tests per day. By June 12-13, our infection rate had crossed 30 percent and we are doing under 5,000 tests per day.

“This is surprising given that our deaths and infection rates are increasing, but we have reduced testing. I don’t understand what is happening,” Krishnan said.

The Congress leader then said that a doctor from a private hospital had told him that it becomes impossible for them to work if they cannot test Covid-19 patients.

Slamming the government, Rahul Gandhi said, “I think a little bit is that the governments are trying to manage the perception, they are trying to give a sense that the problem is not as bad as it is.

“But I believe that we have to face the problem, so we should accept the problem, define the problem accurately, and then fight the problem. I don’t know how you react to that,” he said. To this, the AIIMS staffer said, “You are absolutely correct. We have a pandemic situation and AIIMS Director (Randeep Guleria) has said that we will peak in June-mid July.

“Even the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has stated that they are expecting 5.5 lakh cases. We are having 10,000 beds in Delhi. Can you imagine the depth of the situation where 5.5 lakh people are coming, of course, they won’t come at the same time, but average one lakh patients a day. I can’t imagine the depth of the situation. What will he do?” Krishnan questioned.

In earlier interactions, Rahul Gandhi had conversations with former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, Nobel Laureate Abhijeet Banerji, epidemiologist Johan Geseicke and industrialist Rajiv Bajaj.

UP MLA Aman Mani Tripathi weds again

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UP MLA Aman Mani Tripathi weds again

Aman Mani Tripathi, an independent legislator from the Nautanwa Assembly seat, got married for the second time on Tuesday night at a hotel.

Aman Mani married Oshin Pandey of Madhya Pradesh and the wedding was a small private affair.

The legislator’s sisters and other relatives attended the wedding.

His parents, Amar Mani Tripathi and Madhu Mani Tripathi are serving a life term for the murder of a poetess Madhumita Shukla and are in jail.

Aman Mani Tripathi had earlier married Sara Singh and the latter was killed in an accident in July 2015. Aman Mani, accused of murder, is facing a CBI trial in the case. He is currently out on bail.

He had earlier been arrested for the alleged kidnapping of a businessman in Lucknow.

More recently, he hit the headlines during lockdown when he traveled to Uttarakhand, claiming that he had been assigned the task of offering prayers for the deceased father of UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Badrinath-the shrine was closed at that time.

The Yogi Adityanath government issued a denial in the matter and Aman Mani and his six friends were quarantined for a fortnight in the hill state and a case was also registered against them.

China was concerned about the Indian govt blocking 59 Chinese apps

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China was concerned about the Indian govt blocking 59 Chinese apps

China said today that it was concerned about the Indian government blocking 59 mostly Chinese apps including TikTok and WeChat and was “verifying” the situation.

“China is strongly concerned,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian was quoted by ANI as saying. He also told reporters during a daily briefing that India has a responsibility to uphold the rights of Chinese businesses, according to Reuters.

Besides Bytedance’s wildly popular video-sharing app TikTok and Tencent’s WeChat, the apps blocked by the government last evening include Alibaba’s UC Browser and two of Xiaomi’s apps.

The apps are “prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order,” said the ministry of Information Technology. Google and Apple have removed these apps from playstore and app store.

The companies have been invited to offer clarifications before a government panel, which will decide whether the ban can be removed or will stay.

TikTok said it was in the process of complying with the government order and “continued to comply with data privacy and security requirements under Indian law”.

In a statement this morning, it also said it had not shared any information of users in India with “any foreign government, including the Chinese government” and “if we are requested to in the future we would not do so”.

The decision to disallow certain apps “is a targeted move to ensure safety and sovereignty of Indian cyberspace,” said the Ministry of Information Technology. The ministry said it had received complaints alleging theft of user data and violations of user privacy.

India is the biggest driver of the TikTok app and the ban is expected to be a big stumbling block for its owner Bytedance, which had plans to invest $1 billion in the country.

Anti-China sentiment has been simmering in India since the June 15 clash in Ladakh in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed in the line of duty. There have been calls for banning Chinese businesses, which reportedly export goods worth nearly $60 billion to India.

Anxiety among the public on the issues Modi would be addressing in his speech

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Anxiety among the public on the issues Modi would be addressing in his speech

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation again at 4 pm on Tuesday. There is anxiety among the public on the issues he would be addressing in his speech. Modi is expected to give some insight into the increasing number of Coronavirus cases post-Unlock 1.0 and at the same time, detail on the guidelines of Unlock 2.0 scheduled to begin from July 1.

He is also likely to speak about the India-China clashes at Galway Valley and the subsequent banning of nearly 59 Chinese mobile apps.

The Unlock 1.0 comes to an end today and the Union Home Ministry had already issued guidelines for Unlock 2.0 scheduled to begin from Wednesday. Meanwhile, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu have declared lockdown till July 31 in the wake of the increasing caseload in both the states. Telangana and other states are also likely to announce lockdown in a couple of days.

In the wake of these developments, Modi’s address has gained significance. Modi had addressed the nation five times since lockdown was imposed in the country to check the spread of Coronavirus.

There is information that Modi is likely to detail the public about the measures taken at the India-China border as this is the first time that he is addressing the nation after the clashes broke out at the India-China border.

He also is likely to call upon the young entrepreneurs heading digital organizations to utilize the opportunity and develop indigenous apps as 59 apps designed by China have been banned. In the same way, he is likely to again stress on ‘Self-reliant India’ (Atma Nirbhar Bharat) of which he made mention during his last speech.

Half in 2019, ‘saaf’ in 2021, Arjun Meghwal’s message for Mamata

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Half in 2019, ‘saaf’ in 2021, Arjun Meghwal’s message for Mamata

“The TMC was reduced to half in 2019 Lok Sabha polls and will be wiped out in 2021 assembly election,” remarked Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and senior BJP leader Arjun Ram Meghwal.

He was addressing a virtual rally on Tuesday morning for BJP cadres of West Bengal, the state that will go to polls next year.

In a strongly worded allegation, Meghwal claimed that Bengal’s Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee only functions as the Chief of her party and she has no faith in the Indian Constitution. Referring to recent incidents, Meghwal claimed, “Ambedkar could imagine that there would be a chief minister whose cadres would not allow a governor to go to a University.”

The Senior BJP leader also alleged that during the Corona pandemic, Banerjee’s government discriminated while providing assistance to the people. He added that the TMC administration persecuted the BJP workers, despite its party workers “continuing to serve”. He said that the TMC will be wiped out in the 2021 assembly elections.

Addressing the virtual rally from Delhi, through video conferencing, Medhawal asserted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a self-reliant India would put India in the 21st century as the world leader. He said that a similar concept was conceived by Swami Vivekananda in Chicago, the USA in 1894. Stressing about Modi’s ‘vocal for local’ or the package for the MSME sector, Meghwal tried to make a case for BJP in a state that seems top of its priorities right now, after Bihar.

Union Minister Babul Supriyo, who too was present, alleged that only Mamata Banerjee, her family, and the people living in West Bengal have benefited during the last nine years of her rule. In contrast, the state’s development has been stalled, dominated by incessant violence, he added.

Supriyo compared the reign of the left front that ruled Bengal for 34 long years with the TMC government. He claimed that the left’s era fared better than the present dispensation.

Goa Oppn demands longer monsoon session to discuss budget

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Goa Oppn demands longer monsoon session to discuss budget

The Opposition in Goa has demanded a longer session of the state legislative assembly, in order to have a detailed discussion on budgetary demands, Leader of Opposition Digambar Kamat said on Tuesday.

Kamat’s demand comes days after Governor Satya Pal Malik summoned the state legislative assembly for an 11-day monsoon session, beginning from July 27.

“The assembly should be held for more number of days because the full budget is to be discussed,” Kamat told reporters.

“When the business advisory meeting is held, we will raise this issue,” the Leader of Opposition also said.

The upcoming monsoon session of the state assembly is the first legislative session since the Covid-19 pandemic broke out.

YSRCP leader booked for ‘letting loose dogs on Hyderabad police’

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YSRCP leader booked for ‘letting loose dogs on Hyderabad police’

Hyderabad police on Monday registered a case against leading film producer and leader of Andhra Pradesh’s ruling YSR Congress Party, Prasad V. Potluri for allegedly letting loose his pet dogs on police officers who had gone to his residence for investigation of a complaint against him.

PVP, as Prasad is popularly known, his wife and another person were booked under the Indian Penal Code Section 353 (Assault or use of criminal force to deter a public servant from discharging his duty).

The case was registered at Banjara Hills police station on a complaint by sub-inspector D. Harish Reddy, who along with another officer and a home guard, had gone to PVP’s house in posh Jubilee Hills.

The police officers had gone as part of the investigations into a complaint lodged by a person with Banjara Hills police last week, alleging that PVP was stalling his house construction and threatening him.

When the team reached PVP’s house they were stopped at the main gate by a person and when they told him about the purpose of the visit, he went inside and came back only to inform them that PVP and his wife have asked him not to allow anybody in. When they tried to enter the house, five dogs came charging towards them, making them flee the place.

PVP had joined the YSRCP on the eve of 2019 elections and contested unsuccessfully as the party candidate from Vijayawada Lok Sabha seat.

AIADMK leader ‘kicks’ TN policeman, DMK MLA protests wrong identification

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AIADMK leader ‘kicks’ TN policeman, DMK MLA protests wrong identification

AIADMK leader and former member of Parliament and Tamil Nadu Assembly K. Arjunan has courted controversy over assault on a police officer on duty at a toll plaza in Salem even as a DMK lawmaker cried foul as he was wrongly identified as the attacker.

A video clip of the incident involving Arjunan was posted on social media, but some wrongly identified the assailant as DMK lawmaker Vagai Chandrasekar.

Arjunan was returning to Salem from Omalur on Sunday night when police deployed at the toll plaza asked his driver for the e-pass. Arjunan allegedly argued with the police and at one point in time hit a policeman who in turn pushed him away. Subsequently, Arjunan was seen kicking the policeman.

Chandrasekar — who represents Velacherry Assembly constituency — lodged a police complaint against two persons for ‘defaming’ him in the whole affair and urged for action against another person for defaming DMK party.

“These are not isolated postings. Postings defaming our President (DMK chief M.K. Stalin) and other party leaders are virally spread on the social media to misguide the public and with political mala fides,” Chandrasekar said in his complaint.

“Due to the said postings, I am being enquired by members of the public and my party men and the same has caused untold agony to me,” he added.

He said a mere perusal of the video will show that he was not the person seen in the video.

“In spite of this, without verifying the basic facts, these persons are spreading rumors on the social media platforms, which is punishable under the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act,” Chandrasekar said.

Another lock down in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation Region

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Another lock down in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation Region

Amid surge in Corona cases, Telangana state government is seriously considering imposing another lockdown in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) region. As GHMC in the state turned out to be the epicenter of the pandemic with nearly 90% of the total cases are in the GHMC, Telangana state government is under immense pressure to control the situation.

As the spread in GHMC is rapidly growing, CM KCR has held a meeting with higher officials of the medical and health department today. He has asked officials to come up with an action plan to control the spread of the virus.

In some areas of the GHMC, the government is suspecting that the community spread of the novel Corona Virus has taken place. Though it is not clear, the government wants to take strict precautionary measures in order to avoid the further spread of the virus.

CM KCR admitted that the government has been receiving a lot of requests for the lockdown in Hyderabad for upto 15 days. He said the decision would be taken in three to four days. KCR indicated that the government is considering the plan and likely to take a decision soon.

According to media reports, CM KCR may soon hold a cabinet meeting and take the decision about a lockdown. As the cases have grown drastically in the last few days after the lockdown was lifted, the Telangana state government is now considering to impose a lockdown in the Hyderabad city.

Home Minister Mohamood Ali has tested positive of Covid-19

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Home Minister Mohamood Ali has tested positive of Covid-19

In a breaking news, Telangana Home Minister Mohamood Ali has tested positive of Covid-19 and has been admitted in a private hospital last night. About three days back Mohamood Ali underwent Corona tests and the results arrived as positive.

Also being an Asthama patient, the family members of Mohamood Ali have admitted him in hospital before the Covid-19 tests have arrived. In this gap, the results have shown positive.

Meanwhile the authorities are likely to collect the samples of Mohamood Ali family members and test them. They might be sent to quarantine.

So far three ruling party MLAs have tested positive of the virus and now Ali becomes the first minister to fall victim.

Corona Virus positive cases in Hyderabad

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Corona Virus positive cases in Hyderabad

Telangana’s Coronavirus infected statistics are sending tremors across, with the numbers hinting the chances of becoming the next epicenter in the country. As of today, the state has 1087 new positive cases and 6 deaths. 888 cases are from GHMC. The worrying thing is that the samples tested were only 3923 and 1087 of them came out positive.

With the unlocking, the community transmission of COVId-19 is hitting big on cosmopolitan cities and the virus positivity rate in Hyderabad is more than 32 percent as on June 23. The rate is higher and alarming when it is compared to the tests per 10 lakh population.

The Central government experts are said to be worried about the percentage of positive cases in Hyderabad with extremely low tests being conducted. According to the reports of testing status in Hyderabad and Telangana, only one out of 19 private labs in Telangana is conducting more than 500 tests per week, while the majority of testing is focussed on Hyderabad.

The same report says the testing rate per 10 lakh population in districts Ranga Reddy, Sanga Reddy, Warangal, and Jangaon, is extremely low. Telangana has the highest positivity rate and the lowest tests per 10 lakh population. The center is instructing the states to conducts more tests to track the growth of viruses, particularly in the cities with a sharp surge of cases, like Delhi, Gurugram, Mumbai, and Chennai.

Telangana reportedly received multiple instructions to ramp-up the testing and is being compared to that of Andhra Pradesh, which is testing 12,000 persons a day. A report said Andhra Pradesh has 336 TruNat machines and 42 labs for COVID-19 testing while Telangana has just 21 machines and one lab.

The COVID-19 management in Telangana turned exemplary at the beginning of the pandemic spread, but the low tests and drastic increase in virus positivity is worrying health officials post-lockdown. Telangana has so far tested 79,231 samples, out of which 65,705 tested negative and 13,436 tested positive. The total active cases are 8265 and 4928 were dicharged from the hospital. 243 Coronavirus infected died in Telangana state.

ED’s questioning a diversionary tactics by BJP: Patel (Ld)

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ED’s questioning a diversionary tactics by BJP: Patel (Ld)

In more troubles for senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel, who is a close aide of party chief Sonia Gandhi, a team of Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday reached his residence here and recorded his statement for over eight hours in connection with the alleged multi-crore rupees bank fraud by the Gujarat-based Sterling Biotech.

However, the senior Congress leader described the questioning of him by ED as a diversionary tactic by the government to divert attention from India-China and Covid-19 situation in the country.

The team of ED, which arrived at the residence of Patel in central Delhi’s 23, Mother Teressa Crescent, and recorded his statement till 8 p.m. under the sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

The ED officials had earlier this month asked Patel, who is also Congress treasurer to appear before it on June 8. However, Patel refused to appear before the financial probe agency citing the novel coronavirus pandemic threat.

An ED source related to the development told IANS, “The officials today recorded his statement and we will once again question him again in the coming days as well.”

The Ed source said that Patel was non-cooperative on many questions related to his relations with Sandesara brothers (Chetan Jayantilal Sandesara and Nitin Jayantilal Sandesara).

The source further said that the agency also wanted to about the charges made by Sunil Yadav, an employee of the Sandesara group who had made sensational revelations against his son.

After ED’s questioning speaking to media, Patel said, “Instead of taking action against China, dealing Covid-19 pandemic, they are attacking the opposition. (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi’s and (Union Home Minister Amit) Shah’s people came and questioned me.”

Last year, the ED had also questioned Patel’s son Faisal Patel about his relations with the Sandesara brothers, owners and promoters of the Vadodara-based pharmaceutical firm.

The ED had also confronted Faisal with the statement of Sunil Yadav, an employee of the Sandesara group, in which he had alleged that the son of the Congress leader took his friends to a farmhouse to party and all the expenses were borne by Chetan.

The ED suspected that Faisal and his brother-in-law Irfan Siddiqui were close to the Sandesara brothers.

On July 30 last year, the ED had questioned Patel’s son-in-law and advocate Irfan Siddiqui in connection with the probe.

According to ED officials, Yadav alleged that Siddiqui and Faisal were allegedly given code names by Chetan Sandesara. “Chetan and Gagan referred to Siddiqui as Irfan Bhai,” he said.

Irfan’s code name was ‘i2’ and Faisal’s ‘i1’, Yadav had said. He also said, Faisal would take his friends to Puspanjali Farms to party and all the expenses were borne by Chetan Sandesara.

The ED registered a money laundering case against the Sandesara brothers and others in August 2017 after a case of alleged bank fraud of Rs 5,700 crore was filed against them by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The ED probe revealed that the Sandesara brothers and others hatched a criminal conspiracy to cheat banks by manipulating figures in the balance sheets of their flagship companies and induce banks to sanction higher loans.

PM has surrendered and is refusing to fight Covid: Rahul

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PM has surrendered and is refusing to fight Covid: Rahul

Even as India witnessed a spike of over 18,000 fresh cases of novel coronavirus and total cases crossing five lakh mark, former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Saturday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his silence, saying he has surrendered and is refusing to fight the pandemic.

“Covid-19 is spreading rapidly into new parts of the country. The government of India has no plan to defeat it. Prime Minister is silent. He has surrendered and is refusing to fight the pandemic,” Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet attaching a news report highlighting that the government has become less visible.

His remarks came after India witnessed the highest single-day spike of COVID-19 cases adding over 18,000 patients in just 24 hours taking the tally to over half a million cases.

A total of 18,552 new cases took the tally up to 5,08,953 as India continued to be the fourth worst-hit among 213 countries.

Now, it is only a lakh case away from Russia, which is in the third spot behind the US and Brazil.

According to the health ministry data, 384 new deaths were reported in the last 24 hours taking the death toll to 15,685 in the country.

K’taka Congress seeks legislative session on Covid situation

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K’taka Congress seeks legislative session on Covid situation

Accusing the ruling BJP government of failing to manage the coronavirus pandemic in the state, the Karnataka Congress on Friday called for a legislative session to discuss the grim situation arising out of rising cases of infection, especially in this tech city.

“The state government should convene the legislative session to discuss the grim situation in the state arising out of its failure to control the virus spread in Bengaluru and other cities,” opposition party’s state unit president D.K. Shivakumar told reporters here.

The party also asked the state government to bring out a white paper on the Covid-19 crisis in the southern state, as the cases have been rising by the day since unlock 1.0 was allowed from June 1.

“The central and the governments implemented the lockdown untimely, destroying the people’s health and the state’s economy, as strict measures were not taken to stop the infection from spreading as evident from the numbers,” party leader in the assembly and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said.

With 445 fresh cases on Friday, the number of positive cases in the state crossed the 11,000-mark so far, including 144 cases in Bengaluru.

“As the extended lockdown was not strictly enforced, the infections have been rising over the last 2-3 weeks to 11,005 from 3,408 on June 1, with more relaxation of restrictions under unlock 1.0,” lamented Shivakumar.

As 6,916 patients, including 246 on Friday cured and discharged, the active cases are 3,905 across the southern state.

“The lockdown should be re-imposed now, as cases are increasing and they are expected to go up till September according to health experts,” asserted Siddaramaiah.

State Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, however, ruled out fresh lockdown as reviving the state’s economy was equally important.

“There will be no fresh lockdown in Bengaluru where all efforts were underway to control the spread of coronavirus as reviving the state’s economy was equally important,” Yediyurappa said at a meeting of city legislators and members of Parliament on measures to contain the pandemic.

TRS-affiliated Singareni union protests over coal mines’ privatisation

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TRS-affiliated Singareni union protests over coal mines’ privatisation

Telangana Rashtra Samithi-affiliated union of Singareni employees on Friday staged a protest over the Centre’s decision to privatize coal mines.

Leaders and members of Telangana Boggu Ghani Karmika Sangham (TBGKS) staged protests at all the mines of Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) in the state and also at the company’s headquarters in Hyderabad.

The protestors raised slogans against the Central government for its decision to privatize 42 coal mines across the country.

TBGKS said the protest was organized on a call given by former MP K. Kavitha, who is the daughter of Telangana Chief Minister and TRS President K. Chandrashekhar Rao.

At the protest held at Singareni Bhavan in Hyderabad, TBGKS leaders raised slogans of ‘Modi down down’ and ‘Save Singareni’. Holding placards, the protestors staged the sit-in at the office.

Raising slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, they also set afire an effigy. A couple of policemen were seen trying unsuccessfully to stop them.

TBGKS President Raji Reddy, Telangana Rashtra Samithi Karmika Vibhagam (TRSKV) President Ram Babu Yadav, and members of TBGKS participated in the protest at Singareni Bhavan.

They demanded the Central government to withdraw their decision to privatize coal mines. They also demanded the Centre to stop the e-auction of coal mines in the country.

TBGKS activists, and coal mine workers participated in huge numbers and alleged that the Centre’s decision to privatize the coal mines is against the interests of the public undertakings.

The protests were also held at Singareni mines spread across different districts in Telangana. The district leaders of TBGKS called for participating in the July 2 strike called by national-level unions of the coal miners.

They said privatization of a profit-making public sector undertaking would badly affect the interest of the workers. They said the employees would lose job security and various other benefits.

Dalit activists write to Sonia for removal of Manu’s statue in Raj

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Dalit activists write to Sonia for removal of Manu’s statue in Raj

In a letter to interim Congress President Sonia Gandhi, nearly 600 Dalit activists, scholars, and well-wishers have urged to remove Manu’s statue from the premises of the Rajasthan High Court, saying the statue is an “insult to the Indian Constitution and Dalits”.

“We are writing this letter because we believe that as the President of the Indian National Congress, which has the government in power in Rajasthan, you have the required power to take a step which would prove historic in strengthening the Dalit movement for equality,” said the letter was written by Martin Macwan, founder of Navsarjan Trust, a grassroots Dalit organization based out of Gujarat.

He said the statue of Manu is “an insult to the Indian Constitution as well as Dalits, women and all those who believe in equality and justice”.

According to Hindu mythology, Manu is the progenitor of mankind and the author of the controversial ‘Manusmriti’, which codifies the rights and duties of various social groups.

MacEwan wrote that the statue is a symbol of an oppressive past and harks to the reality of Dalits and women in India, whose lives are still affected by the discriminatory laws put down by Manu in Manusmriti.

The text is known to have formalized regulations around the caste system and the patriarchal values often propagated in Hindu tradition.

“Moreover, the law of Manu stands in total contradiction to what the Indian Constitution has committed itself to, while the latter upholds equality and fraternity, social justice and freedom, the former indulges in archaic teaching about inequality and social segregation, hierarchy, and division, injustice and servitude.

“That this country has tolerated this contradiction for 73 years post-Independence is testimony to our failure to live by the invaluable heritage of the Constitution bequeathed to us by Dr. Ambedkar and the Constitution-makers,” the letter said.

The statue, built-in 1989 by the Rajasthan Judicial Officers Association, has withstood several protests, court cases, and even an order by judges to remove it.

Members of the Navsarjan Trust have given an ultimatum to the Congress government in Rajasthan, stating that if the statue is not removed by August 15, they will call for agitation.

More trouble for Kamal Nath’s nephew, CBI raids Ratul Puri’s premises

TB Team
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More trouble for Kamal Nath’s nephew, CBI raids Ratul Puri’s premises

Spelling more trouble for former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath’s nephew Ratul Puri, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday carried out raids at multiple locations in Delhi and Noida in connection with the alleged fraud with the Punjab National Bank and another consortium of banks worth Rs 787 crore.

A CBI official said, “Multiple teams of the agency are conducting searches in Delhi and Noida at the premises of the accused, including Moser Baer Solar Ltd (MBSL) Directors Dipak Puri, Ratul Puri, and others in a case related to alleged loss of Rs 787.25 crore to PNB and another consortium of banks.”

The official said that the raids came in the wake of a case being registered on a complaint by PNB against MBSL and others, including its Directors and other unknown persons and bank officials.

In August 2019, the CBI had registered a case against Moser Baer India Limited (MBIL) and conducted raids at six places to nab its current and former officials for cheating the Central Bank of India to the tune of Rs 354.51 crore.

According to the CBI, Deepak Puri, Managing Director of MBIL, his wife Nita Puri, whole-time director of MBIL, son Ratul Puri, former Executive Director of MBIL, Sanjay Jain, Director, Vineet Sharma, Director, and other unidentified public servants and private persons were booked on charges of criminal conspiracy for cheating, forgery and criminal misconduct.

Nita Puri is the sister of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath and Ratul Puri is his nephew. Ratul Puri was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with money laundering involving the Rs 354 crore fraud with the Central Bank of India.

The ED had registered the case on the basis of the CBI FIR. Ratul Puri is also under scanner for allegedly receiving kickbacks in the AgustaWestland deal through his companies.

The ED has alleged that accounts associated with firms owned and operated by Ratul Puri were used to receive kickbacks and launder money in the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP helicopter deal.

Ratul Puri was granted bail on December 2, 2019.

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