11 parties form 'alternative' to UPA, NDA in Lok Sabha elections

February 25, 2014

alternatives

New Delhi, Feb 25: The grouping of 11 non-UPA, non-NDA parties will contest the coming Lok Sabha elections and ensure defeat of the Congress and the BJP, CPI-M leader Prakash Karat said here Tuesday.

Briefing reporters after meeting of 11 parties, which include the Samajwadi Party, AIADMK, Janata Dal-United (JD-U), Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) and four Left parties, Karat said the parties will work to provide an alternative to the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party at the centre.

"Leaders of 11 parties have resolved to fight upcoming Lok Sabha elections together," he said.

The meeting was not attended by Asom Gana Parishad and Biju Janata Dal but Karat said the leaders of these parties had conveyed in advance their reasons for not being able to attend.

"Keeping in mind Lok Sabha elections, we decided that leaders of 11 parties should meet and decide on cooperation and working together," he said.

Contending the "misrule" of Congress-led United Progressive Alliance has been marked by "massive corruption, unprecedented price rise, acute distress of farmers and glaring inequalities", Karat said: "We do not want Congress and UPA to continue in power. We will work for defeat of Congress and UPA."

The BJP's basic policies were "no different" from those of the Congress, he said, claiming that on the issue of corruption, the record of BJP-ruled states and that of the National Democratic Alliance government was "as bad or worse as (of) Congress and UPA".

"Today, the challenge before us by the BJP and its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi is the challenge to the very edifice of secular society," Karat said.

He accused the BJP and "its mentor RSS" of communal agenda and said the grouping will "ensure that BJP and its allies are not able to come to power at the centre."

"We need alternative to BJP and Congress. Leaders of 11 parties resolved today to work together to present an alternative before the country," he said.

The leaders also issued a joint declaration which said they will present an alternative which will have "democratic, secular, federal and pro people" agenda.

Answering queries, JD-U president Sharad Yadav said the grouping "was the first front".

He said its prime ministerial candidate will be decided after the Lok Sabha elections expected April-May.

On seat sharing, Karat said each party will ensure success in their states, while they will "pool resources at all-India level".

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar ruled out any truck of his JD-U and the alliance led by the BJP after the elections, while Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav said that more parties will be included in the new front.

Apart from Communist Party of India-Marxist, the other left parties in the 11-party front include Communist Party of India, Revolutionary Socialist Party and Forward Bloc.

The parties attended a convention against communalism in October and met earlier this month for floor coordination in parliament.

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Agencies
August 5,2020

Ayodhya, Aug 5: After laying the foundation stone for the Ram temple in Ayodhya on Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed the 'bhoomi pujan' event as an "emotional moment" for the entire country and added that "every heart is illuminated today".

"Every heart is illuminated; it is an emotional moment for the entire country... A long wait ends today... A grand temple will now be built for our Ram Lalla who had been living under a tent for many years," said Prime Minister Modi at foundation stone-laying ceremony of the Ram temple.

"With the construction of this temple, not only history is being made, but is being repeated. 

The way boatmen to tribals helped Lord Ram, the way children helped Lord Krishna lift Govardhan mountain, similarly, with everyone's efforts temple construction will be completed," he added.

Earlier today, Prime Minister Modi conducted 'bhoomi pujan' for the construction work of Ram temple.

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Agencies
June 22,2020

New Delhi, Jun 22: India's COVID-19 cases per lakh people is one of the lowest in the world despite its high population density, and the recovery rate has now reached almost 56 per cent, the Union Health Ministry said on Monday.

For every one lakh population, there are 30.04 coronavirus cases in India, while the global average is over three times at 114.67, the ministry said, referring to the WHO Situation Report 153, dated June 21.

“This low figure is thus a testimony to the graded, pre-emptive and pro-active approach the Government of India along with the states and UTs took for prevention, containment and management of COVID-19," the ministry said in a statement.

Citing the WHO Situation Report, the ministry said the US has 671.24 cases per lakh population, while Germany, Spain, Brazil and the UK have 583.88, 526.22, 489.42 and 448.86 cases per lakh population, respectively.

It said Russia has 400.82 cases per lakh people, while Italy, Canada, Iran and Turkey have 393.52, 268.98, 242.82 and 223.53, respectively.

Coming back to India, as on Monday morning, the total number of coronavirus cases stood at 4,25,282 and the death toll at 13,699, according to figures issued by the ministry.

In its update issued at 8 AM Monday, the ministry said 9,440 COVID-19 patients recovered in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of recoveries to 2,37,195, a recovery rate of 55.77 per cent.

Presently, there are 1,74,387 active cases and all are under medical supervision, it said.

"The difference between the recovered patients and the active COVID-19 cases continues to widen. Today, the number of recovered patients has crossed the number of active patients by 62,808," the ministry said.

The COVID-19 testing infrastructure is continuously being ramped up and number of government labs has been increased to 723 and the private labs to 262, adding up to a total of 985, it said.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research, a total of 69,50,493 samples have been tested up to 21 June, 1,43,267 of them just on Sunday.

On Monday, the country added 14,821 new COVID-19 cases in a single day, pushing the tally to 4,25,282, while the death toll rose to 13,699 with 445 new fatalities reported till 8 am.

The country breached the four lakh-mark on Sunday, eight days after crossing three lakh COVID-19 cases. It has recorded 2,34,747 infections since June 1.

Monday was the 11th day in a row when the country registered over 10,000 cases.

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Agencies
July 15,2020

Lucknow, Jul 15: As many as 122 alleged criminals were killed in over 6,000 encounters in Uttar Pradesh in the past three years, while 13 policemen also lost their lives during this period, a senior police official said.

He also said over 2,000 criminals were injured in police action, while over 13,000 of them have been arrested.

"Thirteen policemen have been killed in action in as many as 6,126 encounters (in UP), while as many as 122 criminals have been gunned down," Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar said while sharing details of police encounters from March 20, 2017, to July 10, 2020.

As many as 13,361 criminals have been arrested, while 2,296 criminals were injured in police encounters, he said, adding 909 policemen were also injured in these incidents.

Referring to the Kanpur ambush in which eight policemen were killed, Kumar said, "Of the 21 named accused in the incident, six have been killed and four arrested so far. A hunt is on to nab the 11 other accused."

Eight police personnel, including a DSP, were gunned down by the henchmen of gangster Vikas Dubey in Bikru village of Kanpur on July 3.

Seven others, including a civilian, were injured in the attack after the police team entered the village past July 2 midnight to arrest the gangster.

Dubey was later killed in an encounter on July 10 after police claimed that he tried to escape from the spot in the Bhauti area where the vehicle carrying him from Ujjain to Kanpur met with an accident.

Kumar said overall there has been a decline in the crime rate in the state this year compared to the last year.

"A total of 579 instances of loot took place in the state from January 1, 2020, to June 15, 2020. This is 44.17 per cent less compared to the crimes committed in the same period in 2019, the ADG (Law and Order) said.

He said 33 incidents of dacoity have been reported in the state this year so far. It is 37.74 per cent less compared to the crimes committed in the same period in 2019 .

Similarly, 2,604 instances of burglary have taken this year so far and is 30.97 per cent less compared to the crimes committed in the same period last year, Kumar added.

He said 1,019 dowry-related deaths have taken place this year, registering a 6.34 per cent decline compared to the previous year.

As many as 913 incidents of rape have been reported this year so far, a decline of 25.41 per cent compared to the last year, Kumar said.

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