24% voting in Kerala's Pala Assembly bypoll till 11 am

Agencies
September 23, 2019

Kottayam, Sept 23:  Voting in the by-election to the Pala Assembly constituency here began on Monday with nearly 24 per cent votes being cast by 11 a.m.

As many as 13 candidates are in the fray in the constituency having a total of 1,79,107 voters.

"At 11 a.m, 24.14 per cent votes have been cast. Till now, there are no untoward incidents in the constituency. Polling is going on smoothly," an Election Commission official from Kottayam district told PTI.

The by-election was necessitated due to the death of former Finance Minister and Kerala Congress (M) leader K M Mani, who had held the constituency for more than five decades.

While the ruling LDF has fielded its ally, NCP's leader, Mani C Kappan as its candidate in the constituency, Jose Tom Pulikunnel of Kerala Congress (M) is the candidate of the Congress-led UDF.

The BJP's Kottayam district president N Hari is the NDA candidate.

Among those who voted in the first couple of hours include the UDF candidate Pulikkunnel, LDF candidate Kappen and the family members of Mani, including his wife and son Jose K Mani, a Rajya Sabha member.

Kappen and Pulikunnel cast their votes at the Government Polytechnic School, Kanattupara, and Government LP School, Poovathode, respectively.

The results are expected to have a bearing on the future course of three major political fronts -- the LDF, the UDF and the BJP-led NDA -- in the southern state.

The Pala Assembly bypoll is seen as an acid test for the parties as victory would give a big boost to their prospects in the by-elections to five constituencies scheduled for October 21 in the state.

The bypoll which started at 7 a.m will conclude at 6 p.m.

During the bitter poll campaign, various issues including corruption, economic slowdown, the crisis in the farm sector and the Sabarimala temple women entry issue were raised by the parties.

While the LDF leaders raised the irregularities in construction of the flyover in Palarivattom in Kochi during the UDF rule, the UDF leaders alleged corruption in setting up infrastructure in the state using funds from Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB).

Both the ruling LDF and the opposition UDF were confident of winning the bypoll.

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News Network
January 18,2020

Jan 18: Days after the arrest of Deputy SP Davinder Singh along with two Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists, Shiv Sena on Saturday questioned the role of police in the Kashmir Valley.

"Cross border infiltration is ongoing in Kashmir. But the police machinery is being used to help the terrorists in Kashmir to safely cross the border (to Pakistan) and a President's medal awarded Deputy SP was arrested for doing so. In Kashmir (it seems), the government is using the police for some other purposes, what will the country's Home Ministry say if somebody has a doubt in connection with the Pulwama attacks," Sena mouthpiece, Saamna, read.

This was in reference to the incident in which Jammu and Kashmir police intercepted a vehicle on Sunday and arrested DySP Davinder Singh along with two top Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists, who were travelling together.

The Sena mouthpiece asserted that the impact and acceptance of the Centre removing Article 370 should be visible "through the people" during the upcoming Republic Day celebrations.

"Jammu and Kashmir is now a Union Territory. It is being ruled by the Centre through President's Rule. The government had removed Article 370 in a historic decision...The joy and excitement in the people over the removal of 370 should be visible in the Republic Day celebrations this time. The tricolour should be seen flying over all houses in Kashmir, it is the least that can be expected," it added.

The Sena mouthpiece further said that with the arrest of terrorists in the recent days, it hoped that "Republic Day will be celebrated safely in Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir".

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Agencies
June 8,2020

New Delhi, Jun 8: Union Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank has said that CBSE board results can be declared by August 15. The results of both class 10 and 12 will be declared at an interval of just a few days.

However, the decision to open schools will be taken after August keeping in mind the current COVID-19 situation. At present, the Ministry of Human Resource Development has not set any date for reopening schools.

Nishank said during a discussion "We hope that the results of both 10th and 12th class will be declared by August 15. These include the results of previous exams and the results of examinations in July."

On the issue of reopening of schools, Nishank said "after August the process of opening schools will be started."

A final decision in this regard will be taken only after assessing the prevailing conditions. According to the HRD ministry, after August, new sessions will also start in universities.

Meanwhile, the Arvind Kejriwal government in Delhi has also written to the HRD ministry on the subject of reopening schools. Delhi Education Minister Manish Sisodia said in the letter, "Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said some time ago that we have to learn to live with coronavirus. So it would be better to open schools with proper safety measures."

Sisodia said that first of all, we have to assure every child that they are important to us. Everyone has equal rights over the physical and intellectual environment of his school. Education cannot progress beyond online classes only. It would be impossible to pursue education only by calling older children to school and keeping younger children at home.

Several private schools have also suggested measures to the HRD ministry to open schools and safety in schools during this period. However, the ministry is not in a hurry to reopen schools at present. According to senior officials of the ministry, at present, preparations are being made to conduct the remaining board exams of class 10 and 12 between July 1 and 15.

After the examinations, the first priority is to declare the results. Only then can the process of reopening school colleges begin.

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News Network
April 21,2020

New Delhi, Apr 21: India's count of positive coronavirus cases reached 18,985 after 1,329 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Tuesday.

Out of the total cases, 15,122 are active cases, 3,259 have been discharged or cured and one has migrated. With 44 new deaths reported in the last 24 hours, the toll stands at 603.

As per the evening update by the ministry, Maharashtra continues to be the worst-hit state with 4,669 cases, out of which 572 patients have been discharged and cured and 232 deaths.

Delhi's total count of confirmed cases stand at 2,081, which includes 431 cured or discharged cases and 47 deaths.

Gujarat has reported a total of 2,066 positive COVID-19 cases, out of which 131 patients have recovered or discharged, while 77 patients have lost their lives.

Madhya Pradesh's count of COVID-19 cases stand at 1,540, including 127 cured or discharged cases and 76 deaths.

Rajasthan has so far reported 1,576 positive cases, out of which 205 patients have recovered or discharged and 25 people have lost their lives.

Tamil Nadu's COVID-19 figure has risen to 1,520, with 457 patients recovered and 17 fatalities. Uttar Pradesh has reported 1,294 cases, out of which 140 patients have recovered and 20 are dead.

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