65 MPs write to Obama against visa for Modi

July 23, 2013

Washington, Jul 23: As BJP President Rajnath Singh is here batting for visa for Narendra Modi, 65 Members of Parliament have written letters to President Barack Obama, urging the US Administration to maintain the current policy of denying visa to him.

"We wish to respectfully urge you to maintain the current policy of denying Mr. Modi a visa to the United States," the MPs belonging to 12 parties have said in identical letters to Obama.modi23

One letter was signed by 25 Rajya Sabha members and the other by 40 Lok Sabha members vwritten on November 26 and December 5, 2102 respectively and re-faxed to the White House on Sunday.

Copies of the letters were provided by the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) as Rajnath Singh, reached Washington to meet US lawmakers, think tanks and US government officials during which he said he will urge the Americans to lift the ban on visa for Modi.

Mohammed Adeeb, Independent MP from Rajya Sabha, who took the initiative for this campaign, said they sent these letters to Obama again because of the current campaign and initiative being taken by Rajnath Singh for getting a US visa for Modi. The letters were being made public only now, he added.

Rajnath Singh told a press conference in New York on Sunday that he would appeal to the US lawmakers to impress on the Administration to remove the visa ban on Modi imposed after the 2202 post-Godhra riots. The denial came on grounds of human rights violations in Gujarat with Modi as chief minister.

The signatories to the letters include Sitaram Yechury of CPI(M) and M P Achuthan of CPI, both Rajya Sabha members.

When contacted Yechury expressed surprise saying he had not signed any such letter. It appeared to be a cut and paste job, he said.

"I would be the last person to write to the US Administration and to do something like this. We don't want anyone to interfere in the internal affairs of the country. These are issues which will have to be settled in India politically," Yechury said. Achuthan also denied writing such a letter.

However, Adeeb insisted that Yechury and Achthan had signed the letter and was surprised why they were retracting now.

"Given that legal cases against the culprits including many senior officials in Mr. Modi's administration are still pending in the court of law, any revoking of the ban at this juncture would be seen as a dismissal of the issues concerning Mr. Modi's role in the horrific massacres of 2002," the letter to Obama said.

"It would legitimise Mr. Modi's human rights violations and seriously impact the nature of US-India relations by sending a message that the United States values economic interests over and above the universal values of human rights and justice," said the letter.

The signatories include Sabir Ali and Ali Anwar Ansari (Janata Dal-U), Rasheed Masood (Congress), S Ahmed (Trinamool Congress) Asaduddin Owaisi (All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen), Thirumavalavan (Viduthalai Chiruttaigal Katchi), K P Ramalingam (DMK) and S S Rasmasubbu (Congress).

The MPs alleged that Modi had not only "obstructed" the course of justice but also "failed" to provide rehabilitation to the survivors of whom 16,000 continue to live in refugee colonies lacking basic amenities.

The letter to Obama about Modi's US visa, "is a stark reminder that Modi and the divisive ideology he represents continues to be anathema to a cross section of Indians," said Raja Swamy of the Coalition Against Genocide.

"After long having denied any desire on the part of Mr. Modi to acquire a US visa, Mr. Rajnath Singh's visit to the US, to lobby lawmakers here for Modi's visa reeks of hypocrisy," he added.

Ahsan Khan of the IAMC, a constituent of the CAG coalition, said it was noteworthy that Modi evoked such strongly negative reactions from elected representatives in India as well as the US across the ideological spectrum.

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Agencies
July 23,2020

Ayodhya, Jul 23: All 32 accused in the Babri mosque demolition case should be invited to the "bhumi pujan" ceremony for the construction of the Ram temple here and honoured, a Hindutva outfit leader has said.

Hindu Dharma Sena president Santosh Dubey is one of the main accused in the case.

Dubey also insisted that the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust must also invite all the four Shankaracharyas to the ceremony planned on August 5.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also likely to attend the event.

"The office bearers of Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra must ensure that along with all 32 accused in the Babri mosque demolition case, the families of the kar sevaks who gave their lives in the Ram Temple movement must also be invited to the 'bhumi pujan' ceremony and must be honoured there," Dubey told PTI.

The top court verdict in favour of the Ram temple at the site would not have been possible had the Babri mosque not been demolished, he said.

"If the Trust does not invite the kar sevaks, it will a display of ego and arrogance. Without inviting the kar sevaks who have been accused in Babri mosque demolition and the families of the slain kar sevaks, the 'bhumi pujan' will remain incomplete," Dubey added.

A special CBI court in Lucknow is recording the statements of the 32 Babri demolition accused under section 313 of the CrPC, which enables them to plead their innocence, if they so want.

The court is conducting day-to-day hearings to complete the trial by August 31 as directed by the Supreme Court.

The mosque in Ayodhya was demolished on December 6, 1992 by 'kar sevaks' who claimed that an ancient Ram temple had stood on the same site. Former deputy prime minister L K Advani and BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi were leading the Ram temple movement at that time.

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News Network
March 3,2020

Chennai, Mar 3: The Madras High Court has ruled that if a working woman gives birth to a child in the second delivery after twins in the first, she is not entitled to maternity benefits as it should be treated as third child.

"As per existing rules, a woman can avail such benefits only for her first two deliveries. Even otherwise it is debatable as to whether the delivery is not a second delivery but a third one, in as much as ordinarily when twins are born they are delivered one after another, and their age and their inter-se elderly status is also determined by virtue of the gap of time between their arrivals, which amounts to two deliveries and not one simultaneous act," the court said.

The first bench, comprising Chief Justice A P Sahi and Justice Subramonium Prasad stated this while allowing the appeal from Ministry of Home Affairs.

It set aside the order June 18 2019 order of a single Judge, who extended 180 days of maternity leave and other benefits to a woman member of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) under the rules governing the Tamil Nadu government servants.

The issue pertains to an appeal moved by the ministry, which contended that the leave claim is by a member of CISF to whom the maternity rules of Tamil Nadu would not apply.

She would be covered by the maternity benefits as provided under the Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules, the ministry said.

When the appeal came up for hearing, the bench said it found that a second delivery, which, in the present case, resulted in a third child, cannot be interpreted so as to add to the mathematical precision that is defined in the rules.

The admissibility of benefits would be limited if the claimant has not more than two children, the bench said "This fact therefore changes the entire nature of the relief which is sought for by the woman petitioner, which aspect has been completely overlooked by the single judge", the bench said.

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News Network
April 30,2020

Hyderabad, Apr 30: A 45-day-old baby boy, who tested positive for COVID-19 when he was 20-days-old, was discharged from a state-run hospital here on Wednesday after his full recovery.

The baby from Mahabubnagar, who contracted the infection from his father, was 20-days-old at the time of admission (on April 4), a COVID-19 bulletin said.

He was discharged after being cured, it said. The baby, probably the youngest to contract the infection in the country, was treated at the state-run Gandhi hospital in the city.

State Health Minister E Rajender expressed happiness over the baby being discharged after recovery.

An official release said 35 people were discharged today and 13 of them were children.

Those who were discharged thanked the doctors and medical personnel of the hospital and the minister has lauded the doctors and other medical staff for their efforts, it said.

Among those undergoing treatment at the hospital, 10 are being treated in the ICU.

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