Activists arrested based on proof of Naxal links: Maharashtra government

Agencies
August 29, 2018

Mumbai, Aug 29: The Maharashtra government on Wednesday defended the arrest of five Left-wing activists in multi-state raids saying the action was based on "proof" about their "links with the Naxal movement".

Maharashtra Minister of State for Home Deepak Kesarkar said all procedures were followed before conducting the raids against the activists.

Pune Police on Tuesday raided homes of some prominent Left-wing activists in several states and arrested five of them -- poet Varavara Rao in Hyderabad, activists Vernon Gonzalves and Arun Ferreira in Mumbai, trade unionist and lawyer Sudha Bhardwaj in Faridabad and Chhattisgarh and civil liberties activist Gautam Navalakha in Delhi.

The raids were carried out as part of a probe into the Elgar Parishad event held in Pune on December 31 last year, which had allegedly triggered violence between Dalits and upper caste groups at Koregaon Bhima village in the district.

"It is due to their links with naxal movements that they have been arrested. If there was no evidence, we would not have taken the action. We have followed the procedures before conducting raids against these naxal activists," Kesarkar said.

"Actions are not taken to please anyone. Unless we had proofs, we would not have conducted the raids," he added.

The minister said Naxals were fighting a war against India.

"It is not wrong to be Left-wing, but it is wrong to be a Left-wing extremist," he said.

Kesarkar said Professor Saibaba (Delhi University professor arrested in 2014 for alleged links with Maoists) is a classic example of the intellectuals misusing their brains against the country. The Naxal movement is banned in the country and nobody should sympathise with it, he added.

On the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) letter to the Maharashtra government seeking information about the operation, he said, "It is the government's duty to respond to the NHRC letter. It is a routine procedure. It does not necessarily mean we are doing anything wrong."

When asked about the link of Elgar Parishad conclave with the violence at Koregaon Bhima village a day after the event, Kesarkar said, "A judicial commission has been set up to look into the matter. Let it come up with its report. If any links are established, we will take appropriate action against the organisers of Parishad."

"We have also arrested Milind Ekbote (a right-wing leader and prime accused in the Koregaon-Bhima violence) for his alleged links to violence at Koregaon Bhima. We should not be criticised that we are targeting Left wing people alone," he said.

"Earlier, tribals were the target of Left-wing extremists. Now, tribals are prospering through the state government's policies, hence the Naxalites are targeting the unemployed urban youth," he said.

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April 16,2020

New Delhi, Apr 16: South Delhi District Magistrate Brij Mohan Mishra on Thursday said that the administration is investigating how the pizza delivery boy contracted the coronavirus.

"In the last 15 days, we discovered houses he had delivered food. We contacted people living in 72 houses and they have been asked to stay in-home quarantine. No symptoms have been seen in people related to him. 

Testing of his roommate has been done and his reports are awaited. The rest of the people don't have any symptoms, they have been placed under institutional quarantine. Those in-home quarantines are also asymptomatic," Mishra said.

"Unless a positive case comes, we feel that transmission has not taken place. The boy told us that he was continuously wearing a mask while delivering the food. We are also finding out how he got infected. We are getting the information about the places he visited for delivery. He was tested on the basis of the doctor's advice. Later, he tested positive," he said.

72 families have to stay in home quarantine in the Malviya Nagar area after the delivery boy tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday.
Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain said that 17 other delivery boys linked with the infected person have also been placed under institutional quarantine.

"A pizza delivery boy has been detected with COVID-19 here. 17 other delivery boys linked with him have been placed under institutional quarantine and 72 people have been placed under home quarantine," Jain said.

Food delivery app Zomato said that the staff of the infected person's restaurant has delivered some orders which were placed on its platform.

"We've been made aware today that a restaurant's employee, who has been recently tested positive for COVID-19, had delivered food in the past to a few customers in the Malviya Nagar area in Delhi. All these customers have already been contacted by the govt authorities... We are not sure whether the rider was infected at the time of delivery," the company said in a statement.

Zomato also claimed that colleagues of the delivery boy have tested negative for COVID-19.
"This restaurant had instructed their riders to wear masks and follow strict hygiene to keep customers safe from any unintended mishap.

All co-workers of the said rider have been tested negative. And as a precaution, the restaurant where this rider worked has suspended operations," read the statement.

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Agencies
May 27,2020

New Delhi, May 27: The government has further extended the deadline for bidding to buy its entire 52.98 per cent stake in the country's second-biggest oil refiner, Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL), by over one-and-a-half months to July 31.

This is the second extension for submission of expression of interest (EoI) for BPCL stake by interested bidders. The government had first invited bids showing interest in buying its stake, by May 2. It was then extended till June 13.

This has now been extended to 5 p.m. on July 31 in "view of further requests received from the interested bidders and the prevailing situation arising out of COVID-19", an official notice put up by disinvestment department DIPAM late on Tuesday said.

Accordingly, the last date for submission of written queries or preliminary information memorandum has been pushed back to June 23 from the earlier deadline of May 16.

The disinvestment in BPCL involves the government selling its entire 52.98 per cent stake in the company to a strategic investor with transfer of management control. The government has barred PSUs from bidding for BPCL and expects private sector Indian players and global MNCs to bid for its stake. The government's stake in BPCL is worth around Rs 50,000 crore.

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News Network
June 2,2020

New Delhi, Jun 2: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said India will definitely get its economic growth back as the government continues to pursue various reforms.

Speaking at industry association CII's annual session, he said the government has taken tough steps to fight the coronavirus pandemic and has also taken care of the economy.

"On the one hand we have to safe lives of our people and on the other hand we have to stabilise the economy and speed up the economy," he said.

He said he gets the confidence from farmers, small businesses and entrepreneurs for getting the economic growth back.

"Corona may have slowed our speed (of growth) but India has now moved ahead from lockdown with the phase one of unlock. Unlock Phase-1 has reopened a large part of the economy," he said.

He said intent, inclusion, investment, infrastructure and innovation are crucial for India to revert back to a high-growth trajectory.

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