Ahmed Patel: Sonia's confidant and Cong's trouble-shooter

Agencies
August 9, 2017

Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel, who pulled off a victory in the bitterly fought Rajya Sabha election in Gujarat, has the reputation of being a trouble-shooter and strategist for the party.

The long-serving political secretary to Congress president Sonia Gandhi has been one of the most powerful functionaries in the party. An organisational man, he had gently turned down offers to join the government at the centre by four prime ministers when the Congress was in power, according to party insiders.

A Nehru-Gandhi family loyalist, he has represented Gujarat seven times in Parliament -- three-time as Lok Sabha member from Bharuch and four-time as Rajya Sabha member.

The contest for fifth Rajya Sabha term turned out to be the most challenging for the 67-year-old leader.

Patel beat Balwantsinh Rajput, who was till recently the Congress' chief whip in the state Assembly before switching over to BJP, polling 44 votes in the first Rajya Sabha polls in Gujarat in two decades which saw a contest instead of official candidates of major parties getting elected unopposed.

He won after dramatic late night developments which saw the Election Commission rejecting the votes of two dissident MLAs of the main opposition party for violating electoral rules.

"This is not just my victory. It is a defeat of the most blatant use of money power, muscle power and abuse of state machinery," Patel tweeted after his win.

Party workers say he often has the final word on who should be the party chief in Gujarat or who should fight even a mayoral election.

Patel, a self-made politician, is the son of a social worker. He was born in a small village of Bharuch district in south Gujarat. He cut his teeth in the Youth Congress and went on to become its state president.

Patel was just 28 when he was chosen to defend the party in the Lok Sabha election from Bharuch by the then prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1977, which he won.

He then went on to win two more Lok Sabha elections back-to-back in 1980 and 1984.

However, as the Hindutva wave started sweeping Gujarat since the late 1980s, propelling the BJP to the centre stage, Patel found it difficult to win a direct election.

He lost the Lok Sabha election in 1990.

He took the Rajya Sabha route to Delhi in 1993. He was re-elected to the Upper House of Parliament in 1999, 2005 and 2011.

"Patel is a soft-spoken but articulate person, who will never seek limelight. As the political secretary to the Congress president, he was the main contributor in cobbling up an alliance after the 2004 Lok Sabha polls to form the UPA-I, when the Congress got more seats than the BJP," Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi said.

Patel had a key role in running the UPA alliance, as a trusted lieutenant of Sonia Gandhi, during its 10 years in power from 2004 as he managed ties with the allies.

He had also served as the Congress' parliament secretary, treasurer and president of Gujarat unit.

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Agencies
June 23,2020

Belgrade, June 23: Novak Djokovic tested positive for the coronavirus on Tuesday after taking part in a tennis exhibition series he organized in Serbia and Croatia.

The top-ranked Serb is the fourth player to test positive for the virus after first playing in Belgrade and then again last weekend in Zadar, Croatia.

His wife also tested positive. “The moment we arrived in Belgrade we went to be tested. My result is positive, just as Jelena's, while the results of our children are negative," Djokovic said in a statement.

Djokovic has been criticized for organizing the tournament and bringing in players from other countries amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Viktor Troicki said Tuesday that he and his pregnant wife have both been diagnosed with the virus, while Grigor Dimitrov, a three-time Grand Slam semifinalist from Bulgaria, said Sunday he tested positive.

Borna Coric played Dimitrov on Saturday in Zadar and said Monday he has also tested positive. There were no social distancing measures observed at the matches in either country and Djokovic and other players were seen hugging each other and partying in night clubs and restaurants after the matches.

 “Everything we did in the past month, we did with a pure heart and sincere intentions,” Djokovic said.

“Our tournament meant to unite and share a message of solidarity and compassion throughout the region.” Djokovic, who has previously said he was against taking a vaccine for the virus even if it became mandatory to travel, was the face behind the Adria Tour, a series of exhibition events that started in the Serbian capital and then moved to Zadar.

He left Croatia after the final was canceled and was tested in Belgrade. The statement said Djokovic was showing no symptoms.

Despite the positive test, Djokovic defended the exhibition series. “It was all born with a philanthropic idea, to direct all raised funds towards people in need and it warmed my heart to see how everybody strongly responded to this,” Djokovic said.

"We organized the tournament at the moment when the virus has weakened, believing that the conditions for hosting the Tour had been met. “Unfortunately, this virus is still present, and it is a new reality that we are still learning to cope and live with.”

Djokovic said he will remain in self-isolation for 14 days and also apologized to anyone who became infected as a result of the series. Organizers of the Adria Tour said the third stage of the event, scheduled to held next week in Bosnia, has been cancelled.

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News Network
May 27,2020

Mumbai, May 27: The Maharashtra government on Tuesday ordered re investigation by the CID into the suicide of a 53-year-old interior designer and his mother, allegedly over non-payment of dues by TV journalist Arnab Goswami and two others.

State Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said he ordered re investigation after Adnya Naik, daughter of interior designer Anvay Naik, claimed that Alibag Police in neighbouring Raigad district did not probe the non-payment of dues which had driven her father and grandmother to suicide.

"Adnya Naik had complained to me that #AlibaugPolice had not investigated non-payment of dues from #ArnabGoswami's @republic which drove her entrepreneur father & grandmom to suicide in May 2018," Deshmukh tweeted.

"I've ordered a CID re-investigation of the case," the minister, an NCP leader, added.

He also used the hashtag "Maharashtra government cares" while sharing the tweet. Earlier this month, the police registered an abetment of suicide case against Republic TV editor-in-chief Goswami and two others.

The suicide note purportedly written by Anvay Naik, managing director of Concorde Designs Private Limited, said he was forced to take his life as he was not paid dues of Rs 5.40 crore by the three accused.

Republic TV denied the allegation and said that certain vested interest groups were running "a false and malicious campaign and making false statements and innuendos against the company by exploiting the tragic event".

Mumbai Police are also conducting a probe against Goswami over his statements about the Palghar lynching case of April this year.

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News Network
March 3,2020

New Delhi, Mar 3: A day after two new cases of novel coronavirus that included one from Delhi were reported, the Health Ministry on Tuesday said six cases with "high-viral load" were detected during sample testing in Agra and these people have been kept in isolation. The six people had come in contact with a 45-year-old patient from Delhi, whose case came to light on Monday, and they include his family members.

According to government sources, the man, who is a resident of Mayur Vihar, had visited them in Agra.

The six have been kept in isolation at Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi and their samples are being sent to NIV, Pune for confirmation.

Contact tracing of the people who came in contact with the six is simultaneously being done through the Integrated Disease Surveillance Program (IDSP) network, the ministry said in a statement.

Sources said the patient from Mayur Vihar was shifted to a quarantine ward at Safdarjung Hospital on Sunday night.

His other family members have been asked to stay alert and look out for symptoms. One accountant, who came in contact with the man and some of his family members, was also quarantined, they said.

India on Monday reported two new cases of the novel coronavirus, one from Delhi and another one from Hyderabad. The government has stepped up its efforts to detect and check the infection which has killed 2,912 people in China.

On Monday, Rajasthan Health Minister Raghu Sharma had said that an Italian tourist tested positive for coronavirus in Jaipur.

The first sample collected from him on February 29 tested negative but his condition deteriorated, so a second sample was collected which tested positive on Monday, the minister said, adding, "Since there is a variation in the reports, the samples have been sent to the NIV, Pune for testing".

India had earlier reported three cases from Kerala, including two medical students from Wuhan in China, the epicentre of the deadly novel coronavirus. They had self-reported on their return to the country and tested positive for the infection. They were discharged from hospitals last month following recovery.

The infected person from Delhi had travelled to Italy, while the other patient who tested positive for the COVID-19 infection is from Telangana and had recently travelled to Dubai.

Both the patients had self-reported after they developed symptoms.

"They tested positive. They are stable and being closely monitored," ministry said on Monday.

The government has asked people to avoid non-essential travel to Iran, Italy, South Korea and Singapore and said India was in discussions with authorities in Iran and Italy, two countries badly affected by the infection, to evacuate Indians there.

The novel coronavirus or COVID-19, which originated in China, has spread to over 60 countries.

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