Andhra may be put under central rule

February 21, 2014

Central_ruleNew Delhi, Feb 21: Andhra Pradesh is likely to be put under President's rule amid indications that a decision to this effect may be taken in the next couple of days.

The state has been without a full-scale government after CM Kiran Reddy resigned on Wednesday to protest against the passage of the Telangana bill in Lok Sabha.

Sources, however, said it was clear that elections to new assemblies of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh may not be held along with Lok Sabha polls in May. The term of the assembly of undivided Andhra Pradesh runs out with that of the current Lok Sabha. But the fact that the House has now been split into two new assemblies — 175-strong one for Andhra Pradesh and a separate one with 119 for Telangana — may give the Centre and the Election Commission latitude to delay elections.

The leeway may suit Congress which has to work out the modalities of alliance, even a merger with Telangana Rasthra Samithi.

The two parties hope to sweep the 17 Lok Sabha seats in the Telangana region, arguably the sole driver for Centre getting into overdrive to partition AP after years of wavering and shuffling.

Political circles estimate that Congress may be able to persuade TRS boss K Chandrasekhar Rao to leave the overwhelming majority of LS seats in exchange for a higher share of assembly seats for the Telangana outfit.

Congress is still debating the pros and cons of a merger with TRS, with a strong school in the party feeling that the presence of a friendly Chandrasekhar Rao as an independent figure may help splinter the anti-incumbency sentiment.

Having been okayed by the two Houses, the bill will be sent by the home ministry to President Pranab Mukherjee for his assent. The presidential go-ahead will clear the way for a notification in the Gazette of India about the birth of Telangana as the 29th state of the Union. The gazette notification will also mention the day on which Telangana will be deemed to be born.

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News Network
January 23,2020

Patna, Jan 23: "They should go wherever they want," Bihar Chief Minister and JDU supremo Nitish Kumar said on Thursday when asked of Prashant Kishor and Pavan Verma's repeated questions about the party's stand's on the newly enacted Citizenship Act.

"It is their personal decision. They should go wherever they want. We don't have an objection. Don't look at JDU in the context of statements by some people. JDU works with determination. We have a clear stand and don't have any confusion," the Chief Minister told reporters here.

"If they have something to tell, they should come and discuss it within the party. They should go wherever they want. They have my good wishes," he said.

JDU spokesperson and national general secretary Pavan Verma has questioned his party's alliance with the BJP in Delhi Assembly polls while Kishor has more than once made his differences with the party known on the issue of the amended Citizenship Act, and National Register of Citizens.

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Agencies
August 1,2020

Chandigarh, Aug 1: The death toll in the Punjab spurious liquor tragedy rose to 86 on Saturday even as Chief Minister Amarinder Singh suspended seven excise officials and six policemen, officials said.

The government also announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for each of the families of the deceased, they said.

Tarn Taran alone accounted for 63 deaths, followed by 12 in Amritsar and 11 in Gurdaspur’s Batala. Till Friday night, the state had reported 39 deaths in the tragedy unfolding since Wednesday night.

According to an official statement, the CM ordered the suspension of seven excise officials, along with six policemen.

Among the suspended officials are two deputy superintendents of police and four station house officers.

Strict action will be taken against any public servant or others found complicit in the case, said the chief minister, describing the police and excise department failure to check the manufacturing and sale of spurious liquor as shameful.

Nobody will be allowed to get away with feeding poison to our people, he added.

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Agencies
July 30,2020

New Delhi, Jul 30: India's gold demand in 2020 is expected to fall to the lowest level in 26 years with domestic bullion prices hitting a record high and as falling disposable incomes could curtail retail purchases, the World Gold Council (WGC) said on Thursday.

Lower demand by the world's second-biggest bullion consumer could limit a rally in global prices, which hit a record high earlier this month, although it could also reduce India's trade deficit and support the ailing rupee.

"Fast rising gold prices could act as headwinds," said Somasundaram PR, the managing director of WGC's Indian operations.

Local gold futures have jumped 35% so far this year after rising a quarter in 2019.

India's gold consumption in the first half of 2020 plunged 56% on-year to 165.6 tonnes. Meanwhile, the coronavirus-triggered lockdown also slashed demand by 70% in the June quarter to 63.7 tonnes, the lowest in more than a decade, the WGC said in a report published on Thursday.

Millions of Indians have lost their jobs or taken a pay cut after the country imposed a lockdown on its 1.3 billion people to curb the spread of the virus that has infected more than 1.5 million Indians.

Consumption is generally high during the June quarter due to weddings and key festivals such as Akshaya Tritiya, but lockdown restrictions kept shoppers indoors this year.

The weak demand in the first half could drag down India's gold consumption in 2020 to the lowest since 1994, when demand stood at 415 tonnes, Somasundaram said, adding that it is still difficult to provide an estimate for full-year demand as the coronavirus crisis is still unfolding.

"Indian demand has previously jumped as much as 300 tonnes in a quarter. Latent demand could come out in the second half," Somasundaram said.

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