Arun Jaitley lauds NIA, defends govt’s snooping order

Agencies
December 27, 2018

New Delhi, Dec 27: Finance minister Arun Jaitley Thursday lauded the NIA for busting an alleged Islamic State terror plot, and defended a recent government order authorising investigative agencies to monitor any computer.

"Well done NIA for cracking the dangerous terrorist module," he tweeted. "Would this crackdown of the terrorist module by NIA have been possible without interception of electronic communications?"

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) Wednesday arrested 10 persons after raids at 17 locations in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi for allegedly being part of a module of the IS.

Jaitley hit out at the Congress, which along with other opposition parties, has attacked the government for "snooping on citizens" through its order authorising investigative agencies to intercept, monitor and decrypt information stored in any computer.

"Were the maximum intercepts done during the UPA government? Surely George Orwell was not born in May 2014," he said in another tweet.

He was responding to senior Congress leader P Chidambaram's attack on the government saying, "If anybody is going to monitor the computer, including your computer, that is the Orwellian state. George Orwell is around the corner. It is condemnable".

Congress president Rahul Gandhi too had attacked the order saying, "It's only going to prove to over 1 billion Indians what an insecure dictator you really are".

The order, Jaitley had last week stated, was under a 2009 rule and the opposition was "making a mountain where even a molehill doesn't exist".

"National security and sovereignty are paramount. Life and personal liberty will survive only in a strong democratic nation - not in a terrorist dominated state," Jaitley said Thursday.

The NIA Wednesday said the group - self-appointed and financed - was in an "advanced stage of carrying out a series of blasts" across the country and had "vital installations and important personalities, including politicians" on their target.

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News Network
January 30,2020

Wayanad, Jan 30: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday compared Mahatma Gandhi assassin Nathuram Godse with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying both believed in the same ideology.

Gandhi, at an anti-CAA rally here, launched a scathing attack on Modi and said he was making Indians to prove that they are Indians.

Addressing participants at "Save the Constitution" march at Kalpetta in Wayanad, his Lok Sabha constituency on Martyr's Day, Gandhi said there was no difference between Godse and Modi.

"Today, an ignorant man is trying to challenge Gandhi's ideology. He is creating an atmosphere of hatred. The ideology is same. Nathuram Godse and Narendra Modi, they believe in the same ideology. There is no difference except that Modi does not have the guts to say he believes in the ideology of Godse," the Wayanad MP said.

Attacking the Prime Minister on the new Citizenship Law, Gandhi questioned Modi and asked who was he to ask Indians to prove that they were Indians.

"Indians are being made to prove that they are Indians. Who is Narendra Modi to decide who is an Indian. Who gave Modi the licence to ask for my Indianness? I know I am an Indian and I don't have to prove it to anyone. Likewise, 1.4 billion Indians do not have to prove that they are Indians," he said.

The Congress leader led the march here as part of efforts to intensify the party's protests against CAA in the state.

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Agencies
June 12,2020

Google on Friday announced the launch of a new feature on Google Search, Assistant, and Maps for users in India to help them find information on COVID-19 testing centres near them.

The search giant has partnered with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and MyGov to provide the information on authorised testing labs.

The feature is currently available in English and eight Indian languages including Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, Gujarati, and Marathi.

According to the company, users will now see a new "Testing" tab on the search result page providing a list of nearby testing labs along with key information and guidance needed before using their services.

On Google Maps, when users search for keywords like "COVID testing" or "coronavirus testing" they will see a list of nearby testing labs, with a link to Google Search for the government-mandated requirements.

Google said that the Search, Assistant, and Maps currently feature 700 testing labs across 300 cities and working with authorities to identify and add more testing labs located across the country.

The company reiterates that it is important to follow the recommended guidelines that help determine testing eligibility before visiting.

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News Network
April 19,2020

Shimla, Apr 19: A man, who had recovered from the novel coronavirus, was again found suffering from the infection in Himachal Pradesh, officials said.

The man, a Tablighi Jamaat member, tested positive for the infection on Saturday within a week of his two reports coming out negative, they said.

Residents of different places in Mandi district, the man along with two other Jamaatis had been staying in a mosque of Nakroh village in Una'a Amb tehsil and all tested positive on April 2.

They were admitted to Tanda's Dr. Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College (RPGMC) in Kangra district on April 3.

As per the available information, they had tested negative for the first time on April 10 and they were declared as cured as per protocol after they tested negative for the second time on April 12.

Subsequently they had been discharged from the RPGMC and were kept in institutional quarantine.

However, with the man again testing positive, the total number of active cases in the hill state has increased to 23 out of the total 40 positive cases.

Four persons have been shifted to a private hospital outside the state. Eleven have recovered while two others have died.

A total of 16 confirmed cases were found in Una and health department statistics now shows 14 active cases and two cured.

Officials said 11 patients — three each from Chamba, Kangra, and Solan districts and two from Una district — have recovered.

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