Bihar polls will drive third nail in BJP's coffin: Ramesh

May 21, 2015

Hyderabad, May 21: Asserting that the Bihar Assembly polls will be the "third nail" in BJP's coffin, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh exuded confidence on the prospect of all "secular forces" joining hands to defeat the saffron party in the politically crucial battle.jairam ramesh

"Bihar elections would be the third nail in BJP's coffin. First nail was Delhi (Assembly) elections and the second nail was the Land Acquisition Bill," Ramesh told media here.

On the uncertainty over the merger of Janata Parivar outfits, seen as key factor in the state, before the polls in Bihar later this year, the Congress veteran said, "lot of shadow-boxing goes on."

He, however, hastened to add, "I am sure ultimately all the secular forces will get together to ensure that the BJP gets the treatment it deserves in Bihar."

Also, hitting back at Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu, who recently sought to know from the Congress as to why the provision for special category status was not included in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act of 2014, Ramesh said the BJP leader was "inventing new excuses" on that.

"I will ask Venkaiah Naidu why the provision of special category status was not part of the Reorganisation Bill of Uttar Pradesh in 2000. UP was reorganised into UP and Uttarakhand in 2000. Special category status was given to Uttarakhand in 2002. Why was it not part of the Bill?" he asked.

"These (according special status to AP) are executive decisions. So, same principle that applied to Atal Behari Vajpayee (the then PM) is being applied to Manmohan Singh also. The Cabinet decided that special category status should be given to AP. Venkaiah Naidu is trying to find excuses," Ramesh said.

"He (Naidu) knew that Manmohan Singh was going to make the commitment on 20th February of 2014. But Venkaiah Naidu also knows that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has gone back on the commitment. He is trying to invent new excuses," the Congress leader alleged.

Ramesh said AP is "very much" qualified for the special status as revenues from Hyderabad were not being apportioned between the state and Telangana, and there was going to be revenue deficit for AP for at least five years. The special status is needed to compensate for that.

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Agencies
July 30,2020

Kochi, Jul 30: The Kerala High Court on Thursday refused to grant the extension for the stay of a 74-year-old US citizen, Johnny Paul Pierce, who had earlier said that he felt safer to remain in India than in the United States amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The single-judge bench of Justice CS Dias, which considered the writ petition, observed that the grant or extension of visa to foreign nationals fall exclusively within the domain of the Government of India (GoI) and that judicial review in such matters is minimal.

The power of the GoI to expel foreigners is absolute and unlimited, the bench said.

"In view of the categoric declaration of law by the Supreme Court, the plea of the petitioner to permit him to stay back in India cannot be accepted, as it falls within the purview of the guidelines and the discretion of the Government of India," the order said.

"The petitioner cannot be heard that the guidelines/policies/regulations formulated by the Government of India, that an American national though has been granted a visa having validity of five years has to leave India within 180 days, is irrational or unreasonable," it added.

The High Court, which was hearing a plea to permit the US citizen to stay in India for a further period of six months, said that the petitioner does not have a case that there is an infraction of Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

"The petitioner was well aware of the visa conditions when he arrived in India, and it is too late in the day for him to raise a grievance on the visa conditions," the bench said noting that the petitioner's love for India was heartening.

The High Court also directed the Foreigners Registration Officer to consider the petitioner's representation within a period of two weeks in accordance with the applicable guidelines and policies.

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News Network
January 9,2020

Dubai, Jan 9: A roadshow promoting Gujarat as an education hub of India will be held here from January 17, officials said.

Representatives of 22 universities and four colleges from Gujarat will be part of the two-day event organised by the Indian Consulate in Dubai.

"The roadshow will provide a glimpse of the thriving education sector in Gujarat and enable the interested candidates to get a first-hand understanding of the rich resources of the state in order to pursue higher education," according to a statement released by the Indian Consulate here on Wednesday.

A delegation led by Gujarat's Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama will take part in the event under the 'Study in Gujarat' campaign, the statement said.

The Principal Secretary of the state's Higher and Technical Education, Anju Sharma, will participate in the roadshow, which will conclude on January 18.

The participating educational institutions include Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University, Gujarat Forensic Science University, Nirma University, LD College of Engineering, Gujarat Arts and Science College, Vishwakarma Government College and SAL College.

"In the last decade and a half, Gujarat has been successful in establishing its identity as the leading educational hub of India. State of the art infrastructure, safe environment, curriculum at par with international standards and industry exposure gives students an edge during the course of their study," the statement said.

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News Network
March 30,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 30: The Kerala chapter of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has said that the state government's decision to sell alcohol to those with a prescription from doctors for having withdrawal symptoms is not a scientific one.

"Scientific treatment should be given to those who have alcohol withdrawal symptoms. It can be treated at home or in hospitals with medicines. It is not scientifically acceptable to offer alcohol to such people instead," a statement by IMA said.
The IMA said that they have taken the matter up with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

The association said that the doctors have no legal obligation to provide a prescription for alcohol.

"Writing a liquor prescription can result in the cancellation of the right to treatment. We have brought it to the notice of Chief Minister," it added.

IMA state president Dr Abraham Varghese and state secretary Dr Gopi Kumar said that scientific treatments are good for those with withdrawal symptoms and added that if other methods are adopted it will only complicate matters.

Kerala government had earlier said that it was considering the option of online sale of liquor in the state to those with a prescription from doctors.

The decision had come in the backdrop of a country-wide lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

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