BJP MLA and son publicly assault on duty civic official with cricket bat; arrested

New Delhi, Jan 24: The government's plan to sell national carrier Air India may face political and legal headwinds with senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy raising the red flag against the decision.

Days before the launch of bidding process by inviting Expressions of Interest (EoI) from potential suitors, Swamy has warned against such move, saying the issue was currently being discussed by a Parliamentary panel.

"Right now, it (Air India disinvestment) is before the consultative committee and I am a member of that. I have been asked to give a note which will be discussed in the next meeting. They can't go ahead without that," Swamy told media.

"If they do, I will go to court. They know that too," he cautioned.

A vocal opponent of Air India privatisation, Swamy had earlier suggested to list 49 per cent of Air India shares on stock exchanges while government holds 51 per cent in the carrier, as an alternative to selling its entire stake to private companies.

It has been reliably learnt that the Rajya Sabha member had expressed reservations over privatisation of Air India at the meeting of a Parliamentary consultative committee earlier this month.

After its failed first attempt, the Modi government has shown great zeal this time to sell Air India. It is set to offer a sweetened deal to potential buyers this time around by removing a large chunk of the debt and liabilities from the airline’s books.

Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had earlier said that Air India will be shut down, in case the disinvestment exercise is not successful.

Sources told media that the preliminary information memorandum (PIM) inviting EoI has been tentatively scheduled to be unveiled on January 27.

Air India is proposed to be sold along with its subsidiary Air India Express and ground-handling joint venture company Air India Singapore Airport Terminal Services Ltd (AISATS) in which it has 50 per cent stake.

Air India on January 10 came out with a tender for engaging aircraft asset management companies for carrying out technical audit of its entire fleet.

A Ministerial panel on Air India chaired by Home Minister Amit Shah on January 7 approved the draft EoI and a share purchase agreement (SPA) for the airline's disinvestment.

New Delhi, Mar 29: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that people should not think of COVID-19 quarantine facilities as a prison and spoke with two survivors of the infection during his radio show 'Mann Ki Baat' to establish that it was curable.
The Prime Minister spoke to coronavirus survivors -- Ramagampa Teja and Ashok Kapoor - and urged them to share their success against the infection with people.
The Prime Minister asked people to listen to the survivors who had successfully defeated the coronavirus.
"I have spoken to a few people who were infected from the virus and speaking to such people. While I tried to boost their morale they also lifted my spirits when I talked to them," he said.
Speaking to the Prime Minister during the show, Ramagampa Teja, an IT professional, who tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from Dubai, said that he was frightened when he tested positive for the disease and could not believe that this has happened to him.
He said even his family was very stressed after finding out his COVID-19 positive status. "But their test results came negative, which I took as a great blessing. And since then, there were improvements every day," he said.
Teja was admitted to a government hospital in Hyderabad and was released after 14 days as he successfully overcame the infection. "The first few days were the hardest but the dedicated doctors and nurses at the hospital ensured that I recovered," he added.
He asked people not to be afraid of being quarantined. "People feel that going into quarantine means going to prison. They should know that the government quarantine is for them and their families. I want to emphasise that people must get tested and do not fear quarantine," he added.
The Prime Minister congratulated him and his family and asked him to share an audio clip of his experience. "I would like you to make an audio of your experiences and share it on social media so that it goes viral and removes fear from people's minds," the Prime Minister said.
The Prime Minister also spoke to another coronavirus survivor, Ashok Kapoor, six members of whose family in Agra were tested positive for the deadly virus.
On being asked by the Prime Minister whether they had feared for their lives, Kapoor said, "We were not scared as we received excellent cooperation from the doctors and support staff at Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital."
The six of them were shifted to Delhi and put under quarantine for 14 days where all of them successfully recovered from the infection.
The Prime Minister also commended the spirit of Ashok Kapoor and said: "Your experience came in handy for all. My best wishes to you and your family."
He also urged the Kapoor family to spread awareness regarding COVID-19 in the way they see fit. "Please spread awareness your way and you can feed whoever is hungry, look out for the poor and also spread awareness to people urging them to follow the rules," the Prime Minister said.
"If everyone follows the rules, the country will be saved," the Prime Minister said.
The Prime Minister also thanked the people involved in ensuring the continuous supply of goods and services in the country and advised them to "follow all the safety precautions, take care of themselves and their family members."
Earlier in his address, Modi had asked for the forgiveness of all countrymen, and especially the poor, for the nationwide lockdown in the country in the view of the novel coronavirus. He had then termed it a necessary measure needed to defeat the infection in India.

Jammu, Jun 3: A mob on Tuesday disrupted the last rites of a coronavirus victim in Jammu and Kashmir and forced his family members to flee with the half-burnt body, prompting intervention by the administration which later ensured the cremation at another place as per protocol.

A 72-year-old man, hailing from Doda district, became the fourth victim of the novel coronavirus to die in Jammu region. He breathed his last at the Government Medical College (GMC) hospital on Monday.

"We had set out for the funeral along with a revenue official and a medical team, and had lit the pyre at a cremation ground in Domana area when a large group of local residents appeared at the scene and disrupted the last rites," son of the deceased said.

Only close relatives of the deceased, including his wife and two sons, were present during the cremation. They had to flee with the half-burnt body in an ambulance to save their skin from the mob which pelted stones and attacked them with sticks.

"We had sought permission from the government to take the body to our home district for the last rites, but we were told that all necessary arrangements were in place, and that we would not face any trouble during the cremation," the victim's son said.

He also alleged that the security officials present at the scene were of no help.

Two policemen who were present there failed to act against the unruly crowd, while the accompanying revenue official went missing, he said.

"The ambulance driver and other staff from the hospital helped us a lot and managed to take us back to the GMC hospital with the body the government should have come out with a better plan to conduct the last rites of coronavirus victims, taking into consideration the past experience and problems encountered during the funeral of such victims," the victim's son said.

Later, the body was taken to a cremation ground at Bhagwati Nagar area of the city, where it was consigned to flames in the afternoon in presence of senior civil officials, including additional deputy commissioner and sub-divisional magistrate under tight security.

"My uncle was admitted in the hospital last week and died on Monday afternoon. He was suffering from various ailments, especially lungs and heart diseases. Before shifting him to GMC hospital Jammu, he underwent a coronavirus test in Doda which came negative," nephew of the deceased said.

However, he said, the victim's second test after his admission in the GMC hospital came positive on Sunday.