'BJP's defeat in Bihar elections will impact national politics'

June 11, 2015

Bhubaneswar, Jun 11: Accusing NDA of "undermining" Parliamentary democracy and concentrating all powers in the Prime Minister's hands, the CPI on Wednesday said BJP must be defeated in Bihar assembly polls.

Bihar elections"Ever since BJP-led NDA came to power, Parliamentary democracy has been considerably undermined while all powers are concentrated with Prime Minister...this is dangerous," CPI National Secretary D Raja told reporters.

Asking BJP to remember that India does not have Presidential form of government, Raja charged NDA government of patronising corporates at the cost of poor farmers and being dictated by 'Sangh Parivar' outfits.

"BJP appears to have become a political arm of RSS. As a result, the social and secular fabric of the country is threatened and there seems to be a challenge to the Constitution," he claimed.

Under these circumstances, there is a need to stop and defeat BJP in the Bihar assembly election as it would have considerable impact on national politics, Raja said.

CPI, which has taken cognisance of the coming together of some political parties for Bihar polls, would consult other Left outfits on the issue before taking a decision, he said.

Stating that the first priority is to strengthen unity and coordination among all Left Parties, he said CPI national council is slated to meet towards the end of the month and a decision on joining the alliance of JD(U) and RJD could be taken then.

Before that, the party would analyse the situation and see what kind of adjustments the other political parties are interested in, Raja said.

On the question of Congress becoming a part of a secular front, the CPI National Secretary said Congress should review its neo-liberal economic policies which, he said, were responsible for soaring inflation and hitting common people hard.

"Congress must change its economic policies," he said.

Slamming Narendra Modi-Government for making tall claims about its one-year rule, Raja claimed it has done little for the poor and farmers and its promises of ensuring good days (achche din) and bringing back black money from abroad have been proved hollow.

"Where are the good days? When will they come? Infact nobody knows. BJP had promised to retrieve black money and stated that every citizen would get Rs 15 lakh. However, no

such thing has happened so far," he said.

Claiming that a major achievement of NDA rule was that corporate houses have become very powerful as they dictate and influence policies, Raja said Modi government is patronising corporates by way of many concessions and exemptions.

Corporate tax was reduced from 30 per cent to 25 per cent in the budget, he said

Mounting a scathing attack on the BJP government, Raja said support to social sector was substantially slashed particularly in areas like education, health, welfare and

similar other activities.

Describing the Modi government as anti-poor and anti-farmer, the CPI leader said farmers are highly distressed in the absence of remunerative prices for their produce and in the midst of heavy debt burden.

Despite its loud claims, the NDA government has done everything to weaken economic federalism. Funds for several schemes have been stopped, curtailing the economic powers of the states and their share, he added.

Claiming that Modi government is desperate about the land bill in its bid to favour the corporates, Raja said there was no need for bringing an ordinance when the land bill has been referred to Joint Committee of Parliament.

"The move is definitely a challenge to Parliament," he said, adding, CPI would intensify its fight against the "anti-farmer" measure.

Hitting out on NDA on foreign policy, Raja said nothing has been initiated by Modi Government and whatever is being done is only part of an ongoing process.

The PM's visits to countries like China, Canada and Australia were routine, he said, adding, while visiting Israel, the Prime Minister should not ignore the Palestinian cause.

The CPI leader also slammed the Centre for its 'silence' over fishermen issue in Sri Lanka.

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News Network
June 17,2020

New Delhi, Jun 17: Police Surender Jeet Kaur, Assistant Commissioner of Delhi Police Surender Jeet Kaur, has held herself responsible for the death of her husband Charan Jeet Singh, who succumbed to Covid at a hospital in Delhi.

“My husband didn’t step out of the house when the lockdown started, but I went out daily because of my job… I will never be able to forgive myself,” Kaur on Tuesday, a day after losing her husband.

54-year-old Singh, a resident of Lajpat Nagar and a businessman, is survived by his wife and their 26-year-old son who lives in Canada.

Kaur, 57, ACP (Crimes Against Women) in the South-East district of the Delhi Police, is also ACP (Covid Cell) of the district. On May 20, five days after Kaur tested positive for the virus, her husband Singh tested positive, followed by the ACP’s 80-year-old father on May 24.

All of them had symptoms and while Kaur and Singh were admitted to Indraprastha Apollo hospital, her father was admitted to Max hospital in Saket. On May 26, Kaur returned home after recovering from the virus.

Kaur said, “I last spoke to my husband on May 22 night, when we were both admitted in the hospital in different wards. The doctor called me and said that my husband needs to be put on ventilator support. I had a video call with my husband. He was breathless and told me that his oxygen level was dropping. He showed me the monitor, the doctors in the room, and then said he was having trouble speaking and that he would send me WhatsApp messages.”

A day after he passed away, Kaur recalled the messages that Singh sent her just before being put on ventilator support. “He started sending me details of our finances, accounts… I told him to stop and asked him why he was telling me all this. He said I needed to know… Maybe he feared he wouldn’t come back. I prayed every day, at temples, mosques, churches and gurdwaras for him. I am devastated that he’s gone. We were to move to Canada to live with our son in 2023 after my retirement. We had so many plans.”

Kaur’s brother Maninder Ahluwalia said the hospital tried plasma therapy but Singh didn’t respond to the treatment. “He had diabetes and high BP, but those were always under control. We were hopeful,” he said.

The couple’s son joined on video call from Canada to watch his father’s last journey from the ambulance to the entrance of the crematorium. “My son couldn’t attend his father’s last rites because there are no flights… It’s so unfortunate,” said Kaur.

Friends and family remember Singh as a “jolly, disciplined and brave man”, while Kaur said he was the “perfect partner”. She said, “When I was an SHO-rank officer, I would work for 36 hours straight some days, and he would handle the house and our son who was growing up. I would miss family functions and important occasions but he would always go and make up for my absence. I was able to do this job for decades because of his support.”

On Tuesday afternoon, Singh was cremated in the presence of close family and members of the police fraternity. “The DCP and the Joint CP called me daily to enquire about my husband, other police officers too. I am grateful for their support. They didn’t let me feel alone for a single day,” said Kaur.

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News Network
April 11,2020

Malappuram, Apr 11: Farmers in Malappuram district are facing problems in selling cucumbers and watermelons due to the drop in demand and prices in the market amid the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown.

"We have cultivated cucumbers for our Vishu festival in Kerala. In recent conditions, we are facing issues in selling our crops. In comparison to the previous years, we have a huge production this time," said Saifu, a farmer in the Malappuram district.

"We have also cultivated different kinds of watermelons here. The major issues that we are facing are the low prices and the lockdown," he added.

The nationwide COVID-19 lockdown was imposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi form March 25 for 21 days as a precautionary measure against the spread of the virus.

According to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the total number of positive COVID-19 cases in Kerala is 364. Till now, 123 people have either been cured or discharged, while two deaths have been reported.

The total number of positive coronavirus cases across the country are 7,529 including 6,634 active cases. So far, 652 patients have either been cured or discharged while 242 deaths have been recorded in the country, as per data provided by the Ministry of Health on Saturday evening.

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News Network
May 10,2020

Kochi, May 10: A total of 698 people who were evacuated from Maldives on INS Jalashwa, arrived here on Sunday around 9.30am (India time), said the Cochin Port officials. This operation is part of Indian Navy's 'Operation Samudra Setu'.

Another 121 from Lakshadweep also arrived at Mattanchery, near here. on MV Arabian Sea - a passenger/cargo ship sailing under the Indian Flag.

Samudrika Cruise Terminal has been opened up for handling the expatriates and Port has taken up necessary refurbishments consistent with the medical protocols.

The Cochin Port Trust officials said the first group of 698 persons evacuated from Maldives comprises 595 males and 103 females. Of this, 14 are children below 10 years and 19 pregnant women.

Among the 698 passengers, 440 are from Kerala, 156 from Tamil Nadu and the rest are from various states in the country.

Ernakulam district collector S. Suhas said all those from Tamil Nadu will be sent to their state in the bus.

The ship is berthed at BTP Jetty and the disembarkation procedures are being carried out at Samudrika Cruise Terminal. It will take around three hours for all the passengers to be cleared.

According to the protocols, all the Keralaites will be sent for 14 days institutional quarantine at their respective home districts.

Those who are having exemption from institutional quarantine have to be at home isolation.

Among the 121 who arrived on MV Arabian Sea from Lakshadweep include students and those Keralaites who work in the island.

The protocol for these 121 passengers is that since they have been checked there, all these people can go to their homes and be in isolation for 14 days.

The general guideline is if any one shows any symptoms of Covid-19, all such people will be directly sent to Covid hospitals, here.

The distance between Male and Kochi is 493 nautical miles and it began its voyage to Kochi on Friday evening.

INS Jalashwa is an Indian naval ship attached to the Eastern Naval Command. It was acquired from the United States and was commissioned in 2007.

INS Jalashwa has the capacity to accommodate 1000 troops, and comes equipped with extensive medical facilities, including four operation theatres, and a 12-bed ward facility.

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