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Chandy, Sushma worked in tandem

July 6, 2014

Oommen ChandyNew Delhi, Jul 6: Hours before the media got a hint of the imminent evacuation of the Kerala nurses from strife-torn Iraq, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Thursday night walked into Kerala House here with a smile that no one could decipher.

Though he betrayed no strain, mediapersons gathered there speculated about the possible fallout on his political career if things went wrong.

But Chandy was a relieved man. He did not tell the waiting media why he was tension-free in that hour of crisis. By then, he had a definite word from External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj about the “good news” that the modalities of evacuation had been worked out in coordination with the contacts in the Middle East.

Chandy had already struck a chord with Swaraj in his first meeting and their concerted efforts had ensured victory. Swaraj was facing her first crisis as External Affairs Minister, and with the approaching Budget Session of Parliament, it would have been difficult for her and the government to tackle criticism in case of a slip-up.

The chief minister flew to Delhi on Wednesday night and held a series of discussions with Swaraj in two days, exerting pressure for the early evacuation of the nurses. Chandy was regularly updated on developments by the minister and senior officials. Chandy also knew that a prolonged crisis and some harm to the nurses would have put him in a spot. His detractors inside and outside the Congress would bay for his blood.

Moreover, adding to his stress was the fact that out of 46 nurses, 17 were from his home district and he personally knew many of their families. It was not just the nurses who rang him up from Iraq or their parents, but their relatives too who made calls. Everyone looked up to him for an early resolution.

With assurances from the negotiators in the Middle East and External Affairs Ministry officials, a tired Chandy caught up with sleep a bit early at 10 pm on Thursday, only to be woken up around midnight with calls from the nurses and their families. The calls ended around 5 am with Chandy patiently giving his assurance without letting out many details.

“How can I avoid these calls at midnight? They had their worries though I knew there was nothing to worry,” Chandy told an aide on Friday morning as news trickled in that the nurses would be freed.

As he walked into the conference hall of Kerala House to address the media for a second time on Friday afternoon, Chandy was all smiles and confident, accepting sweets from leaders of the Nurses’ Association.

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News Network
May 3,2020

New Delhi, May 3: Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Sunday said that India's COVID-19 mortality rate of 3.2 per cent is the lowest in the world and over 10,000 coronavirus patients have been discharged from hospitals after recovering from the disease so far.

"Today more than 10,000 COVID-19 patients have been discharged. Those still admitted at hospitals are on the road to recovery. If in last 14 days doubling rate was 10.5 days, then today it is around 12 days," the Minister told ANI after visiting Lady Hardinge Hospital.

"Our mortality rate of 3.2 per cent is the lowest in the world," he said.

With 2,644 more COVID-19 cases and 83 deaths in the last 24 hours, the number of people infected from coronavirus in the country has reached 39,980 including 1,301 deaths, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Sunday.

Currently, there are 28,046 active cases while 10,633 COVID-19 positive patients have been cured/discharged.

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News Network
June 18,2020

New Delhi, Jun 18: Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday removed Sanjay Jha as a party spokesperson, days after he wrote a newspaper article criticising the party. She also approved the appointment of Abhishek Dutt and Sadhna Bharti as national media panelists for the Congress.

"Congress president has also approved that Sanjay Jha be dropped as AICC spokesperson with immediate effect," the party said in an official statement.

In the article published a few days ago, Mr Jha had said, "The Congress has demonstrated extraordinary lassitude, and its lackadaisical attitude towards its own political obsolescence is baffling..."

"I would like to call a spade a spade here and a shovel: there has been no serious effort to get the party up and running with any sense of urgency," he had said in the article in a national newspaper.

"There are many in the party who cannot comprehend this perceptible listlessness. For someone like me, for instance, permanently wedded to Gandhian philosophy and Nehruvian outlook that defines the Congress, it is dismaying to see its painful disintegration," he had said.

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News Network
July 15,2020

New Delhi, Jul 14: India's COVID-19 tally has reached 9,36,181 as 29,429 new coronavirus cases were reported in the last 24 hours, informed the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Wednesday.

The death toll went up to 24,309, including 582 fatalities in the last 24 hours.

Out of the total cases, 3,19,840 are currently active and 5,92,032 are cured/discharged/migrated.

As per the Ministry, Maharashtra -- the worst-affected state from the infection -- has a total of 2,67,665 COVID-19 cases and 10,695 fatalities. While Tamil Nadu has a tally of 1,47,324 cases and 2,099 deaths due to COVID-19.

Delhi has reported a total of 1,15,346 cases and 3,446 deaths due to COVID-19.

As per the information provided by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) 3,20,161 samples have been tested for COVID-19 till July 14, of these 1,24,12,664 samples were tested on Tuesday.

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