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Rahul Gandhi gets bail in RSS defamation case

November 16, 2016

Thani, Nov 16: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi was today granted bail by a court in Bhiwandi near here in a defamation case over his alleged comment against the RSS on Mahatma Gandhi's assassination.

rahulRahul, who reached the Bhiwandi magistrate court in neighbouring Thane district around 10.30 AM amid tight security along with his supporters, appeared before Judge Tushar Waze, who adjourned the case till January 30, 2017.

Former Union Minister Shivraj Patil stood as surety for the bail for the Congress leader. The case against Rahul was filed by a local RSS functionary, Rajesh Kunte, over the former's speech in Bhiwandi on March 6, 2014 in the run up to Lok Sabha polls.

During the rally, Rahul had allegedly claimed, "The RSS people had killed Gandhi."The complainant's counsel Nandu Phadke told the court that if Rahul was ready to accept his "mistake" then he was willing to withdraw the case against him as the complainant (Kunte) believed in "forgive and forget."

Also, Rahul should give an undertaking that he will not repeat it in the future, Phadke demanded.

When Rahul's lawyer Ashok Mundargi requested for a date and sought the court to exempt him from personal appearance, owing to his political commitments, the complainant's lawyer said Rahul may be treated as an "ordinary citizen".

On September 1, Rahul had preferred to face the trial as an accused in the defamation case, submitting before the Supreme Court that he stood by "every word" of his statement.

The Congress vice president had expressed his readiness to face the trial after the apex court refused to interfere with the criminal proceedings pending against him before the trial court. He then withdrew the appeal filed by him against the Bombay High Court judgement refusing to quash the defamation case and summons issued to him by the trial court.

The apex court also declined Rahul's plea that he be exempted from personal appearance before the Bhiwandi court which had taken cognisance of the complaint of an RSS functionary by summoning him as an accused in the case.

Last evening, Rahul reached Mumbai to a rousing welcome by party workers and state leaders.

Several party workers carried placards which read: "Bapu ke samman mein, Rahul Gandhi maidan mein" (For Mahatma Gandhi's honour, Rahul Gandhi joins fight"; "Gandhiji ke hatyaro se sangharsh rahega jari" (fight against Gandhi's killers will continue) and "Rahul Gandhi sangharsh karo, hum tumhare saath hai" (Rahul Gandhi carry on the fight, we are with you).

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Althaf
 - 
Wednesday, 16 Nov 2016

Then who killed Gandiji??

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Agencies
June 25,2020

Patna, Jun 25: At least 83 people died due to thunderstorms in Bihar in the last 24 hours, according to Chief Minister's Office.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced Rs 4 lakhs each for the families of deceased.

Thirteen people died in Gopalganj, 8 each in Madhubani and Nawada, 6 each in Baghalpur and Siwan, 5 each in Darbhanga, Banka, East Champaran and 3 each in Khagaria and Aurangabad.

Due to thunderstorms, two people each lost their lives in West Champaran, Kishanganj, Jamui, Jahanabad, Purnia, Supaul, Buxar, Kaimur while one death each was reported in Samastipur, Shivhar, Saran, Sitamarhi and Madhepura.

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Agencies
July 30,2020

New Delhi, Jul 30: India's gold demand in 2020 is expected to fall to the lowest level in 26 years with domestic bullion prices hitting a record high and as falling disposable incomes could curtail retail purchases, the World Gold Council (WGC) said on Thursday.

Lower demand by the world's second-biggest bullion consumer could limit a rally in global prices, which hit a record high earlier this month, although it could also reduce India's trade deficit and support the ailing rupee.

"Fast rising gold prices could act as headwinds," said Somasundaram PR, the managing director of WGC's Indian operations.

Local gold futures have jumped 35% so far this year after rising a quarter in 2019.

India's gold consumption in the first half of 2020 plunged 56% on-year to 165.6 tonnes. Meanwhile, the coronavirus-triggered lockdown also slashed demand by 70% in the June quarter to 63.7 tonnes, the lowest in more than a decade, the WGC said in a report published on Thursday.

Millions of Indians have lost their jobs or taken a pay cut after the country imposed a lockdown on its 1.3 billion people to curb the spread of the virus that has infected more than 1.5 million Indians.

Consumption is generally high during the June quarter due to weddings and key festivals such as Akshaya Tritiya, but lockdown restrictions kept shoppers indoors this year.

The weak demand in the first half could drag down India's gold consumption in 2020 to the lowest since 1994, when demand stood at 415 tonnes, Somasundaram said, adding that it is still difficult to provide an estimate for full-year demand as the coronavirus crisis is still unfolding.

"Indian demand has previously jumped as much as 300 tonnes in a quarter. Latent demand could come out in the second half," Somasundaram said.

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Agencies
June 8,2020

New Delhi, Jun 8: Abortion access to around 1.85 million women was compromised across the country due to the nationwide restrictions imposed in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, a study conducted by Ipas Development Foundation (IDF) revealed.

These abortions were compromised at all points of care, including public and private sector facilities and chemist outlets during 68-day lockdown and the first week of Unlock 0.1 period. The study assesses the near-term impact of COVID-19 on abortion access in India since March 25 when the lockdown was imposed across the country with the announcement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to contain the spread of novel coronavirus of COVID-19 pandemic.

It also highlights the need for a specially designed and integrated recovery plan for improving abortion services at facilities. The study estimates that access to abortion was highly compromised during lockdown 1 and 2 ( between March 25 and May 3) in which around 59 per cent of women seeking an abortion could not access the services.

However, with the Unlock phase or the recovery period as mentioned in the study starting on June 1, the situation is expected to improve - with 33 per cent abortions being compromised in 24 days. A huge number of women could not access safe abortion services during the lockdown, therefore it is extremely important that the healthcare system, public and private, is prepared to meet the needs of these women, the Ipas foundation says.

The model of the study strives to quantify the reduced access to abortions across three different points of care -public health facilities, private health facilities, and chemist outlets, said Vinoj Manning, CEO, Ipas Development Foundation in a statement.

"Majority of public health facilities and their staff are now focused on COVID-19 treatments and closures of private health facilities have compromised the access to safe abortions, which is a time-sensitive procedure."

He said that the study conducted by his foundation was to get a clearer picture of how COVID-19 restrictions have affected women seeking safe abortion services and what are the areas that would need focused efforts in the days to come.

Speaking on the methodology, Dr Sushanta Kumar Banerjee from Ipas Development Foundation said: "We conducted telephonic surveys and consulted with several experts from FOGSI leadership and social marketing organizations like PSI India Private Limited."

"After careful analysis of the data received from them, we have concluded that of the 3.9 million abortions that would have taken place in 3 months, access to around 1.85 million was compromised due to COVID-19 restrictions."

To facilitate the process Ipas Development Foundation has issued some initial recommendations which include: rapid mapping of facilities for first and second trimester abortions, assessing facilities' preparedness especially for second-trimester abortions, improving referral linkage and spread the word about the availability of the service, streamlining the supply chain for medical abortion drugs, and lastly including mechanisms to offset additional travel and out of pocket expenditures.

Ipas Development Foundation will be holding consultations with other partners and key stakeholders to facilitate meaningful collaborations to ensure access to safe abortions and ensure that no woman suffers long-term harm to her health due to lack of services.

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