DC issues notice to MCC Commissioner Mohammed Nazir over illegal banners

New Delhi, Feb 4: "I own my statement," said BJP lawmaker Anant kumar Hedge on Tuesday amid the raging controversy over his remark on Mahatma Gandhi while adding that he has never said anything against the Father of the Nation.

"All related media reports are false. I never said what is being debated over. It is an unnecessary controversy. I own my statement made on February 1, 2020, in Bengaluru. I never made any reference to any political party or Mahatma Gandhi or anybody else, I was just trying to categorise freedom struggle. That's all," Hedge told news agency.

"I am surprised by the discussion around it. What can I say about something that is not there? There is hullabaloo going on without anything. My statement is available in public forum. If anyone wants to see, it is available online and on my website. Show me if I have said anything against Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru and any other freedom fighters," he added.

The BJP leader continued: "That programme was about Savarkar. With due respect of all our freedom fighters, I was just discussing our freedom struggle, there is no confusion or any derogatory comment on freedom struggle or fighters. Unnecessary nuisance has been created."

Hedge stoked a controversy after he had attacked Mahatma Gandhi by calling the freedom struggle led by him a "drama" and also questioned as to how "such people" come to be called 'Mahatma' in India.

"None of these so-called leaders was beaten up by the cops even once. Their independence movement was a big drama. It was staged by these leaders with the approval of the British. It was not a genuine fight. It was an adjustment freedom struggle," he had said.

While several Congress leaders have condemned his remark on the father of the nation, BJP leaders too has distanced themselves from it.

Top leadership in BJP is unhappy with Anantkumar Hegde over his controversial remark on Mahatma Gandhi, party sources had said on Monday, adding that he has been asked to issue an unconditional apology.

Bengaluru, Jul 19: The Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister C N Ashwathnarayan on Saturday inspected the country's first modular Intensive Care Unit (ICU) containers.

A notice from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said that the new mobile modular container ICUs, which will be used in the fight against the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, have been created by Rinac India Limited, known for setting up sanitised operation theatres and clean rooms in hospitals.

On a pilot basis, the Deputy CM, who is also in charge of setting up COVID-care centres, said that 10 modular container ICUs will be deployed at the KC General Hospital in Malleshwaram. Each of the containers will have five beds.

Deputy CM Ashwathnarayan also said, "These mobile ICUs donated by Rinac will be useful, particularly in times of a crisis like COVID 19 or any natural calamity."

"The entry of health officials will be through an airlock, and entry of patients will be through a different door. There will be two doors for patients and can be increased if need. ICUs are fitted with cameras to monitor online from a centralized monitoring station, thereby limiting the exposure of the health personnel," the CMO informed.

The CMO further added, "the advantages of this new system are that the prefabricated modules of 5 can be shifted to any location by trailers and it is easy to deploy multiple containers to create a common facility. They are easy to clean and the airtight functionality ensures that no moisture or heat ingression happens, hence, it is easy to air-condition or ventilate."

A 53-year-old Indian worker in the UAE has missed a special repatriation flight after he dozed off at the Dubai International Airport, a media report said.

P Shajahan, who worked as a storekeeper in Abu Dhabi, was supposed to fly to Thiruvananthapuram on the Emirates jumbo jet chartered by the Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre (KMCC) Dubai, Gulf News reported.

It was the first-ever jumbo jet chartered for repatriation.

Shajahan, who had paid 1,100 dirham (USD 300) for the ticket, said that he did not sleep on the previous night as he kept on waiting for the confirmation of his ticket for the jumbo jet flying 427 stranded Indians to Kerala, it said.

He reached the airport early in the morning and after finishing the check-in procedures and rapid test, he reached the waiting area of the boarding gate at Terminal 3 around 2 PM local time, the report said.

“I sat away from most of the others. But I fell asleep after 4.30 PM,” he said.

S Nizamudeen Kollam, who coordinated the charter flight, said that the airline officials could not trace Shajahan when the flight was to take off.

“He woke up and called us after the flight left. It is sad that he missed the flight, which was the first-ever jumbo jet chartered for repatriation. We are now trying to send him on another Emirates flight that we are chartering on Saturday,” Kollam said.

Since Shajahan did not have any money, Jasimkhan Kallambalam, organising secretary of KMCC Thiruvananthapuram, went to the airport to meet him on Friday.

“Since his visa was cancelled, he could not come out of the airport. He had only eaten the snacks in the kit KMCC had given. We managed to give him some cash for buying food through KMCC volunteer Alamsha Latheef,” Kallambalam said.

In March, another Indian expat had fallen asleep in the same terminal and missed the last flight home before flights were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He was stranded here for over 50 days before getting repatriated.