Congress to oppose changes in land law

January 14, 2015

Congress land law

New Delhi, Jan 14: The Congress, reeling under a series of defeats in recent elections, has now pegged its hopes for its revival through an agitation against the “dictatorial tendencies” of the Narendra Modi government, particularly the ordinance to amend its pet land acquisition law.

The Congress Working Committee (CWC), the party’s top decision-making body, on Tuesday decided to oppose amendments to the land acquisition law across the country.

The main Opposition party is also angry with the ordinance route adopted by the government to amend several crucial laws.

“This government has effectively destroyed the landmark legislation and brought back the law passed by the British in 1894 through the back door,” Congress president Sonia Gandhi said in her opening remarks at the CWC meeting.

The party has directed all its state units to launch a protest. Former Union minister Jairam Ramesh, the architect of the land acquisition law which the Centre has amended, is expected to join the protests in Bhatta Parsaul, Uttar Pradesh, on Wednesday, where Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi led a similar agitation in 2011. The protests, “Chetana Abhiyan”, will be confined to the states.

The Congress slumped to its worst ever defeat in the Lok Sabha elections by managing to win just 44 seats. “Back to the people” was Sonia’s mantra for reviving the party’s fortunes.

Sonia voiced her concern over the raw deal meted out to the farmers by the Centre’s policies which, according to her, has “sown the seeds of acute agrarian distress”.

The plan for protests comes at a time when even President Pranab Mukherjee has voiced concerns over the slew of ordinances promulgated on the advice of the government soon after the conclusion of the winter session of Parliament.

Mukherjee had summoned ministers seeking explanation on the urgency for promulgating ordinances, particularly those amending the land acquisition law and another related to regularising e-rickshaws in the national capital.

He has also conveyed to the ministers to think twice before promulgating ordinances.

Apparently chastised by criticism of the “Ordinance Raj”, the government has decided against amendments to laws through the ordinance route.

The government had maintained that urgent steps were necessary to send a signal to investors about the seriousness of the administration on ushering in economic reforms which were stalled by the Opposition in Parliament.

Since it assumed office on May 26, the Centre has issued 10 ordinances ranging from raising the foreign direct investment cap in the insurance sector, diluting the land acquisition law to opening up the coal sector and legalising e-rickshaws.

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News Network
March 11,2020

New Delhi, Mar 11: A doctor in Kerala on Tuesday alleged that she was sacked by the management of the private clinic she was working with for informing authorities about a non-resident Indian (NRI) patient who reportedly declined to undergo the mandatory check for coronavirus.

Dr Shinu Syamalan said the patient had come to the clinic recently with suspected symptoms of the virus.

"When he was asked whether he had visited any foreign countries, he said he was coming from Qatar. But he had not reported to the Health department about his foreign trip," she said.

When he was directed to inform about his foreign travel to the state Health Department, which has been monitoring people coming from abroad for the virus, he refused and said he was going back to Qatar, she told reporters.

Concerned over the health of the person who had high fever, Ms Syamalan informed health and police authorities.

"Officials who let the patient go abroad do not have any problem, but I have become jobless," she posted on social media.

She alleged she was sacked by the management of the clinic for reporting the matter to police and informing the public about the incident through social media and through television.

"The argument of the management is that no one would turn up for treatment in the clinic if they come to know that it was visited by patients with suspected symptoms of Coronavirus," she said.

There was no immediate reaction from the management of the private health clinic.

Official sources said the District Medical Officer (DMO) at Thrissur has complained to the collector against Shinu Syamalan accusing her of defaming health officials.

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News Network
March 31,2020

Hyderabad, Mar 31: Six people from Telangana who attended a religious congregation in Delhi's Nizamuddin died due to the novel coronavirus, the state government said on Monday.

"Coronavirus has spread among some of those who attended a religious prayer meeting from March 13 to 15 at Markaz in Nizamuddin area in Delhi," according to an official release. "Among those who attended were some persons from Telangana."

Two of the six died at the Gandhi Hospital, one each in two private hospitals, and one each in Nizamabad and Gadwal towns, the statement said, without mentioning the time of their deaths.

The special teams under the collectors have identified the persons who came in contact with the deceased and they are shifted to the hospitals, it said.

Police and paramilitary personnel cordoned off a major area in Nizamuddin West in south Delhi on Monday and over 200 people have been kept in isolation in hospitals after several people who took part in a religious congregation there showed symptoms of coronavirus.

The Telagana government asked those who participated in the prayers to inform the authorities. It will conduct tests and offer treatment to them free of cost, according to the release.

The government also requested the people to alert if they come to know about those who participated in the prayers.

Earlier a separate government release said a person died of COVID-19 in Telangana, taking the toll to two and the total number touched 77 after six fresh cases were reported on Monday.

As many as 13 patients who underwent treatment for the virus were discharged on Monday, a media bulletin on COVID-19 issued by the state government said.

A techie, the first COVID-19 case in Telangana, has been discharged recently. The state now has 61 active cases, the bulletin said.

Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao had on Sunday said barring a 76-year-old person, who had other ailments, the other patients were doing well.

Rao had said 25,937 people were under surveillance and being watched by 5,746 teams and they would be out of watch after completing their mandated 14-day quarantine period. He had said all those who are under observation would be out of vigil by April 7 if there are no fresh suspected cases.

"From March 30, their time is nearing completion. After that, they do not need to be under any surveillance. By April 7, we will have a situation of zero... We pray God that we should not get new cases,"

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News Network
June 27,2020

New Delhi, Jun 27: India on Saturday crossed 5 lakh-mark with record highest spike of 18,552 cases of coronavirus reported in the country in the past 24 hours.

India has added more than 3.18 lakh COVID-19 cases since June 1.

According to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, this was the highest single-day spike of COVID-19 positive cases. Also, with 384 fatalities in the past 24 hours, the total deaths inched closer to the 16000 mark.

With this, the total number of active cases are 1,97,387 while a total of 2,95,880 people have been cured or discharged from hospitals. The death toll stands at 15685 with one person migrated outside India, according to the health ministry update at 8 am today.

Maharashtra continues to top the countrywide list with a total number of COVID-19 positive cases at 1,52,765.

Delhi has so far reported 77,240 confirmed cases while Tamil Nadu has reported 74622 cases till now, as per the MoHFW. Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai are the worst-hit cities in the country

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the total number of samples tested up to June 26 is 79,96,707; the number of samples tested on June 26, Friday stands at 2,20,479.

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