Declare Kerala floods a national disaster, demands Congress

Agencies
August 18, 2018

New Delhi, Aug 18: The Congress on Saturday demanded the Centre to declare Kerala floods a national disaster.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi tweeted, "Dear PM, Please declare #Kerala floods a National Disaster without any delay. The lives, livelihood and future of millions of our people is at stake."

His statement comes an hour after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Rs 500 crore interim relief to the state following a review meeting with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Union Minister KJ Alphons. This is in addition to Rs. 100 crore announced by Home Minister Rajnath Singh on August 12.

Meanwhile, other Congress leaders also demanded more help from the Centre and other states for flood-hit state. Speaking to ANI, Congress leader PC Chacko said that "Thousands of people are marooned and facing a very severe, critical situation and more emergency evacuation operation is needed. What is being done is appreciable but we need more help from the Centre and other states as Kerala is in distress".

Resonating similar views, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala reasoned out that the state could get more resources from the Centre if the calamity was declared a national disaster. "Kerala flood is a heart rending sight to see. If the calamity is declared a national disaster, it may help the state to access more resources from the Centre such as defence apparatus for rescue operations, money for rehabilitation works, and more food grains," Surjewala told ANI.

However, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rejected the idea of such classification as national disaster for Kerala floods. Speaking to ANI, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy asserted, "Kerala floods is a serious matter. It is sad to see the pictures and the images. They are shocking. But floods do happen, not just in India but in other countries too. I think the central government is doing its best in all possible ways. Now it is the municipality level officials who have to work on further orders."

On Friday, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh announced Rs 10 crore worth of immediate relief. Besides him, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu, Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal have also announced immediate financial help for the relief works.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a two-day visit to Kerala, conducted an aerial survey of the damages caused due to flash floods and took stock of the situation.

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News Network
January 29,2020

Mumbai, Jan 29: Unfazed by his suspension from flying on Tuesday, stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra on Wednesday claimed that he once again approached television journalist Arnab Goswami, who he said was his co-passenger on a flight from Lucknow, for an "honest discussion" but was turned away.

Kamra tweeted in the morning that "Arnab Goswami was again travelling in his flight while returning from Lucknow". "I again asked him politely if he wants to have a honest discussion he with his verbal arrogant hand jester he asked me to move away & I did that (sic)," he tweeted.

The comedian was suspended from flying by IndiGo and Air India on Tuesday after he allegedly heckled Goswami aboard a Mumbai-Lucknow plane and posted a video clip on his Twitter handle.

While IndiGo suspended Kamra from flying with it for a period of six months, Air India banned him until further notice.

In a statement released on Twitter after he posted the video, Kamra said he did "exactly what Republic TV journalists do to people in their private/public spaces". Kamra stated he had not done anything criminal by allegedly heckling Goswami.

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News Network
July 24,2020

Lucknow, Jul 24: A special CBI court on Friday recorded the statement of veteran BJP leader LK Advani in the Babri mosque demolition case.

The statement of the 92-year-old former deputy prime minster was recorded through video conferencing in the court of special Judge S K Yadav.

On Thursday, the court recorded the statement of BJP veteran Murli Manohar Joshi in the case. 

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News Network
February 19,2020

Feb 19: Pay increases across India’s organized sector will probably grow at the slowest pace since 2009 this year, according to a survey from Aon Plc.

Companies will increase average pay by 9.1% in 2020, down from 9.3% in 2019 and 9.5% the previous year, Aon said in a report published Tuesday. The small increase reflects a deep slowdown in Asia’s third-largest economy, where growing pessimism about job prospects have led many to cut down on consumption -- the main driver to growth.

India still leads the Asia-Pacific region in pay rises, but that is mainly due to higher inflation and a “war for key talent and niche skills,” Aon said.

“There is a general air of caution about the economy as we enter into 2020,” Tzeitel Fernandes, partner for rewards solutions at Aon, told reporters in New Delhi. “Low GDP projection and weak consumer sentiment are the reasons behind our lowest ever prediction.”

E-commerce companies and start-ups will probably get the biggest salary increases, projected at an above-average 10%, while financial institutions will hand out 8.5%. Unsurprisingly, the auto sector witnessed the biggest drop in growth -- down to 8.3% from 10.1% in 2018, according to Aon. The survey covered more than 1,000 companies across over 20 industries.

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