Hope Fadnavis won't repeat mistakes he made as CM: Sena

News Network
December 2, 2019

Mumbai, Dec 2: The Shiv Sena on Monday expressed hope that Devendra Fadnavis, as leader of the opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly, would not repeat the mistakes which he committed while being the state's chief minister.

Attacking Fadnavis again over the hush-hush ceremony in which he was sworn in as chief minister on November 23 but had to quit 80 hours later, an editorial in Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' said the BJP has lost a face having mass appeal.

It claimed that people have drifted away from the BJP.

"The current support that the BJP has (of its own MLAs and Independents) is unlikely to remain with the party. Whatever is happening to the party is the outcome of its previous deeds," the Sena said.

Maharashtra BJP legislature party leader Fadnavis was on Sunday named the leader of the opposition (LoP) in the Assembly.

"Fadnavis should remember he has gone down in history as a person who was illegally sworn in by keeping everybody in the dark and without having a majority," the Sena said.

He was on that (chief minister's) post for only "80 hours". If he wants to get rid of that image, he should go by rules to work as leader of the opposition and take tuitions from senior BJP leader and former LoP Eknath Khadse, the Sena said in sarcastic remarks.

"Fadnavis should maintain the dignity of the leader of the opposition's post and not repeat the mistakes which he made earlier as chief minister of Maharashtra," it opined.

The Marathi daily noted that the central BJP leadership decided to continue with Fadnavis as the party head in the Maharashtra Assembly, but did not follow the same in other states.

"In neighbouring Madhya Pradesh, BJP's Shivraj Singh Chouhan was the chief minister for many years, but when the party lost to the Congress, he was not made the leader of the opposition in the MP Assembly," it pointed out.

Similarly, Vasundhara Raje was also not made LoP in Rajasthan after the BJP lost elections in that state, it said.

"But, what could be the secret behind Delhi backing Fadnavis despite the results (where BJP got 105 seats in 288- member Maharashtra Assembly)?" the Sena wondered.

It is now a fact that the Assembly polls' mandate was not for the BJP. Despite that, Delhi supported Fadnavis to take oath as chief minister (with the support of NCP's Ajit Pawar), but the government collapsed in three days, the Uddhav Thackeray-led party said.

"And now the BJP made him leader of the opposition when people of the state voted for a change," it added.

The Sena also took a dim view of the objections raised by Fadnavis during the Maha Vikas Aghadi government's floor test on Saturday.

When the House assembled on Saturday, Fadnavis alleged the Assembly session was not being held as per constitutional norms. He also objected to the appointment of NCP leader Dilip Walse Patil as the pro-tem Speaker of the Assembly.

The swearing-in of ministers of the Uddhav Thackeray- led government was also not done as per the constitutional norms, he alleged.

However, Walse Patil rejected his claim, saying the session was being held as per Governor's nod.

The BJPP MLAs walked out before headcount began in the 288-member House.

"The kind of drama Fadnavis did during the new government's floor test was not good. He made a ridiculous statement that he works as per rules. He should then explain under what rule he objected to the floor test on Saturday," the Marathi daily said.

The Sena also said that the appointment of Congress leader Nana Patole as Speaker of the Assembly was a "tight slap on the face of the BJP".

Patole had earlier quit the Congress and won the 2014 Lok Sabha polls on a BJP ticket. However, he returned to the Congress in December 2017 citing differences with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Fadnavis.

"Patole was the first BJP Lok Sabha member who revolted against Prime Minister Modi, saying the latter does not allow party MPs to speak," the Sena claimed.

He came back to the Congress and became Speaker of the Assembly. Now, Patole will decide whether Fadnavis should speak or not in the House, the Sena said in taunting remarks.

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News Network
January 8,2020

Meerut, Jan 8: Hangman Pawan Jallad, who officials say is being considered to carry out the execution of the four Nirbhaya gangrape case convicts, on Tuesday said he is ready for the job which will send out a strong message in the society.

He said executing those who were involved in the horrific crime will bring "great relief" to him, Nirbhaya's parents and everybody else.

Earlier in the day, a Delhi court issued death warrants against all the four convicts in the Nirbhaya gangrape-murder case and ordered that they are hanged on January 22 at 7 am in Tihar jail.

The death warrant, also known as a black warrant, addressed to the office of the Tihar jail chief, was issued by Additional Sessions Judge Satish Kumar Arora against Mukesh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar Singh (31).

"I do not have any information regarding the execution, nobody has spoken to me yet. If anyone approaches me, I am ready to do the job. Earlier, I was asked to be ready for the execution on December 16," Pawan Jallad told reporters here.

"Those who were involved in this brutal incident must be hanged, which will send out a strong message in the society," he said.

"Hanging the Nirbhaya gangrape case convicts will certainly bring great relief to me, her parents and everybody else," he added.

Nirbhaya, a 23-year-old paramedic student, was gang-raped and brutalised on the intervening night of December 16-17, 2012, inside a moving bus in south Delhi by the four men, along with two others, before being dumped on the road.

She died on December 29, 2012, at Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore.

Of the six persons convicted, one allegedly committed suicide in jail and another, a juvenile, was released from a reformation home after serving a three-year term.

When contacted, Jail Superintendent of Meerut prison V P Pandey said he has not yet received any letter from Tihar authorities.

"Last month, we had received a letter asking us to keep Pawan Jallad ready but there is no fresh communication. The Delhi court warrants were issued this evening, maybe we will get the letter for sending him by tomorrow (Wednesday)," he said.

The gangrape of 23-year-old, who came to be known as 'Nirbhaya', the fearless one, sparked outrage across the country. Repulsed, people took to the streets across the country, demanding justice for her and better safety measures for women.

The case led to toughening of India's rape laws.

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News Network
May 15,2020

New Delhi, May 15: A group of doctors from the AIIMS, Raipur has recommended restrictions on the use of mobile phones in healthcare institutions amid the COVID-19 pandemic, warning that such devices can be a potential carrier of the virus and lead to infection among healthcare workers.

In a commentary published in the BMJ Global Health journal, the doctors stated that mobile phone surfaces are a peculiar 'high-risk' surface, which can directly come in contact with the face or mouth, even if hands are properly washed and one study indicates that some healthcare workers use phones every 15 minutes to two hours.

Though there have been many significant guidelines from various health organisations like the WHO and CDC focusing on prevention and control of disease, the commentary highlighted "there is no mention of or focus on mobile phones in these guidelines, including the WHO infection control and prevention guidelines, which recommends the use of handwashing".

In healthcare facilities, phones are used to communicate with other health care workers, look up recent medical guidelines, research drug interactions, understand adverse events and side effects, conduct telemedicine appointments and track patients among others, stated the document.

The document has been authored by Dr Vineet Kumar Pathak, Dr Sunil Kumar Panigrahi, Dr M Mohan Kumar, Dr Utsav Raj and Dr Karpaga Priya P from the Department of Community and Family Medicine.

"In their tendency to come in direct contact with the face, nose or eyes in healthcare settings, mobile phones are perhaps second only to masks, caps or goggles," the authors said.

"However, they are neither disposable nor washable like these other three, thus warranting disinfection. Mobile phones can effectively negate hand hygiene... There is growing evidence that mobile phones are a potential vector for pathogenic organisms," they said.

It is the need of the hour to address proper hygienic use of mobile phones in healthcare settings. In a study in India, almost 100 per cent of health workers of a tertiary care hospital used mobile phones in the hospital, but only 10 per cent of them had at any time wiped their mobile phones clean, the commentary published on April 22 said.

"The safest thing to do is to consider your phone as an extension of your hand, so remember you are transferring whatever is on your phone to your hand," Dr Pathak said.

Amidst the ongoing pandemic, two biggest mobile phone companies have uploaded their user support guidelines, saying that 70 pc isopropyl alcohol or Clorox Disinfecting Wipes can be used to gently wipe the exterior surface of phones in switched-off mode.

However, in doing so, the use of bleach or entry of moisture through any of the openings must be avoided, and any harsh chemical may damage the oleophobic screen, leading to damage in the touch screen sensitivity of the phone, the article stated.

Mobile phones are one of the most highly touched surfaces according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), along with counters, tabletops, doorknobs, bathroom fixtures, toilets, keyboards, tablets and bedside tables.

The doctors recommended restriction on mobile phone usage in healthcare settings like hospital wards, ICUs and operation theatres, while advocating the use of headphones to prevent contact with the face while talking.

There should be no sharing of mobile phones, headphones or headsets of any kind. In addition, where available, the use of interdepartmental intercom facility may be promoted.

"Although hand hygiene and mobile phone use by a person are not mutually exclusive, it is high time to acknowledge the potential role of mobile phones in disease transmission cascade and to take evidence-based appropriate actions. This is especially important, given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic," the authors said.

They said it is necessary for government agencies and the WHO to generate public awareness and to formulate suitable information, education and communication material on mobile phone hygiene, especially in healthcare settings.

AIIMS, New Delhi, Resident Doctors' Association (RDA) General Secretary, Dr Srinivas Rajkumar T said even outside health care settings, people should pay special attention to the usage of mobile phones as they carry them to all places.

"Phone and computer peripherals like keyboard, mouse, etc. should be covered with transparent plastic covers which can be cleaned without interfering with their function. Cleaning hands by soap or alcohol-based hand sanitizer before and after contact with phone and between contact with other surfaces can decrease the risk of potential transmission.

"Using a handsfree headset, dedicated operator/assistant per ward handling the communication via common line in hospitals while on duty can enable communication without compromising safety," Dr Srinivas said.

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Agencies
May 31,2020

New Delhi, May 31: Indian aviation regulator DGCA on Saturday said the suspension of scheduled international commercial passenger flights will continue till midnight on June 30, hours after the Home Ministry announced fresh guidelines pertaining to the countrywide lockdown to contain the coronavirus pandemic.

"It is once again reiterated that foreign airlines shall be suitably informed about the opening of their operations to or from India in due course," the circular issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said.

Domestic passenger flight services resumed in the country from Monday after a hiatus of two months since the lockdown was announced on March 25, when all scheduled commercial passenger flights were suspended in India. International flights continue to remain suspended even now.

The Home Ministry on Saturday said 'Unlock-1' will be initiated in the country from June 8 under which the nationwide lockdown effectuated on March 25 will be relaxed to a great extent, including opening of shopping malls, restaurants and religious places, even as strict restrictions will remain in place till June 30 in the country's worst pandemic-hit areas.

International air travel shall remain suspended, the MHA order said, adding that a decision on when to resume it would be taken after making an assessment of the situation.

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