I am told madam and son are framing me: Asaram

August 30, 2013
Asaram

Bhopal, Aug 30: Asumal Sirumalani, also called Asaram Bapu, a preacher accused of child rape, targeted the Congress leadership during a visit to the city on Thursday.
Exiting the airport, he told reporters: “People tell me Madam and her son are framing me. This has been going on for the last four-and-a-half years. They support those involved in religious conversion.” But he evaded questions whether he would comply with the summons to appear before the Jodhpur police on Friday. “Jail for me is like heaven. But I don’t want to go there as I fear that they will mix something in the food or water, which will affect my brain... Saints are pressurising me. There are many who will rise, but I said keep calm.”
Asaram flew to the city in a chartered aircraft to attend the last rites of his son Narayan Sai’s father-in-law Krishnani, who died in the early hours of Thursday. Krishnani headed Asaram’s ashram on the outskirts of Bhopal.
At the airport and at the ashram, Asaram lost his cool with reporters — who were also heckled by his devotees — when they asked whether any party was supporting him. Asaram said no party supported him, and he warned reporters not to ask “mindless questions.”
In a statement, the BJP, without naming Asaram, accused the Congress of attacking saints while supporting Batla House terrorists to appease minorities. Party leaders in Madhya Pradesh Uma Bharti, Prabhat Jha, Kailash Vijayvargiya and Ramesh Mendola have come out in support of Asaram, whereas Ravi Shankar Prasad has said the law should take its own course.
At the ashram, Asaram said he does not have any enmity with any “foreign or Indian woman.” “There was a conspiracy to plant the girl’s dupatta in my room. People told me that she told her friends, on leaving my Jodhpur Ashram, that her deeds would shake India and she would become famous. The police are threatening her friends to testify against me... I am told this is a conspiracy by the Delhi Police [which registered the FIR initially].”
The Congress hit back, saying he was paying for his “misdeeds.” “He is attempting to cover his misdeeds. He is a monster in the guise of an ascetic. He should be hanged. There are dozens of cases against him in Gujarat... He faces land disputes at Ratlam and Indore. Will he blame us for this too,” asked spokesman Mukesh Nayak.
Jodhpur Commissioner of Police Biju George Joseph told reporters on Wednesday that he would send a team to arrest Asaram on August 31, if he failed to turn up for questioning on Friday. A senior officer of the Criminal Investigation Department here told The Hindu that the police were looking into cases involving his organisation. “If anything serious comes up, we will notify the Home Ministry.”

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News Network
March 29,2020

New Delhi, Mar 29: The Centre on Sunday asked state governments and Union Territory administrations to effectively seal state and district borders to stop movements of migrant workers during lockdown, officials said.

During a video conference with Chief Secretaries and DGPs, Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba and Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla asked them to ensure that there is no movement of people across cities or on highways as the lockdown continues.

"There has been movement of migrant workers in some parts of the country. Directions were issued that district and state borders should be effectively sealed," a government official said.

States were directed to ensure there is no movement of people across cities or on highways.

Only movement of goods should be allowed.

District Magistrates and SPs should be made personally responsible for implementation of these directions, the official said.

Adequate arrangements for food and shelter of poor and needy people including migrant labourers be made at the place of their work, the official said.

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Agencies
July 21,2020

The Retailers Association of India (RAI) has said that ad hoc lockdowns by state governments are impacting the businesses of already-stressed retailers, along with hurting the economic revival of the country.

In a statement, the body of the organised retail industry said that the long road to recovery for the Indian retail industry continues to meet stumbling blocks with numerous restrictions being imposed at the state and local levels.

"Total lockdowns in some places and limited operational hours and days in several others are creating setbacks for retailers as the already stressed retail businesses are getting further interrupted and in turn, dampening consumer sentiment," it said.

According to RAI, although the intentions are that of citizen safety and social distancing, the recent instances of local lockdowns and ad hoc restrictions being imposed in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are having a distressing impact on retail businesses.

Retailers are already facing huge setbacks in terms of payment of wages and rentals due to very low sales of about 40 per cent as compared to last year, thanks to the extended lockdown, it said.

Contesting the restrictions on operating hours, Sandeep Kataria, CEO, Bata India said: "Restricted shopping time can lead to unnecessary overcrowding of stores, which is unfavourable towards the personal safety of both store staff and customers. Longer operational hours will support recovery for retailers as well as help adhering to social distancing norms."

Arvind Mediratta, MD and CEO, METRO Cash & Carry India said that these lockdowns will create severe inconvenience for all citizens as they also bar operations of food and grocery retail and wholesale stores.

Such hastily-implemented decisions by states undermine investor confidence and would come in the way of making the country "aatmanirbhar" or self-reliant, he said.

Voicing the concerns of retailers, the RAI has submitted representations to various state and local authorities that puts forth recommendations to get businesses and life of consumers on the track to recovery.

It has said that authorities should mandatorily allow essential shops including kiranas, general trade shops, supermarkets, hypermarkets and wholesalers to operate every day of the week until 9 p.m. to cater to the daily needs of the customers.

It has also sought ensuring uniform and regular opening of all categories of retail for full working hours while following stringent hygiene practices and adhering to social distancing norms. This will help avoid overcrowding outside stores as demand will get distributed over all days of the week, it said.

The industry body has also asked the local authorities to open malls in all states. Malls can ensure a safe shopping experience wherein safety measures are taken by both, the mall authorities and the retailers, it said.

Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, RAI, said: "The need of the hour is concerted efforts by all stakeholders. While retailers are doing their bit by following stringent hygiene practices, the policymakers too need to support to ensure economic revival across the country. Consumption is important for the country and supports the business environment."

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News Network
January 18,2020

Shirdi, Jan 18: The administrative body of Sai Baba's Samadhi calls for the indefinite closure of the Shirdi temple after Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray reportedly said Pathri in Parbhani is Sai Baba's birthplace.

"We have announced to close Shirdi against rumours from January 19," said B Wakchaure of Saibaba Sansthan Trust.

"A meeting of villagers will be convened Saturday evening to discuss the issue. Devotees will not face any difficulty if they come to Shirdi," Mr Wakchaure added.

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