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Kejriwal under attack for circular on 'defamatory' news

May 10, 2015

New Delhi, May 10: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today came under sharp attack for his government's controversial circular threatening action against the media for any defamatory news, with Congress and BJP accusing him of being a "hypocrite" and "anti-democratic".

Kejriwal attack"When there is criticism of the government, when the wrongdoings of his government is exposed by the media, the Chief Minister is taking objection to that. This shows the anti-democratic attitude of the Chief Minister," Congress leader P C Chacko said.

Voicing similar views, BJP said while Kejriwal talks about freedom of speech, he wants everyone else's "throat to be throttled".

"He talks about unfettered freedom of speech but he wants everybody else's throat to be throttled. This is the height of hypocrisy," BJP spokesperson GVL Narsimha Rao said.

Delhi Government has asked all its officials to lodge a complaint with the Principal Secretary (Home) if they come across any news item which damage the reputation of the Chief Minister or the government, so that further action can be initiated.

According to the circular issued by the Directorate of Information and Publicity Department, if any officer associated with the Delhi government feels that the published or aired news item damages his or the government's reputation, he should file a complaint with the Principal Secretary (Home).

Ajay Maken, Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee President, said it was "weird" that Kejriwal is doing everything opposite of what he used to say before elections.

Stressing that this was not happening for the first time, Maken said, "As soon as his party came to power, he had stopped media's entry in the building (Secretariat). He should not have a problem with the media as his party came to power with their help".

Criticising Kejriwal, Congress leader Chacko said he was being "exposed" on many issues and the AAP government was not functioning as a government from the very first day as internal dissensions marred its functioning.

"The people in responsible positions should be patient enough to listen to the criticism and also, it indicates that there is wrongdoing, corruption, lack of coordination in the government," he said.

According to the circular, if as per the opinion of the Director (prosecution), offence of defamation is made out, the Principal Secretary will refer the matter to the Law Department for examining the matter and obtain the sanction of under section 199(4) of the CrPc.

After sanction of the government is obtained, the home department will forward the case to the public prosecutor for making a complaint under Section 199(2) of the CrPc.

BJP had last night also criticised Kejriwal over the circular.

It had said the circular is the "result of repeated exposures by media of the Kejriwal government's misdeeds".

This is another proof of "anarchist, authoritarian approach" of the Arvind Kejriwal government, the party had said.

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Agencies
May 30,2020

New Delhi, May 30: The COVID-19 pandemic has left the Indian private healthcare sector in acute financial distress, a new survey said on Friday adding that the healthcare facilities in the country have witnessed at least 80 per cent fall in average revenue.

Post the lockdown from March 24, Indian hospitals have seen a large impact, especially among small and medium-sized hospitals, which are now facing existential challenges.

The survey by healthcare industry body NATHEALTH was conducted in 251 healthcare facilities across nine states and 69 cities to assess the impact of COVID-19 on the domestic healthcare industry.

The findings showed that 90 per cent of the surveyed healthcare facilities are facing financial challenges with 21 per cent facilities facing an existential threat.

"There is a need for a stimulus package to revive the Indian healthcare industry which will be crucial to provide much-needed relief to the healthcare sector which is the frontline defence in this fight against COVID-19," said Dr Sudarshan Ballal, President NATHEALTH.

According to the survey, hospitals in tier 1 and tier 2 cities are experiencing a 78 per cent reduction in OPD footfalls, and a drop of 79 per cent in in-patient admissions.

The study found that 90 per cent of organisations require some form of financial assistance.

The findings indicated that even after the lockdown lift, the situation will remain difficult for the hospitals and nursing homes as patients will hesitate from visiting hospitals.

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News Network
January 1,2020

Jan 1: Two army personnel were killed in a gunfight with heavily-armed Pakistani infiltrators along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district on Wednesday, officials said.

The infiltrators were intercepted in the Khari Thrayat forest when they were trying to sneak into India from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), they said.

"Two army soldiers martyred during cordon and search operation in Nowshera sector. The operation is still in progress and further details are awaited," Jammu-based Indian Army Public Relations Officer (PRO) Lt Col Devender Anand said in a statement.

The search operation was launched following information about the movement of suspected terrorists, the officials said.

The infiltrators opened fire on the troops and during a fierce gunfight, the two soldiers were killed, they said.

The officials said a massive operation is on in the area.

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Agencies
August 2,2020

New Delhi, Aug 2: The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Sunday issued fresh guidelines for international passengers coming to India amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The new guidelines will be implemented from 12:01 am on August 8.

The ministry has also asked all passengers to submit a self-declaration form online at least 72 hours before travel.

"All travellers should submit self-declaration form on the on the online portal (www.newdelhiairport.in) at least 72hours before the scheduled travel," the guidelines said.

It also said that those coming to India must give an undertaking that they would undergo mandatory quarantine for 14 days as prescribed by the government. "They should also give an undertaking on the portal that they would undergo mandatory quarantine for 14 days i.e. 7 days paid institutional quarantine at their own cost, followed by 7 days isolation at home with self-monitoring of health," it added.

Giving exemptions in some cases, the guidelines mentioned, "Only for compelling reasons/cases of human distress such as pregnancy, death in the family. Serious illness and parent (s) with children of 10 years or below, home quarantine may be permitted for 14 days."

"If they wish to seek such exemption, they shall apply to the online portal at least 72 hours before boarding. The decision taken by the government as communicated on the online portal will be final," it said further.

The guidelines further said that travellers could request for exemption from institutional quarantine by submitting a negative RT-PCR test report on arrival.

"This test should have been conducted within 96 hours prior to undertaking the journey. The test report should be uploaded on the portal for consideration," it added.

Passengers have also been asked to download the Aarogya Setu app on their mobile phones.

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