Mega Opposition alliance filled with 'hollow' people with no ideology: Yogendra Yadav

Agencies
January 21, 2019

Kolkata, Jan 21: Casting apprehensions on the agenda of the grand alliance stitched together by opposition parties, Swaraj India president Yogendra Yadav on Sunday said the 'Mahagathbandhan' is a "big joke" and filled with "hollow people" with no ideology.

He said all the leaders in the grand alliance, who are portraying themselves as anti-BJP or anti-Modi (Prime Minister Narendra Modi), were equally anti-democracy and corrupt.

"There was a huge gathering (in Kolkata). But, where is the ideology? What is your agenda. There was no discussion on that. You had no talks on the problems the farmers are facing, and on unemployment. I believe this coalition lacks vision," Yadav said agency.

The politician-activist was referring to Saturday's mega rally organised by the Trinamool Congress in Kolkata, where leaders from over a dozen opposition parties came together, vowing to put up a united fight in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and oust Modi from power.

"They are saying that Narendra Modi is anti-democracy, but what about (West Bengal Chief Minister) Mamata Banerjee? She is also the same. She has not allowed the panchayat elections to take place peacefully. She does not allow the opposition to host any rally here. You are carrying out rowdyism in your state."

"And (NCP leader) Sharad Pawar, (SP chief) Akhilesh Yadav and (BSP chief) Mayawati all are claiming of saving the country from corruption. This is a big joke. This grand alliance is full of hollow people," he said.

Yadav said the grand alliance is only an opposition but not an alternative to the BJP government at the Centre.

"The country at the moment requires an alternate government instead of opposition. I think national politics is under threat," he said.

The former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader wondered where were the leaders of the 'Mahagathbandhan' in the last five years, when there were many incidents of farmer suicides and movements organised by unemployed youths.

"These politicians were sitting in Parliament all these years, while the struggles were led by farmers, youths and dalit organisations. They are the ones who fought on the streets. We need to form their (farmers, youths) coalition," he said.

Yadav said his party is focusing on coming up with an alternative of a strong opposition by the people against the government.

"People have to build up a strong opposition against the current government, which can be sustained for a long time. We are trying to build that alternative. We need a coalition of social movement," he said.

Launching Swaraj India's '#iCan19' - Indian Citizens' Action for Nation, 2019 - an initiative for citizens to intervene in electoral politics, Yadav said he is hopeful that his party would have an effect on the electoral process.

"We have no capacity of fighting hundreds of seats. We would make a very limited intervention in a select few seats. That is our effort," Yadav added.

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News Network
June 10,2020

Chennai, Jun 10: DMK MLA J Anbazhagan who had tested positive for coronavirus and was on ventilator support from June 3 passed away at a hospital in Chennai on Wednesday.

Coincidently, today is the 62nd birthday of the MLA.

"Anbazhagan J, who has been fighting for his life with severe COVID 19 pneumonia rapidly deteriorated early this morning. In spite of full medical support including mechanical ventilation at our COVID facility, he succumbed to his illness. He was declared dead at 08:05 hours on the 10th of June 2020," the hospital said in a statement.

In 2001, Anbazhagan was elected from T Nagar Assembly constituency. He served for five years.

Later in 2011, he was elected to Tamil Nadu Assembly from Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni seat. The DMK leader was re-elected from the same constituency in 2016.

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News Network
June 25,2020

India has jumped past 4.5 lakh coronavirus cases and 14,476 people have succumbed to the viral infection so far. In this backdrop, speaking to IANS in an exclusive interview, AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria said India is also vulnerable to second wave of coronavirus and people should continue to follow social distancing, wearing mask and other precautions, after cases begin to decline.

He added that in order to contain the outbreak of Covid-19, a limited lockdown in hotspots, where volume of cases is very high, may be considered along with a micro-plan to prevent leakage of cases from these areas to other non-containment areas. Excerpts of the interview are below:

Q: Reports say China and South Korea are witnessing a second wave of coronavirus infection, what is this second wave, is India also vulnerable to this?

A: When cases come down significantly, people tend to drop their guard against the viral infection, and this leads to the second wave (which means a sudden increase in the number of cases). After cases begin to decline, people should continue to follow the precautions -- continue to maintain social distancing and wear masks regularly. See what happened in Singapore, it was struck by a second wave of coronavirus. Look, what happened in the 1918 pandemic, people dropped their guard and the second wave of viral infection struck back. If people do not follow social distancing then the spike in cases is apparent. We need to take these precautions at least for one year. India is also vulnerable to this second wave.

Q: If Covid-19 cases continue to rise rapidly, do you think we need another lockdown in areas where volume of cases are very high?

A: A large volume of cases is concentrated in specific areas like hotspots, and in order to maintain things in order, we may need a limited lockdown in these areas. This should be followed by a micro-plan which entails extensive testing of people and also extensive contact tracing of people who have got in touch with positive people. Need to ensure there is no leakage of cases from these areas. People from these areas should not mix with others in non-containment areas. This will aid in containing the outbreak of the virus. People who have developed symptoms should get themselves tested, especially in the containment areas.

Q: With more than 4.5 lakh cases and close to 14,500 deaths, do you think India has reached its peak and a decline in cases is prominent?

A: The cases will continue to increase for some time. The doubling time of cases has also increased. But, the cases will also begin to flatten. Though, it is difficult to give an exact time period in this viral infection, it seems, the growth in cases will flatten in the end of July or beginning of August. A decline will come to this viral infection, but it does not mean that people should drop their guard. As a measure, we need to decrease community participation and citizens should continue to follow social distancing. People should get themselves tested. All these efforts will help in preventing people from contracting this virus. These precautions will also prevent us from the second wave, and we must continue to take precautions. The virus has not gone away, it is still lurking.

Q: India has crossed the 4.5 lakh coronavirus cases so far, although our recovery rate is good, but still 10,000 to 15,000 cases are reported daily. Why do cases continue to spiral, what is the reason?

A: We have to remember a few things -- the bulk of cases are in 10 cities, nearly 70 per cent, and if we take into account cases per million population, the number is not very high, as compared with countries including countries in Europe. Many European countries put together still do not add up to the Indian population. Do not compare India to countries like Italy, Spain etc. We need to focus on hotspots, which contribute to between 70 -80 per cent of cases, and we have to identify cases in these areas at an early stage. The population density is very high in these cities. People in lower socio-economic status are highly vulnerable to the viral infection, as many live together in small spaces and there is a lot of mixing of people happening there. Look at the market places, people are not following social distancing and not wearing masks. In fact, many are in close vicinity of each other.

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News Network
April 8,2020

Jamnagar, Apr 7: A 14-month-old baby boy, who had tested positive for coronavirus in Gujarat's Jamnagar district on April 5, died of multiple organ failure on Tuesday, said officials.

The toddler, son of a migrant labourer-couple having no recent travel history, died in the evening at a government hospital in Jamnagar, said an official release.

He was in a critical condition ever since he was admitted to the hospital, it said.

The boy, who tested positive for coronavirus two days ago, was as on ventilator support and eventually died due to multiple organ failure, said the release.

He becomes the youngest patient to succumb to COVID-19 in Gujarat, where the death toll has now gone up to 16.

The baby was the first and the only case of coronavirus infection so far in entire Jamnagar district and the youngest to be diagnosed with the disease in Gujarat.

Ever since he tested coronavirus positive, the authorities had been tracing the source of his infection.

His parents are from Uttar Pradesh and work as casual labourers in factories in the port city.

His parents, who have no travel history in the recent past, are asymptomatic (not showing symptoms) and kept under quarantine, officials said.

The locality where the couple resides in Dared village near Jamnagar city has been put under complete lockdown to check the spread of the virus, they said.

Gujarat has so far recorded 175 coronavirus positive cases and 16 fatalities.

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