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Modi is good at marketing himself, but won't win the election'

[email protected] (RATNADIP CHOUDHURY, TEHELKA.COM)
March 30, 2014
One of the states that the BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi is eyeing keenly is Assam, where the Congress has been in power since 2001. The ruling party is leaving no stone unturned to make sure that the Modi factor proves to be irrelevant in the General Election. In an interview with Ratnadip Choudhury, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi says that Modi is good at marketing himself, but that won't prove enough for him to win the election.

Chief_Minister_Tarun_Gogoi

There seems to be a national trend against the Congress and a wave in favour of Modi, who has aggressively attacked the UPA government on all fronts. Where has the Congress gone wrong?

Yes, I agree that there is resentment, but I think the Congress' fortunes will revive. In fact, it's picking up. At the national level, the Congress started the campaign late. Had we started six months earlier, the result would have been better then what we will achieve. Regardless, I believe the trends would be proved wrong. There is no question of being soft on Modi. In fact, I am one of the seniormost Congress leaders in the country who is attacking Modi left and right, exposing him to the people. The Modi wave will not touch Assam, at least.

The BJP is looking to make inroads in Assam and the party says there is a Modi wave blowing across the country. How do you plan to insulate Assam from it?

Unlike in other parts of the country, the Modi wave will not touch Assam. The people of Assam have a different culture.

Modi talks about his Gujarat development model. In fact, my development model is much better than his. Modi could take up development work only when the UPA government was in power at the Centre. The UPA has helped every state, irrespective of the party in power.

The Modi wave is a media creation. If there is indeed a wave, why does he need to tour so much, burn so much money for promoting himself as the face of the BJP? It is all propaganda. Modi is good at marketing, but you cannot win elections with just that.

Because of our performance, my government has been better than any other in Assam. The UPA has helped me take up many development projects. I don't bother how many rallies Modi addresses in Assam. I know for sure that the people will reject his brand of self-centered politics.

There are complaints that despite being a Rajya Sabha member from Assam, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has not done enough for the state. Several important projects of national importance remain unfinished…

Who is saying that the prime minister did nothing for Assam? I have facts that will make it clear that when Manmohan Singh was in power, Assam received plenty of Central attention. He has done whatever is possible for the state. The growth rate is good. I have facts to prove that the UPA has done more for Assam and the Northeast than the NDA regime. I will publish a white paper on this so that the people know who is working for them.

The Opposition blames you for not being able to handle ethnic conflicts, flood and erosion, rhino killings, illegal immigration from Bangladesh and the loss of agricultural land. Even in its poll campaign, the Congress is non-committal on these issues…

I won't disagree that all these contentious issues remain and there have been shortcomings on our part to tackle them. But, by and large, peace has returned to Assam. Now, you can travel safely to any place. The growth rate is one of the best in the country. Without peace, can there be development? I am not saying that insurgency has been done away with. We have been able to check it to a large extent. If you talk about the Kokrajhar riots, I brought it under control within 60 hours. Lakhs of people had to flee, but within a year, we rehabilitated them. Only a few hundred remain in camps. We pressed the army into action immediately. Look at how Modi handled the Gujarat riots. Why didn't he use the army? Why did he never refer the riot cases to the CBI on his own? He has been exposed. I am not trying to escape.

So, you mean to say that whatever your government has done to tackle the illegal influx of migrants from Bangladesh has been good enough?

It's a major issue but it is not the main issue. Unemployment is a far bigger issue. The Opposition parties always raise this issue during election time because they cannot challenge my government on other issues. It is not to say that we are on a backfoot. The population growth in Assam is now lower than the national average. What does that indicate? It means the issue of illegal migrants has been taken care of. The BJP has been raising this issue for years. What did the party do when the NDA was in power? They forgot the issue.

With the growth of the BJP and Muslim-dominated AIUDF, it is all but certain that votes in Assam will get polarised on religious lines. Modi has already played the Hindutva card by saying that Hindus who fled other countries should be given asylum in India. Even you had tried the same by supporting asylum for those who fled Bangladesh due to religious persecution. Isn't your stand communal?

The media has tried to draw some parallels, which are incorrect. In spite of the attempts made by the BJP and the AIUDF, Assam is not a communally divided society. No one can divide Assam. Modi is only talking about one group — the Hindus. But what I said was different. Our stand is that irrespective of religion, if it's proved that anybody had to flee due to political or religious persecution after Partition, their case should been seen with sympathy on humanitarian grounds. That person can be of any religion — Hindu, Buddhist or even Muslim. It's true that such cases are higher among the Hindus, but I am not talking only about Hindus like Modi is doing.

Critics often say that the Congress is its own enemy. After the 2011 Assembly polls, the media had reported about a rebellion against your leadership. Why are such things happening in Assam, where the party is on a strong footing?

There is no dissidence. The election results will show that the Congress is united. In the Guwahati municipal polls, everyone predicted that we would lose, but we won. The Congress is a big family. Some grievances are bound to arise. Till date, nobody — MLA or minister — has officially demanded my removal. There are differences on the issue of allotting tickets for the polls, but we know how to handle them. After me, there will be new leaders. Who knew that Rajiv Gandhi will be such a good leader or that Sonia Gandhi would lead the party some day. The party is bigger than any individual.

Is the Congress extending dynasty politics in Assam by giving tickets to the sons and daughters of politicians, including your son Gaurav. Will the new faces deliver?

Manas Bora, the son of Social Welfare Minister Akon Bora, won the party's internal primaries; Sushmita, the daughter of former Union minister Santoshmohan Dev, is an MLA and a very educated lady. My son Gaurav was working for an NGO. He is an engineer and was educated in the West… they are all good candidates in their own capacity and ideally don't need their parents' identity to prove themselves. Even if they come from a political dynasty, they have to get elected. Gaurav will not be able to win an election only because he is my son. The identity will definitely help him, but he has to create a niche for himself. I am hopeful that all the new faces will win. Out of 14 seats in Assam, we will win no less than 10. Modi will be proved wrong in Assam.

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Agencies
March 7,2020

New Delhi, Mar 7: The Union government has issued a Global Invite for Expression of Interest for disinvestment in Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) from prospective bidders with a minimum net worth of $10 billion as of Saturday.

The EoI submissions can be made till May 2, whereas investor queries will be entertained till April 4.

Another condition pertains to a maximum of four members are permitted in a consortium, and the lead member must hold 40 per cent in proportion. Other members of the consortium must have a minimum $1 billion net worth.

The EOI allows changes in the consortium within 45 days, though the lead member cannot be changed.

The GoI proposes to disinvest its entire shareholding in BPCL comprising 1,14,91,83,592 equity shares held through the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, which constitutes 52.98 per cent of BPCL's equity share capital, along with the transfer of management control to the strategic buyer (except BPCL's equity shareholding of 61.65 per cent in Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) and management control thereon).

The shareholding of BPCL in NRL will be transferred to a Central Public Sector Enterprise operating in the oil and gas sector under the Ministry and accordingly is not a part of the proposed transaction.

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News Network
April 28,2020

Los Angeles, Apr 28: People who experience loss of smell as one of the COVID-19 symptoms are likely to have a mild to moderate clinical course of the disease, according to a study which may help health care providers determine which patients require hospitalisation.

The findings, published in the journal International Forum of Allergy & Rhinology, follows an earlier study that validated the loss of smell and taste as indicators of infection with the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2.

According to the scientists from the University of California (UC) San Diego Health in the US, patients who reported loss of smell were 10 times less likely to be hospitalised for COVID-19 compared to those without the symptom.

"One of the immediate challenges for health care providers is to determine how to best treat persons infected by the novel coronavirus," said Carol Yan, first author of the current study and rhinologist from the UC San Diego Health.

"If they display no or mild symptoms, can they return home to self-quarantine or will they likely require hospitalisation? These are crucial questions for hospitals trying to efficiently and effectively allocate finite medical resources," Yan said.

The findings, according to the researchers, suggest that loss of smell may be predictive of a milder clinical course of COVID-19.

"What's notable in the new findings is that it appears that loss of smell may be a predictor that a SARS-CoV-2 infection will not be as severe, and less likely to require hospitalisation," Yan said.

"If an infected person loses that sense, it seems more likely they will experience milder symptoms, barring other underlying risk factors," she added.

Risk factors for COVID-19 previously reported by other studies include age, and underlying medical conditions, such as chronic lung disease, serious heart conditions, diabetes, and obesity.

In the current study, the scientists made a retrospective analysis between March 3 and April 8 including 169 patients who tested positive for COVID-19 at UC San Diego Health.

They assessed olfactory and gustatory data for 128 of the 169 patients, 26 of whom required hospitalisation.

According to the researchers, patients who were hospitalised for COVID-19 treatment were significantly less likely to report anosmia or loss of smell -- 26.9 per cent compared to 66.7 per cent for COVID-19-infected persons treated as outpatients.

Similar percentages were found for loss of taste, known as dysgeusia, they said.

"Patients who reported loss of smell were 10 times less likely to be admitted for COVID-19 compared to those without loss of smell," said study co-author Adam S. DeConde.

"Moreover, anosmia was not associated with any other measures typically related to the decision to admit, suggesting that it's truly an independent factor and may serve as a marker for milder manifestations of Covid-19," DeConde said.

The researchers suspect that the findings hint at some of the physiological characteristics of the infection.

"The site and dosage of the initial viral burden, along with the effectiveness of the host immune response, are all potentially important variables in determining the spread of the virus within a person and, ultimately, the clinical course of the infection," DeConde said.

If the SARS-CoV-2 virus initially concentrates in the nose and upper airway, where it impacts olfactory function, that may result in an infection that is less severe and sudden in onset, decreasing the risk of overwhelming the host immune response, respiratory failure, and hospitalisation, the scientists added.

"This is a hypothesis, but it's also similar to the concept underlying live vaccinations," DeConde explained.

"At low dosage and at a distant site of inoculation, the host can generate an immune response without severe infection," he added.

Loss of smell, according to the study, might also indicate a robust immune response which has been localised to the nasal passages, limiting effects elsewhere in the body.

Citing the limitations of the study, the scientists said they relied upon self-reporting of anosmia from participants, which posed a greater chance of recall bias among patients once they had been diagnosed with COVID-19.

They added that patients with more severe respiratory disease requiring hospitalisation may not be as likely to recognise or recall the loss of smell.

So the researchers said more expansive studies are needed for validating the results.

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Agencies
August 2,2020

New Delhi, Aug 2: The National Commission for Women (NCW) has issued notice to some Bollywood celebrities named in a complaint against the promoter of a company for allegedly blackmailing and sexually assaulting a number of girls on the pretext of giving them a career in modelling.

Taking cognizance of the complaint filed by social activist Yogita Bhayana of People Against Rape in India (PARI), the NCW scheduled a virtual hearing presided by its chairperson on August 6.

The complaint against Sunny Verma, promoter of a company named IMG Ventures with its headquarter in Chandigarh, alleged that he has been blackmailing and sexually assaulting a number of girls on the pretext of giving them career in modelling.

PARI's Yogita Bhayana wrote a complaint letter to NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma.

"Through his company, he (Sunny Verma) invites the girls on the pretext of organising a Miss Asia contest with a claim that the contest will launch them as models. To make it look genuine, his company has also been taking an entry fee of Rs 2,950. Once the girls apply, they are alluded by the female accomplices of Sunny Verma to submit their nude pictures in order to get the better ranking in the contest," the complaint letter said on July 31.

It alleged that Verma, after receiving the pictures and sometimes even before, used to get in touch with the girls and ask for completely nude pictures and videos.

The complaint letter said that Verma also used to allude as well as threaten the girls to submit to his sexual desires if they were interested in modelling as a career or wish to win the contest.

"Once he established a physical relationship with the girls, he used to blackmail them for regular sexual favours. Many girls from across the country have suffered a sexual and mental assault from Sunny and his accomplices," said the complaint citing several letters, texts and audio clips from several girls as proof of this modus operandi of Sunny Verma and his company.

The complaint also said that Sunny Verma has been previously also arrested on charges of sexual assault.

"We would demand that NCW should investigate the case to its depth and get the guilty punished so that any other person should not dare to exploit these kinds of innocent girls on any pretext. It will be a message to people like Sunny Verma and all associated Bollywood stars. Looking forward to strict action from NCW against sexual offenders like Sunny Verma & others," the complaint said.

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