As Left decides to wait and watch, NCP hints at backing Pranab

May 5, 2012

President_PollNew Delhi, May 5: Left parties on Friday decided to watch the unfolding scenario before finalising their stand on the presidential election, even as sources in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) indicated that the party preferred Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to Vice-President Hamid Ansari.

Leaders of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Communist Party of India, the All-India Forward Bloc and the Revolutionary Socialist Party met here for informal discussions and decided to initiate consultations with secular parties in the Opposition before taking a stand.

“The Left parties held a preliminary discussion on the… presidential election. It would be better if there is a wide agreement on a candidate… The Left parties decided to consult… other secular Opposition parties before taking a final stand…,” a joint statement said.

The meeting came hours after CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat met Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh. The latter met Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Thursday.

“The bottom line is everybody has decided to wait and watch,” a senior Left leader told The Hindu. The four parties decided to meet again later this month. After discussions among themselves and outside, it was concluded that it would be better to wait for the Congress to come up with a proposal.

General secretaries of the Left parties Prakash Karat, S. Sudhakar Reddy, Debabrata Biswas and T.J. Chandrachoodan, and senior leaders A.B. Bardhan, Sitaram Yechury, S. Ramachandran Pillai and D. Raja attended the meeting.

Informed sources said while Mr. Mulayam Singh indicated that no names were suggested to him by the Congress, Ms. Banerjee told him that while consultations should continue, it was too early to take up individual names for consideration.

After the meeting, Mr. Bardhan told journalists, “We have not zeroed in on any name… Do not try to impose any name on me,” he said, when asked whether the Left parties would back Mr. Mukherjee.

Besides the Samajwadi Party, the sources said, the Left parties decided to consult the Biju Janata Dal, the Telugu Desam Party and the Janata Dal (Secular).

BJD leader and MP Bharatruhari Mahtab said while the party was discussing the issue with its MPs, it would take a formal view only after the Congress proposed a name. “Time has not yet come to take a firm view.”

A senior NCP leader said both the UPA and the NDA did not have the numbers to get their choice of candidates elected and would have to depend on allies.

The party believed that the former President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, and other non-political candidates were out of the contention.

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News Network
June 30,2020

New Delhi, Jun 30: The Home Ministry on Monday issued guidelines for 'Unlock 2.0' phase across country between July 1 and July 31. The report stated that COVID-19 lockdown shall continue to remain in force in containment zones till July 31. In containment zones, only essential activities to be allowed. The government's guidelines come on a day when Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu extended lockdowns in their respective states to July 31.

Unlock 2.0 Guidelines:

•   Schools, colleges, educational institutes wil remain closed till July 31. Online/distance learning shall continue to be permitted and shall be encouraged

•   Lockdown shall continue to remain in force in containment zones till July 31st.  In containment zones, only essential activities to be allowed.

•   Night Curfew shall continue to remain in force, between 10:00 pm and 5:00 am, except for essential activities and other relaxations.

•   Social/ political/ sports/ entertainment/ academic/ cultural/ religious functions and other large congregations remain prohibited.

•   International air travel, except as allowed by MHA, will also remain barred.

•   Shops depending upon their area, can have more than 5 persons at a time. However, they have to maintain adequate physical distance.

•   Training institutions of the central and state governments will be allowed to function with effect from July 15 and SOP in this regard will be issued by the Department of Personnel and Training.

Meanwhile, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla wrote to Chief Secretaries of all states and UTs, urging them to ensure compliance of Unlock 2 guidelines and direct all concerned authorities for their strict implementation.

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Agencies
February 20,2020

Kanpur, Feb 20: Inspector general, Kanpur range, has ordered a probe into a woman's allegation that the cops misbehaved with her at Raipurwa police station when she went there with her father to lodge a complaint of harassment and eve-teasing.

The woman posted her complaint on the Twitter handle of Kanpur police.

The woman, 21, alleged that instead of listening to her complaint, Raipurwa cops asked her, "Zyada padh gayi ho, itna advance kisne bana dia hai, tumhare Papa ne?" (You are too educated. Who made you so advanced - your father?)

She further said that instead of taking necessary action on her complaint, the police forced her father to compromise with the accused, the son of her landlord, who harassed her on Monday.

The woman also stated that there were no female cops at the police station and she had to wait for several hours.

"Throughout my presence at the police station, I had to interact with male cops," she tweeted.

Inspector, Raipurwa, Sunil Kumar, however, has denied allegations.

"Her allegations are not true. Both the parties settled the dispute on their own," he said.

IG Range, Mohit Agarwal, meanwhile, said, "I have asked the SSP to initiate a probe in this regard and take action against guilty cops."

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News Network
August 3,2020

Aug 3: Iqbal Ansari, who was a litigant in the Ayodhya land dispute case, has decided to gift a 'Ram nami' stole and a copy of the Ramcharitmanas to Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he attends the bhoomi pujan ceremony for the Ram temple here on Wednesday.

"Yes, I have received the invitation from Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust for the bhoomi pujan ceremony. I will certainly attend it. The dispute is over now after the court's verdict," Ansari, 69, told .

"Our Prime Minister is coming. I will meet him and give him a 'Ramnami' stole (with Ram's name written on it) and Ramcharitmanas as a present," Ansari said.

His father Hashim Ansari, the oldest litigant in the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi land dispute case, died at the age of 95 in 2016 after which the son started pursuing the case in the court.

Talking about Wednesday's ground-breaking ceremony to mark the beginning of the construction of a grand Ram temple here, Ansari said, "I belong to Ayodhya. All this (temple's construction) will change the fate of Ayodhya. We all want our child to get better opportunities".

He further said, "I respect sadhus and saints. I am happy to have received the invitation for the ceremony. I think it is Lord Ram's will that I attend it".

When asked what he would have done had the court decided the case in his favour, Ansari said he had wanted the construction of a school and a hospital on the disputed land.

"I feel the city needs development. The future of our children should be safe and secure and they should get employment. Dispute in the name of religion should end now and we should let the city witness a new beginning," he said.

The Supreme Court had in November last year paved the way for the construction of a Ram temple by a Trust at the disputed site of the Babri Masjid's demolition in Ayodhya, and directed the Centre to allot an alternative 5-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board for building a new mosque at a "prominent" place in the holy town in Uttar Pradesh.

The state government has allotted a five-acre land in Dhannipur village in Sohaval Tehsil of Ayodhya for the mosque's construction.

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