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Team Anna, govt begin to land low blows

June 11, 2012

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New Delhi, Jun 11: The ongoing war of words between Team Anna and the government reached a new low on Sunday with one of the team members comparing the prime minister to the blind king in Mahabharata and a Union minister questioning the integrity of Anna Hazare’s followers.

Launching a scathing attack on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a key member of Team Anna, Kiran Bedi, on Sunday sought to compare him to Dhritrashtra in the context of the alleged irregularities in the allocation of coal blocks. Singh had rejected Hazare’s demand for setting up a special investigation team (SIT) to probe into the charges levelled against the Prime Minister and 14 of his cabinet ministers.

“The PMO clears Prime Minister. Did Dhritarashtra in Mahabharata not support Kauravas even after they attempted to disrobe Draupadi? Indian genes/culture? or?” Bedi tweeted.

She described Singh and his 14 cabinet colleagues as a “tainted team”, asserting that they would “never” give people an expeditious and strong criminal justice system.

“Do or die fast from July 25 for SIT probe on PM and 14 cabinet ministers. Tainted team may never give us an expeditious and strong criminal justice system,” she said.

Sharply reacting to Bedi’s comment, Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid accused Team Anna of converting their anti-corruption movement into a “personal campaign”.

“They (Team Anna) have many, many questions they must first answer before asking questions to others,” Khurshid told reporters at Chennai airport, taking several questions from the media, shortly after arriving here.

“We are at least subject to public scrutiny. Every five years, we go through an election. People reject or accept our record and everything is available. We’re ready for any public scrutiny,” Khurshid maintained.

Khurshid said: “I don't think they have the right to ask questions and I don't think they are being very helpful and very good to democracy in our country." Khurshid, who is also in charge of the Law Ministry, said that “the people will give them a suitable answer when the time comes”.

“We all felt they started off with a good note. Idea of containing corruption and questioning corruption was a good idea. But today, they are doing greatest disservice to this idea by converting it into a personal campaign and personal ambition,” the minister said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also demanded a probe into the allegations made against the Cabinet ministers in the alleged coal scam.

“Nobody suspects Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. But the way in which his government is drowned in corruption and scams, it is natural that the taint reaches him also. This war of words between the civil society and government should end. The government should order an investigation,” BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said.

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Agencies
June 27,2020

Mumbai, Jun 27: The Shiv Sena on Saturday hit out at the BJP over its charge that the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF) had accepted donations from the Chinese embassy, and asked it whether the issue had any connection with intrusion by the neighbouring country in Ladakh and the martyrdom of 20 Indian soldiers.

The Sena also alleged that those raising questions against the government over the standoff with China were being labelled as Chinese agents by the BJP.

BJP chief J P Nadda had on Thursday targeted the Congress and the Gandhi family saying that the RGF had allegedly accepted donations from the Chinese embassy. Hitting back, the Congress had said that the RGF issue raised by the BJP government was a "manufactured charge" and "diversionary tactic" to deflect attention from the LAC crisis.

"What do you mean by Congress gets money from China? Instead of responding to the issues raised by Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi over the Chinese incursions, the BJP leaders accused the Congress of receiving funds from China," the Sena said in an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana'.

"Will BJP's revelations about the donations stop the Chinese activities along the border? The BJP should tell what connection does these donations have with the Chinese incursion and the martyrdom of 20 soldiers," it added.

"In our country, many political leaders and parties, and not just the Congress, are beneficiaries of foreign countries. The BJP speaking about this is like throwing stones in the mud," it said.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led party said that Chinese President Xi Jinping visited India twice in the last six years.

"He was hosted in Gujarat. But it is a fact that China has betrayed. Holding talks on the one hand and continuing with the offensive along the border on the other hand is China's old policy," it said.

In the present scenario, the entire country stands firmly with PM Modi. This crisis is not for the BJP or the Congress, but for the entire country, whose prestige is at stake, it said.

"The BJP can fight with the Congress any time later.

But now is the time to fight against China. It should speak on that," the Sena said.

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Agencies
July 30,2020

Ahead of the grand foundation stone-laying ceremony of the Ram Temple on August 5, Ayodhya priest and 16 police personnel, involved in the mega event on August 5, have tested positive for COVID-19. Priest Pradeep Das is one of the four priests who regularly perform puja at the Ram Temple site in Ayodhya.

Das has been placed under home quarantine and contact tracing is underway, reported.

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh police and Sashastra Seema Bal have been put on high alert in the districts bordering Nepal ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Ayodhya on August 5.

PM Modi likely to launch postal stamps on Ram Temple, Ramayana during Ayodhya visit: Report
Counterfeit products create Rs 1-lakh-crore hole in economy, incidents up 24% in 2019: Report
On July 29, Uttar Pradesh reported a record single-day spike of 3,570 COVID-19 cases, taking the infection tally to more than 77,000, while 33 fresh fatalities pushed the death toll to 1,530.

"There are 29,997 active COVID-19 cases in the state and 45,807 patients have been discharged after treatment," Additional Chief Secretary, Medical and Health, Amit Mohan Prasad told reporters. "The death toll due to the disease has reached 1,530," he said.

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News Network
March 7,2020

Mar 7: Two Malayalam news channels, Asianet News and Media One, which were banned by the information and broadcasting ministry for their coverage of the recent violence in Delhi on Friday evening, were allowed to resume telecasting on Saturday morning.

While Asianet News appeared to have begun operations around 7am on Saturday, Media One was screening content by 9.30am.

The ministry of information and broadcasting had imposed a 48-hour ban on Asianet News and Media One for their coverage of the Delhi violence for 48 hours from 7.30pm on Friday. Both Asianet News and Media One were barred under Rule 6(1 c) and Rule 6(1e) of the Cable Television Networks Act, 1994.

The ministry of information and broadcasting alleged Asianet News and Media One were "biased" and critical of the RSS and Delhi Police.

The ban on Asianet News and Media One triggered a torrent of criticism of the move. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor asked how "Malayalam channels inflame communal passions in Delhi?" and alleged some English news channels were continuing "their brazen distortions" with impunity.

In a statement issued on Friday after the ban, Media One termed the move "unfortunate and condemnable" and called it a "blatant attack against free and fair reporting". Media One called it "an order to stop free and fair journalism".

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