Congress snubs Digvijaya Singh for speaking out of turn

June 19, 2012

Digvijaya-Singh

New Delhi, June 19: Congress on Monday snubbed Digvijaya Singh, saying that its most vocal general secretary was not authorized to speak on the party's behalf.

"Digvijay Singh is not officially authorized to speak on behalf of the party," the AICC said in a media release. The unusual statement was seen as reflection of the leadership's annoyance with the senior leader, who has been quite voluble in the first three years of UPA-II.

The announcement, virtually saying that Singh speaks for himself, came two days after he in a TV interview called the Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee "erratic" and "immature", and was being seen as an attempt to mollify the estranged West Bengal CM. Singh had also blamed Banerjee for embarrassing both the Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Sources said that the party leadership was upset with the office-bearer for saying in the same interview that the party could consider backing Vice-President Hamid Ansari for a second term, emphasizing that the party was yet to form a view on the matter.

The tough talk on Banerjee did not gel with the Congress's attempt to give fresh provocation to the Trinamool chief. Although the ties between the two parties have strained since the Congress defied Banerjee to name Pranab Mukherjee as its Presidential candidate, the party at the same time does not wish to lose the support of her 19 members in the Lok Sabha since a split would enhance its dependence on the Samajwadi Party (SP).

However, the irrepressible general secretary made light of the party's statement emphasizing that his views should not be confused with those of the party. "The media cell of AICC has clarified that I am not the party spokesman. When did I claim I am the spokesman? What the media committee has said is true". Asked whether the extraordinary party statement was a put down for him for deviating from the party line, he retorted: "You must be joking."

This is not the first instance when Singh with his outspokenness has run afoul of the party's insistence on maintaining silence and discretion on sensitive matters. The remarks of the general secretary, who has worked closely with Rahul Gandhi, on the Batla House encounter as well as his attack on Union home minister P Chidambaram for the government's anti-Naxal policy had annoyed many in the party and the government, while providing both ammunition and mirth to opponents.

During the peak of Anna Hazare's anti-graft campaign, Singh had frequent run-ins with the civil society faction. Many in the party criticize him also for frequently wading into issues which are outside his organizational responsibility.

When asked about the announcement, Congress spokesman Manish Tewari suggested such statements were reflective of the party directive. Tewari also struck a conciliatory note towards Banerjee, appealing her to support Mukherjee in the July 19 Presidential election. He also dubbed as "resting on erroneous assumption" questions over Congress's options if Banerjee walks out of the alliance.

Tewari also pointed out that Mukherjee has described the Trinamool Congress chief as his sister and had made a personal appeal to vote for him in the presidential election. Replying to a query, Tewari dismissed as "very hypothetical" questions regarding the SP joining the UPA ahead of the Presidential election and said "our appeal to all parties is for support to Mukherjee's candidature".

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Agencies
June 23,2020

New Delhi, Jun 23: "Coming up with a clinically tested, evidence-based medicine was a challenge," said Yoga Guru Ramdev as on Tuesday he launched Patanjali's Coronil tablet, which he claims is a cure for COVID-19. He also talked about various other immunity boosters at an event here during the launch.

Patanjali claims those administered the medicine were fully cured and none died. Ramdev even claimed that 69 per cent of them recovered within 3 days.

"We appointed a team of scientists after COVID-19 outbreak," said Balkrishna, Ramdev's close aide and MD of Patanjali Ayurved. He added that Patanjali conducted a clinical case study on hundreds of positive patients.

Patanjali has claimed that the clinical trials which were controlled in nature, was jointly conducted by Patanjali Research Institute which is based out of Haridwar and the National Institute of Medical Sciences, Jaipur.

Talking about the clinical trials, Ramdev said, "Under this 280 patients were included and 100 per cent of those recovered." He added they were able to control Coronavirus and its complications.

He said that in the next few days, data of the trail will be released as evidence to bolster claims. There are now over 9 million people affected by the pandemic since it broke out in China's Wuhan city in December 2019.

He said Ayurvedic elements are being used in the tablet. "There are more than 100 compounds used in the Coronil," he added. An entire kit is being made for that which consists of other Ayurvedic medicine as well which helps in immunity. The entire kit comes at Rs 600. However, he claimed that it will be given for free to those living below the poverty line.

As for doses, Panajali prescribes: "2-2 tablets should be consumed with hot water half an hour after meals. The above mentioned drug intake and quantity is suitable for people between 15 to 80 years of age. Half the amount of the above mentioned medicines can be used for children between the age of 6 to 14 years." These are the written instructions on the pack.

India has been battling the pandemic with close to 4 lakh cases in India on Tuesday and around 14,000 deaths so far.

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News Network
January 8,2020

Meerut, Jan 8: Hangman Pawan Jallad, who officials say is being considered to carry out the execution of the four Nirbhaya gangrape case convicts, on Tuesday said he is ready for the job which will send out a strong message in the society.

He said executing those who were involved in the horrific crime will bring "great relief" to him, Nirbhaya's parents and everybody else.

Earlier in the day, a Delhi court issued death warrants against all the four convicts in the Nirbhaya gangrape-murder case and ordered that they are hanged on January 22 at 7 am in Tihar jail.

The death warrant, also known as a black warrant, addressed to the office of the Tihar jail chief, was issued by Additional Sessions Judge Satish Kumar Arora against Mukesh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar Singh (31).

"I do not have any information regarding the execution, nobody has spoken to me yet. If anyone approaches me, I am ready to do the job. Earlier, I was asked to be ready for the execution on December 16," Pawan Jallad told reporters here.

"Those who were involved in this brutal incident must be hanged, which will send out a strong message in the society," he said.

"Hanging the Nirbhaya gangrape case convicts will certainly bring great relief to me, her parents and everybody else," he added.

Nirbhaya, a 23-year-old paramedic student, was gang-raped and brutalised on the intervening night of December 16-17, 2012, inside a moving bus in south Delhi by the four men, along with two others, before being dumped on the road.

She died on December 29, 2012, at Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore.

Of the six persons convicted, one allegedly committed suicide in jail and another, a juvenile, was released from a reformation home after serving a three-year term.

When contacted, Jail Superintendent of Meerut prison V P Pandey said he has not yet received any letter from Tihar authorities.

"Last month, we had received a letter asking us to keep Pawan Jallad ready but there is no fresh communication. The Delhi court warrants were issued this evening, maybe we will get the letter for sending him by tomorrow (Wednesday)," he said.

The gangrape of 23-year-old, who came to be known as 'Nirbhaya', the fearless one, sparked outrage across the country. Repulsed, people took to the streets across the country, demanding justice for her and better safety measures for women.

The case led to toughening of India's rape laws.

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News Network
April 1,2020

Prayagraj,  April 1: Seven Indonesian nationals, one person from Kolkata and one from Kerala who had attended the event at Delhi's Nizamuddin Markaz have been put under quarantine, informed SP (City) Prayagraj, Brijesh Kumar Srivastava on Wednesday.

"Seven Indonesian nationals, one person from Kolkata and one from Kerala, were found at Abdullah mosque here. During the investigation, it was found that they had attended the Markaz gathering in Delhi. These people, along with 28 people who came in contact with them, have been quarantined." he said.

"A case has also been registered against them for not informing the police on reaching here," he added.

Earlier, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain had said that the officials are not certain of the accurate number of people who participated in the event but it is being estimated that 1,500-1,700 people had assembled at the Markaz building.

The religious gathering was held at the Markaz building in Nizamuddin between March 13 and March 15.

The total number of active cases rose to 1466 in the country, while 132 people have been cured and discharged after receiving treatment, as of 9 am.

The number of deaths due to the infection also rose to 38, while one person has migrated.

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