Rahul Gandhi sparks row in Punjab, Akalis call him 'national joke'

October 12, 2012

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Chandigarh, October 12: Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh may be going to polls, but it's Punjab where Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi has created a political storm. Reacting to his remark that "seven out of 10 youth in Punjab are addicted to drugs," the Punjab government hit back saying, "Rahul is a national joke" and sought an apology from him.

This sharp reaction came from Harcharan Bains, advisor to Punjab chief minister on media and national affairs, after Rahul raised the issue of drug addiction while addressing a students' rally here at the Panjab University (PU) campus on Thursday.

"Rahul Gandhi is a national joke. He invites youth of Punjab and then refers to them as drug addicts. Is he mindful of what he is speaking and to whom?" asked Bains.

Rahul, on a two-day visit to Punjab during which he met state Congress leaders at Amritsar, had said, "Youth have the power and knowledge. They could be the solution to all the ills. But what's happening to this human resource in Punjab? The problem of drug addiction is high in Punjab and the government has not shown any seriousness in solving it. Unemployment is also on a high."

Senior Congress leaders said Rahul seemed to have done his home work, basing his attack on an affidavit filed by the Punjab government with the Punjab and Haryana High Court in May 2009 that "Punjab is in the grip of drugs that weakens the morale, physique and character of the youth."

However, deputy CM Sukhbir Badal rubbished Rahul's statement citing the court observation saying, "Rahul Gandhi is trying to malign the youth of Punjab and specially the Sikh youth."

"Congress's policy was first to dub our youth terrorists. Now, they want to put the stigma of drugs on them. I am shocked at the statistics he has announced. Before making such allegations, he should look at the rape cases in a state ruled by his party," Sukhbir told TOI. He blamed the Congress of trying to divert the country's attention from the recent scams.

"Contraband is smuggled through Pakistan through international border and it travels through Punjab before being supplied at other places. Security of international border is the responsibility of government of India and we have no control over it. However, amount of drug seized and number of accused arrested by Punjab police is historic in the last few months," he added.

During his speech, Rahul also lashed out at the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)-BJP government in Punjab for "not keeping its promise of pension for all unemployed in the state and for not using scholarships meant for SC/ST students."

"Earlier, Punjab had announced pension for unemployed in the state. But, they forgot this promise. Now, they say this pension would be given to only those whose names are registered with the state employment exchange," he said.

"While the Centre has been sending scholarships for SC and ST students in Punjab, the state government has been returning them," he added.

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coastaldigest.com news network
August 7,2020

 

Kozhikode: An Air India Express flight from Dubai with 190 people on board overshot the Kozhikode tabletop runway on landing there today. The Boeing 737 “fell off” the runway into the valley, broke into two causing death and devastation. 

According to reports, around 20 people were dead including two pilots.

An Air India spokesperson said: “Air India Express flight IX 1344 operated by Boeing 737 aircraft from Dubai to Calicut overshot the runway at Kozhikode at 7.41 pm Friday. No fire reported at the time of landing. There are 174 passengers, 10 infants, two pilots and five cabin crew on board. Rescue operations are on and passengers are being taken to hospital for medical care. We will soon share the update in this regard.”

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is probing this accident. “Prima facie, the aircraft landed beyond the touchdown point and fell into a valley. It has broken into two. We suspect some casualties. More information is awaited,” said a senior DGCA official.

Taking to twitter, defence minister Rajnath Singh wrote: “Devastating news from Kozhikode, Kerala. I am deeply anguished by the loss of lives due to an accident carrying several passengers on Air India flight. In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with the bereaved families. I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured.”

Foreign minister S Jaishankar tweeted: “Deeply distressed to hear about the Air India Express tragedy at Kozhikode. Prayers are with the bereaved families and those injured. We are ascertaining further details.”

While, senior BJP leader from Kerala K J Alphons tweeted: “Second tragedy of the day in Kerala: Air India Express skids off the run way at Kozhikode, front portion splits , pilot dies and lots of passengers injured . All passengers evacuated. Very lucky the aircraft didn’t catch fire.”

More details are awaited.

Watch video | Air India flight from Dubai skids off runway in Kerala, splits into two pic.twitter.com/qgGxEEG2e3

— coastaldigest.com (@coastaldigest) August 7, 2020

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Agencies
May 6,2020

New Delhi, May 6: The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has extended the validity of electronic way (E-way) bills, whose expiry date fell between March 20 and April 15, till May 31.

"Notification No. 40/2020-Central Tax issued to extend the validity of e-way bills till May 31 for all those e-way bills which were generated on or before March 24, 2020 and had expiry between the period from March 20 to April 15, 2020," the CBIC tweeted on Tuesday.

E-way bill is produced by transporters and businessmen before a Goods and Services Tax (GST) inspector for moving goods worth over Rs 50,000 from one state to another.

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News Network
June 3,2020

Jammu, Jun 3: A mob on Tuesday disrupted the last rites of a coronavirus victim in Jammu and Kashmir and forced his family members to flee with the half-burnt body, prompting intervention by the administration which later ensured the cremation at another place as per protocol.

A 72-year-old man, hailing from Doda district, became the fourth victim of the novel coronavirus to die in Jammu region. He breathed his last at the Government Medical College (GMC) hospital on Monday.

"We had set out for the funeral along with a revenue official and a medical team, and had lit the pyre at a cremation ground in Domana area when a large group of local residents appeared at the scene and disrupted the last rites," son of the deceased said.

Only close relatives of the deceased, including his wife and two sons, were present during the cremation. They had to flee with the half-burnt body in an ambulance to save their skin from the mob which pelted stones and attacked them with sticks.

"We had sought permission from the government to take the body to our home district for the last rites, but we were told that all necessary arrangements were in place, and that we would not face any trouble during the cremation," the victim's son said.

He also alleged that the security officials present at the scene were of no help.

Two policemen who were present there failed to act against the unruly crowd, while the accompanying revenue official went missing, he said.

"The ambulance driver and other staff from the hospital helped us a lot and managed to take us back to the GMC hospital with the body the government should have come out with a better plan to conduct the last rites of coronavirus victims, taking into consideration the past experience and problems encountered during the funeral of such victims," the victim's son said.

Later, the body was taken to a cremation ground at Bhagwati Nagar area of the city, where it was consigned to flames in the afternoon in presence of senior civil officials, including additional deputy commissioner and sub-divisional magistrate under tight security.

"My uncle was admitted in the hospital last week and died on Monday afternoon. He was suffering from various ailments, especially lungs and heart diseases. Before shifting him to GMC hospital Jammu, he underwent a coronavirus test in Doda which came negative," nephew of the deceased said.

However, he said, the victim's second test after his admission in the GMC hospital came positive on Sunday.

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