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It will take India 20 years to defeat corruption: Katju

[email protected] (HT)
March 31, 2013

Katju_CDMumbai, Mar 31: Slamming anti-corruption crusaders, judicial activism, caste-based voting, former Supreme Court justice and press council chairman Markandey Katju tackled everything from Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal’s activism against corruption, to India’s place in the world and its moral code at a talk on Saturday.

Speaking at the inaugural Justice MC Chagla Memorial Lecture at Mumbai university, Fort, he said the country was lacking a moral code because the old one was being destroyed but a new code was yet to replace it as the country moved from a feudal society to an industrial one.

He said this “transitional phase” would take 20 years.

“When an industrial code is in place, then corruption will come down, till then you will have corruption,” he said in the question-answer session. “Anna Hazare may shout, but has corruption gone down 1%? Shouting and screaming means nothing.”

He also took on Aam Aadmi Party founder Arvind Kejriwal, saying: “Which caste does your party represent? People vote by caste; 90% of people cast their votes like sheep and cattle… this is how educated people behave… we are a very, very backward country. The only way out is to propagate scientific thinking.”

Calling poverty the root of India’s problems, he said the West looked down on the country because of it. “We aren’t respected because our country is poor. Westerners won’t respect you unless India becomes a modern, industrialised, powerful state,” he said. “We are 20 times larger in land and population [than France or Britain] but we still do not have a permanent seat in the [United Nations] Security Council. Why? Because you are poor.”

Katju also attacked judicial activism, which he has previously criticised. “To delegate powers to judges to solve societal problems is a superficial approach and I don’t think it will yield any result.”

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News Network
August 8,2020

New Delhi, Aug 8: The Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan on Friday directed the governments of four states -- Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, to analyse the factors driving the high COVID-19 mortality and devise ways and means to reduce the mortality.

Apart from the higher case mortality, these states account for 17 per cent of India's active cases, high daily new cases, low tests per million, and high confirmation percentage.

In a high-level virtual meeting, Bhushan advised state administrations to adhere to measures suggested by central advisories and guidelines to prevent and reduce mortality due to coronavirus infection.

According to the health ministry, 16 districts in these four states are reporting maximum virus fatalities. It includes -- Ahmedabad and Surat in Gujarat; Belagavi, Bengaluru urban, Kalaburagi and Udupi in Karnataka; Chennai, Kanchipuram, Ranipet, Theni, Thiruvallur, Tiruchirappalli, Tuticorin and Virudhnagar in Tamil Nadu; and Hyderabad and Medchal-Malkajgiri in Telangana respectively.

"The districts were advised to ensure that the advisories, guidelines and clinical treatment protocols issued by the Health Ministry are adopted and effectively implemented to reduce the mortality among COVID-19 patients and other preventable deaths among all sections of the people, particularly those with co-morbidities, pregnant women, the elderly and children," said the health ministry official.

"States were advised to ensure optimum capacity utilization of testing labs, increase tests per million population and reduce confirmation percentage, in addition to ensuring timely availability of ambulances with target zero refusal," the official further said.

"States were also advised to analyze availability and need for projected beds and oxygen, and plan in a timely manner. States and district administration have also been advised to ensure good infection prevention and control practices to control infection in the healthcare workers," said the official.

Principal Secretary (Health) and MD (NHM) from the four States along with district surveillance officers, district collectors, commissioners of the municipal corporation, Chief Medical Officers, and Medical Superintendent of Medical Colleges participated in the meeting.

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News Network
June 6,2020

New Delhi, Jun 6: Military commanders of India and China are scheduled to meet today at Moldo on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), to discuss the ongoing dispute along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh.

The Commander of the Leh-based 14 Corps of the Indian Army Commander Lieutenant Gen Harinder Singh will meet his Chinese equivalent Maj Gen Liu Lin, who is the commander of South Xinjiang Military Region of Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) to address the ongoing tussle in Eastern Ladakh between the two countries over the heavy military build-up by the People's Liberation Army along the LAC there.

The two sides have held close to a dozen rounds of talks since the first week of May when the Chinese sent over 5,000 troops to the LAC.

On Friday, officials of India and China interacted through video-conferencing with the two sides agreeing that they should handle "their differences through peaceful discussion" while respecting each other's sensitivities and concerns and not allowing them to become disputes in accordance with the guidance provided by the leadership.

In the last few days, there has not been any major movement of the People's Liberation Army troops at the multiple sites where it has stationed itself along the LAC opposite Indian forces.

India and China have been locked in a dispute over the heavy military build-up by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) where they have brought in more than 5,000 troops along with the Eastern Ladakh sector.

The Chinese Army's intent to carry out deeper incursions was checked by the Indian security forces by quick deployment. The Chinese have also brought in heavy vehicles with artillery guns and infantry combat vehicles in their rear positions close to the Indian territory.

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Agencies
March 8,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 8: Five more people from

Kerala have tested positive for coronavirus, Health minister, K K Shailaja said on Sunday.

All the five hail from Pathnamthitta district.

While three of them had returned from Italy on February 29, two others were their relatives, the minister said.

All the five have been isolated in Pathnamathitta general hospital and are under observation.

Their tests were confirmed on Saturday night.

Earlier, India's first three positive cases had been reported from the state.

All the three patients, medical students from Wuhan, have been treated and discharged from hospitals.

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