Kerala minister KB Ganesh Kumar quits after wife alleges domestic violence

April 2, 2013

Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 2: Kerala's Forest Minister K B Ganesh Kumar handed over his resignation to Chief Minister Oommen Chandy late on Monday night after his estranged wife accused him of ill-treatment.ganes

Forty-six-year old film star-turned-politician was accompanied by his friend and State Labour Minister Shibu Baby John and other friends from the film industry including ace director Shaji Kailas and producer Suresh Kumar at the chief minister's official residence.

Though earlier in the evening he refused to resign, K.B.Ganesh Kumar was forced to change his mind after his estranged wife Yamini Thankachi, a medical professional, complained about his ill treatment of her in written to Chandy.

Chandy accepted the letter and asked her to approach the nearest police station.

The chief minister then called the director general of police, K.S.Balasubramanion, and his senior cabinet colleagues and held closed door discussions.

Speaking to reporters Chandy said that Kumar's wife had come with a written complaint against the minister. "I called the DGP and handed over the complaint. In the morning Kumar had also registered a complaint at the police station.

"And now in the light of this he has decided to resign and his resignation will be sent to the governor tomorrow," he said.

Kumar, in the presence of Chandy, said he was stepping down to keep the high moral standards."For an impartial inquiry into the allegations that have been levelled, it's improper for me to continue as a minister and hence I have stepped down."

Earlier in the day, Thankachi accused Chandy of "cheating" her by not accepting her complaint of domestic violence by her husband who was now moving to divorce her.

She claimed to have been assured by Chandy for his intervention to solve the matter amicably. But hours later Kumar filed for divorce, alleging harassment including physical torture, by his doctor wife Thankachy.

"I had a complaint with me but the CM did not accept it and told me that he will intervene and bring an amicable settlement.

Chandy dismissed the charge

"The last date according to the agreement was yesterday (Sunday) and I spoke to the CM yesterday (Sunday) also but today (Monday) I hear that the minister has filed a divorce petition. I was cheated by the CM," said Thankachi.

"I have been facing the brutal physical assault against me by the minister for the past 16 years and everyone in his family (including his father and former minister R.Balakrishna Pillai) is well aware of my sufferings.

"I placed a lot of hope on the CM but he too cheated me," she added.

Earlier in the day, Kumar refused to resign in the wake of the allegations and accused her of demanding Rs.75 lakh to be deposited in her name.

Reacting to Thankachi's allegations, Chandy admitted having assured her of his intervention to solve the dispute. "She had not given me any written complaint."

"I did my best to intervene to solve their issues and in the first round, I succeeded. The agreement was made out but it failed in the implementation part. I feel she is being prompted by some external forces," he said.

Meanwhile, the opposition Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) accused Chandy of misleading the assembly and demanded his resignation.

"If a minister's wife is not able to get her issues sorted out in a domestic violence case and Chandy totally hid this from the assembly when he made a statement last month. He has no other go but to quit," former home minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan told reporters.

Leader of Opposition V.S.Achuthanandan also jumped into the fray and demanded Chandy's resignation for misleading the house on the issue of domestic violence in the case of the minister and his wife.

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Agencies
May 27,2020

Global health experts on Wednesday said novel coronavirus is here to stay for more than a year and called for aggressive testing to prevent its spread.

In an interaction with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, health experts Professor Ashish Jha and Professor Johan Giesecke talked about the COVID-19 pandemic as part of the series being aired on Congress social media channels.

While Jha exuded confidence that a vaccine will be available in a year's time, Prof Giesecke said India should practice a lockdown that is as 'soft' as possible, as a severe lockdown will ruin its economy very quickly.

"When the economy is opened up after lockdown, you have to create confidence among people," Harvard health expert Ashish Jha told Gandhi.

Jha is a professor of Global Health at TH Chan School of Public Health and Director, Harvard Global Health institute.

He said coronavirus is a '12-18 months' problem and the world is not going to be free of this till 2021.

The expert also called for the need for aggressive testing strategy for high-risk areas.

Gandhi, while interacting with the experts, said life is going to change post COVID-19.

"If 9/11 was a new chapter, this will be a new book," he remarked.

Professor Johan Giesecke, former chief scientist, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said India should have a 'soft lockdown'.

"The situation that India is in, I think, you should have a soft lockdown, as soft as possible," he said.

"I think for India, you will ruin your economy very quickly if you have a severe lockdown. It is better, skip the lockdown, take care of the old and the frail...," he noted.

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News Network
April 7,2020

New Delhi, April 7: The government continued to take steps to contain the spread of coronavirus including a strategy of cluster containment as the cases continued to rise and Tuesday saw single-day largest jump of 722 positive cases.

The total number of positive cases reached 4,789 on Tuesday, the 14th day of lockdown.

According to the latest update of the Health Ministry, there are 4,312 active cases, 352 persons have been cured or discharged (one migrated) and 124 have died.

Maharashtra has the largest number of positive cases at 868 and also accounts for the largest number of deaths at 48. Tamil Nadu has 621 confirmed cases.

Thirteen persons have died in Madhya Pradesh and the same number in Gujarat.
The 21-day lockdown was announced on March 24 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

At the regular media briefing at 4 pm, Lav Aggarwal, Joint Secretary in the Health Ministry, said that the government is adopting a strategy for cluster containment.

"This strategy is producing positive results, especially in Agra, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Pathanamthitta, Bhilwara and East Delhi," he said.

Aggarwal said that a recent study by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has shown that a person infected with coronavirus can infect 406 others in just 30 days if he does not follow the lockdown and social distancing norms.

He said no decision has been taken on extending the lockdown and urged against any speculation.

He said latest technology was being used for management of COVID-19 and there was real-time tracking of ambulances.

The official said the dedicated facilities for COVID-19 are divided into three parts -- COVID Care Centre, Dedicated COVID Health Centre and Dedicated COVID Hospitals.

He said that COVID Care Centres were for treating mild, very mild and likely to be COVID-19 patients. Hostels, hotels, school, and stadium can be used for this. "We have asked states to map it with COVID Care Hospitals and COVID Health Centre so that patients can be shifted if needed," he said.

The official said that COVID Health Centres were for treating COVID-19 patients of clinically moderate level of seriousness. "For this, fully functional hospitals will be used. A dedicated block of a fully functional hospital can also be used for this. The hospitals must have beds with oxygen support," he said.

Aggarwal said that dedicated COVID Hospitals were meant for severe and critical cases and these must be fully-equipped with ICUs and ventilators.
New coronavirus cases were reported on Tuesday from several states including Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu.

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has issued an advisory about containing coronavirus in national parks, sanctuaries and tiger reserves in view of the spread of COVID-19 and a report about tiger being infected in New York. The Central Zoo Authority has also advised zoos in India to remain on high alert.

Here's a quick read on the COVID-19 related updates

1. The Indian Railways has prepared 40,000 isolation beds in 2,500 coaches and this work is ongoing in 133 locations across the country.

2. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said he was willing to extend the lockdown in the state after the completion of 21-day period to save lives.

3. The government is monitoring the movement of pharmaceuticals closely and the movement of pharmaceuticals through trucks has stabilised in the country.

4. Under the 'Lifeline Udan' initiative, 152 flights have transported over 200 tonnes of cargo till April 6.

5. According to ICMR, testing of 1,07,006 people has been carried out till date and 136 government labs and 59 private labs are conducting tests in the country.

6. The Home Ministry said that the status of essential goods and services was by and large satisfactory in the country. Home Minister Amit Shah has issued directives to the states to ensure there is no hoarding or black marketing in any corner of the country.

7. The number of corona positive cases in Uttar Pradesh has reached 314. Of these, 168 patients are connected to Tablighi Jamaat, state Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Tuesday.

8. The government has lifted restrictions on export of 24 pharmaceutical ingredients and medicines made from them.

9. Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the Group of Ministers had "an extensive discussion on the prevailing situation post the lockdown" in the country. They also appreciated the Cabinet's decision to cut MP's salary for a year.

10. Central Zoo Authority has advised zoos in the country to remain on highest alertness, watch animals on 24X7 basis, using CCTV for any abnormal behavior or symptoms.

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News Network
April 4,2020

Aurangabad, Apr 4: A marriage was solemnised on a video call, the unique method which was adopted due to coronavirus lockdown.

A Muslim man named Mohammad Minhajudd, based in Aurangabad exchanged marriage vows with a Muslim woman based in Beed via video call on Friday.

The entire country is witnessing a 21-day lockdown due to which there is a limitation on the movement of people from one place to another and gatherings have been banned to prevent the spread of the coronavirus that has wreaked havoc across the globe.

The marriage halls are also closed during the lockdown period.

The bridegroom's father Mohammad Gayaz said that the marriage was fixed between the two persons six months ago when there was no fear about coronavirus. We got the elders of the family assembled at our home and conducted the marriage on phone.

Mufti Anis ur Rehman, the Qazi who performed the rituals for the marriage, said that both the families are happy as the marriage got conducted with the minimal cost incurred and the ceremony was a simple one. 

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