Non-BJP, non-Congress front likely to form govt: Owaisi

Agencies
March 28, 2019

Hyderabad, Mar 28: Claiming there is no Modi wave in this Lok Sabha polls like in 2014, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi Thursday said a 'non-BJP, non-Congress' front is likely to form the government at the Centre with a regional leader emerging as a prime minister.

Owaisi, a three-time MP from the Hyderabad parliamentary constituency, also said the upcoming Lok Sabha polls will be an "open election" and there will be a fight for every single seat of the total 543 constituencies.

"Unlike 2014, there is no Modi wave this time. It is an open election and there will be a fight on every seat, including Hyderabad," he told PTI in an interview.

Owaisi, who will be contesting from Hyderabad seat again this time, said his party All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) is definitely a part of the 'non-BJP, non-Congress' front led by Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) founder and chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao.

This front would be necessary to represent India's political diversity and there are many regional leaders who are much more capable than Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Owaisi added.

He claimed that the BJP out of "desperation" is bringing national security narrative in the poll discourse to "hide its failures", but people will not fall again on his 'jumlas' (false promises) and will vote responsibly.

"There was surgical strike, then Balakote air strike and now anti-satellite missile test (Mission Shakti) -- the poll narrative is changing everyday. All these are signs of desperation to win this election" Owaisi said.

"Why it took five years for such a crucial test? Why he waited for election time. Was he waiting some auspicious moment? Was he was worried about losing space along with people and TV? Why did he choose this time just days before polls? he asked, adding that the PM is only doing "jumlebazi" to divert focus from unemployment, inflation and other issues.

As the BJP's defeat is inevitable, going forward, its poll discourse will therefore change everyday, he stated.

"You will hear how PM's poll narrative will change going forward. Modi will warm up in the first phase and the debate will heat up from the second phase till the festival of Ramadan. But people will not fall for his gimmicks," he said.

Asked about the 'non-BJP, non-Congress' front, the AIMIM chief said, "I am definitely a part of it and I am supporting the TRS on this issue."

He, however, did not share details how the 'non-BJP, non-Congress' front will take shape post polls nor did he disclosed probable prime ministerial candidate who can lead the front, even as he expressed confidence that the regional parties will play a decisive role in the national politics.

Owaisi, referring to a report, said there is a direct fight between the BJP and the Congress in 100 out of the 543 Lok Sabha constituencies. But in over 320 seats, there is a triangular fight between the BJP, Congress and the regional parties.

"Regional parties will play key role in national politics. We tried the 280-plus NDA government, we tried 210 government of UPA, What came out of it? I want India's diversity should be represented. Wait for the results," he said.

The BJP will not gain much in the five southern states, which comprise 130 Lok Sabha constituencies, except for a few seats in Karnataka. The saffron party is likely to lose its lone seat in Secunderabad this time, Owaisi added.

Asked about the TRS considered as a B-team of the BJP that could support the saffron party post polls, Owaisi said, "Not at all. This narrative is given by the Congress. It is completely wrong. They have allergy with regional parties."

Expressing concern over the lack of political representation to the Muslim community, he said, there was no single Muslim MP in 280 seats won by the BJP in 2014 general election as the saffron force wants to run democracy represented by only the majority communities.

"If I talk against Modi that does not mean I am against majority communities. I believe a majoritarian form of democracy will not run in Hindustan. There is no place for this in India's Constitution. I was never against majority communities. I am against BJP and RSS, I will continue to be," he added.

The Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat is a stronghold of the AIMIM and the party has won this seat in the last eight elections.

The Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat has seven Assembly segments -- Malakpet, Karwan, Goshamahal, Charminar, Chandrayangutta, Yakutpura and Bahadurpura.

Out of the seven assembly segments, six are currently held by the AIMIM and one by the BJP.

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Agencies
July 24,2020

Mumbai, Jul 24: Reliance India Limited (RIL) on Friday overtook ExxonMobil to become the world's second most valuable energy company and 46th among the world's largest companies by market capitalisation.

RIL's market capitalisation stood at Rs 14.16 lakh crore (USD 189.3 billion) at market close on Friday. ExxonMobil's current market value is USD 184.77 billion.

"Reliance Industries, with a market capitalisation of USD 189.3 billion now is the second-most valuable energy company in the world. Reliance Industries now stands at 46th among the world's largest companies by market capitalisation ahead of well-known names like ExxonMobil, Abbott Laboratories, Oracle Corp, Chevron and Unilever Plc, and just below PepsiCo," RIL said in an official release.

RIL continued its rally on Friday, notwithstanding overall weak market conditions.

RIL shares made a new all-time high of Rs 2,163 and were last traded at Rs 2,148.8 on NSE with a gain of 4.4 per cent. The market capitalisation of fully paid-up shares stands at Rs 13.62 lakh crore (USD 182.06 billion), the release said.

Reliance partly paid-up shares gained 9.33 per cent on NSE today to last trade at Rs 1289.95. The partly paid-up shares now have a market capitalisation of Rs 0.55 lakh crore (USD 7.29 billion).

"Reliance's share price had touched a bottom of Rs 867 on March 23, 2020, when the total market value of the company stood at Rs 5.5 lakh crore or $73.5 billion. Thus, RIL has added $115.9 billion to shareholder wealth within just four months - one of the highest value creation feats in the world in such a short time," the release said.

Reliance had earlier raised Rs 212,809 crore through Rights Issue, combined investments in Jio Platforms and investment by bp.

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News Network
January 18,2020

Jan 18: To mark the 30th anniversary of the mass exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley, members of the community took to social media to post videos of themselves by narrating the "Hum Aayenge Apne Watan" dialogue from an upcoming flick, 'Shikara', with the hope that they would return to their homeland one day.

On January 19, 1990, lakhs of Kashmiri Pandits were forced to leave their homes in the Valley following a genocidal campaign launched by the terrorists.

Theatre actor Chandan Sadhu participated in the campaign and said that Kashmiri Pandits have shown "unimaginable resilience" and hope to return to the Valley soon.

"As Kashmiri Pandits complete 30 years in exile this weekend, let our cry for justice be finally noticed. We have shown unimaginable resilience, and today we resolve to return home. Kashmiri Pandit friends: please record this video statement and put it up with #HumWapasAayenge," Sadhu tweeted.

The #HumWapasAayenge is trending on Twitter as more and more Kashmiri Pandits joined in the campaign to narrate the "Hum Aayenge Apne Watan" dialogue and a pledge to return to their homes.

Noted political commentator Sunanda Vashisht tweeted a throwback image of herself and said that resolve to go back home has strengthened more.

"I don't have many pictures left of my childhood. Choosing between life and family albums is really no choice at all. When lives were rescued, family albums got left behind. 30 years have passed. Resolve to go back home has only strengthened. #HumWapasAayenge," she tweeted.

Radio personality Khushboo Mattoo tweeted a video repeating the dialogue from Shikara and tweeted, "Said this in a BBC interview three years back. And I am saying it again #HumWapasAayenge #Shikara."

Journalist Rahul Pandita also took to his Twitter and captioned his post saying, "30 years of exile from Kashmir. Let us now pledge that we will return home."

'Shikara' chronicles the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley on the night of January 19, 1990. Helmed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, the movie is slated to release on February 7.

Netizens have supported the initiative and have expressed solidarity with the Kashmiri Pandits.

In July last year, Home Minister Amit Shah said in the Rajya Sabha that the central government is committed to bringing Kashmiri Pandits and Sufis back to the Valley saying a time will come when they will offer prayers at the famous Kheer Bhawani temple.

"Kashmiri Pandits were forced to leave Kashmir. Many of their shrines were demolished. Sufism was targeted in Jammu and Kashmir. Sufism used to talk about unity and harmony but they were attacked. No voice was raised in favour of Kashmiri Pandits and Sufis when they were brutally attacked. Sufis used to talk about the unity among Hindus and Muslims but they were forced to leave the Valley. Narendra Modi-led government is committed to bringing back Kashmiri Pandits, he had said.

The Mata Kheer Bhawani temple is one of the holiest shrines of Kashmiri Pandits, located about 14 kilometres east of Srinagar.

Last September, a delegation of the Kashmiri Pandit community met the Prime Minister in Houston and thanked him for the historic decision to abrogate Article 370 that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

Modi acknowledged the hardships endured by the community following their exodus from their ancestral homeland back in 1989-1990 due to militancy.

"You have suffered a lot, but the world is changing. We have to move ahead together and build a new Kashmir," the Prime Minister had told the delegation.

"I had a special interaction with Kashmiri Pandits in Houston," Modi had tweeted following the interaction.

In October, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar announced that the Centre has decided to provide compensation of Rs 5.5 lakh each to 5,300 displaced families from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), who initially opted to move outside Jammu and Kashmir but later on returned.

These families were earlier left out in the rehabilitation package that was approved by the Cabinet on November 30, 2016.

The Prime Minister had announced a reconstruction plan for Jammu and Kashmir in November 2016. His plan included a rehabilitation package for a one-time settlement of 36,384 displaced persons' (DPs) families of PoK-1947 and Chhamb.

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Agencies
May 21,2020

More than 50 million people in India do not have access to effective handwashing, putting them at a greater risk of acquiring and transmitting the novel coronavirus, according to a study.

Researchers from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington in the US found that without access to soap and clean water, over 2 billion people in low- and middle-income nations -- a quarter of the world's population -- have a greater likelihood of transmitting the coronavirus than those in wealthy countries.

According to the study, published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, more than 50 per cent of the people in sub-Saharan Africa and Oceania lacked access to effective handwashing.

"Handwashing is one of the key measures to prevent COVID transmission, yet it is distressing that access is unavailable in many countries that also have limited health care capacity," said Michael Brauer, a professor at IHME.

The study found that in 46 countries, more than half of people lacked access to soap and clean water.

In India, Pakistan, China, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Indonesia, more than 50 million persons in each country were estimated to be without handwashing access, according to the study.

"Temporary fixes, such as hand sanitizer or water trucks, are just that -- temporary fixes," Brauer said.

"But implementing long-term solutions is needed to protect against COVID and the more than 700,000 deaths each year due to poor handwashing access," Brauer said.

He noted that even with 25 per cent of the world's population lacking access to effective handwashing facilities, there have been "substantial improvements in many countries" between 1990 and 2019.

Those countries include Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Nepal, and Tanzania, which have improved their nations' sanitation, the researchers said.

The study does not estimate access to handwashing facilities in non-household settings such as schools, workplaces, health care facilities, and other public locations such as markets.

Earlier this month, the World Health Organization predicted 190,000 people in Africa could die of COVID-19 in the first year of the pandemic, and that upward of 44 million of the continent's 1.3 billion people could be infected with the coronavirus, the researchers said. 

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