PM Modi breaks bread with Indian construction workers in Saudi Arabia

May 1: India on Thursday called as "propaganda" certain social media posts from the Arab world alleging harassment of Muslims in several parts of the country in the name of containing the spread of coronavirus.

Strongly rebutting the charges, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said the Gulf countries are deeply committed to friendly relations with India and they are even seeking bilateral talks on the post-COVID-19 economic recovery.

Talking about India's close and traditional ties with the Arab countries, he said New Delhi is ensuring uninterrupted supply of food and essential commodities to the region during Ramzan as part of its deep-rooted friendship.

Srivastava said the countries in the region do not support any interference in India's internal affairs.

"Much of what you see is propaganda by interested parties. Stray tweets can not be used to characterise our bilateral ties with these countries. The real picture of these relations is very much different," he said during an online media briefing.

There has been a wave of angry reactions on Twitter by leading citizens and rights activists from various Arab countries following allegations that Muslims are being blamed for spreading COVID-19 in several parts of India.

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, a powerful bloc of 57 countries, recently accused India of "Islamophobia". India rejected the charges as regrettable.

"We have been making special efforts to ensure uninterrupted supply of food and essential commodities which are required during the Ramzan period in these countries, and this is something which has been greatly appreciated. These countries also want a priority discussion with India on the post-COVID-19 economic recovery," Srivastava said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar have been in regular touch with their counterparts from the region in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

"In these discussions, there have been requests for sending medicines and medical teams to these countries. We already deployed a Rapid Response Team in Kuwait. There is also a request to send doctors and nurses from India," said Srivastava.

"What comes out clearly is that these countries are deeply committed to friendly relations with India. They also do not support any interference in internal matters of India. It is, therefore, important that the friendly and cooperative nature of our relations is accurately recognised and the misuse of social media is not given credence," he added.

Asked about reports of an order issued by Oman's Finance Ministry asking all state-owned companies to replace foreign workers with qualified local Omanis, Srivastava said it is not aimed at Indians working in the Gulf nation.

"The policy is a decades-old one and not specific to India. It does not target the Indians in any way," he said.

There have been apprehensions that the order will render thousands of Indians working in state-run firms in Oman jobless.

"They greatly value relationship with India. Government of Oman is taking special care of Indians which included free testing for coronavirus, its treatment, providing food," the MEA spokesperson said.

Oman government is also extending certain categories of visas of Indians.

Srivastava said India has been in touch with its friends and partners across the world as part of the collaborative approach to dealing with the pandemic.

Bengaluru, May 12: Nurses are the frontline warriors in the fight against COVID-19 and their commitment towards duty is commendable, said Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on World Nurses Day on Tuesday.

The Chief Minister was speaking at the inauguration of Miss Florence Nightingale's bicentennial anniversary organized by Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences at his home office 'Krishna'.

The Chief Minister said that the care and service provided by the nurses enhance the chances of recovery for any patient.

"In spite of the stress and pressure they go through everyday, nurses render quality service in the providing healthcare. There is an enormous demand for nurses around the world. I appeal to nurses to continue to render their quality service in this fight against COVID," he said.

Speaking at the event, Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar said that the nurses are the backbone of the healthcare services and their role in the fight against corona is so large that the whole system would have gone for a toss without their services.

The Minister said that the Nurses have been renamed as Nursing Officers in recognition of their service.

Bengaluru, Mar 9: The first case of Nov Corona patient was found in Karnataka with a 40 year-old Software Engineer, who returned from US, developing fever today at Rajiv Gandhi Hospital in the City. This is the first case reported in the State.

Disclosing this to newsmen, Karnataka Minister for Medical Education Dr K Sudhakar said that the techie, his wife and their one child arrived from US on Feb 28 and were under observation.

He said that there were no indication or any symptoms immediately after their arrival and also for the first four days, but on March 5 the Techie developed fever and today (Monday) it was confirmed that he is suffering from the killer disease.