PM Modi should assure nation he won't allow 'buying MLAs off': Kapil Sibal

Agencies
May 19, 2018

New Delhi, May 19: Ahead of the crucial floor test in the Karnataka assembly, the Congress on Saturday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to assure the country that he would not encourage “buying MLAs off” as the BJP seeks to prove majority, and welcomed the assurance of live telecast of House proceedings.

The Congress said that every alleged attempt of the BJP to derail the vote of confidence stood “defeated” and asserted the "democracy will win".

Addressing reporters here, senior Congress leaders Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who represented the Congress-JD(S) combine in the Supreme Court, said they did not press for the replacement of pro tem speaker K G Bopaiah after the assurance of live broadcast of the proceedings.

The Congress and the JD(S) had approached the apex court raising questions over the appointment of Bopaiah as the temporary speaker, contending he was not the senior most legislator.

It also maintained that Bopaiah had a "tainted past" as he as the then speaker had tried to save a previous government of Yeddyurappa, who faced corruption charges, in 2011.

Singhvi said whosoever wins or loses in the trust vote, it is the "democracy which will win".

Sibal also took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying "He (Modi) should also say 'na kharidunga, na kharidane dunga' (will neither buy off, nor let anyone be bought over)."

"The prime minister keeps saying 'na khaunga, na khane dunga' (will neither indulge in corruption nor allow it). He should also say 'na kharidunga, na kharidane dunga'," quipped Sibal.

There was no question of replacing the pro tem speaker when proceedings would be live telecast and transparency would be ensured, he added.

Asked about the BJP’s claim that the Supreme Court’s order was a blow for the Congress, Sibal countered it, suggesting that things were otherwise as the time period allowed for the BJP by Governor Vajubhai Vala was reduced from 15 days to 24 hours (which ends today).

Singhvi seconded Sibal, and added that the Supreme Court also said no to secret ballot and the pro tem speaker was disallowed to take any other agenda, suggesting the decision favoured the Congress-JD(S) combine.

"The achievement of our petition before the court is holding the trust vote in one-and-a-half days as against 15 days allowed earlier," he added.

Asked why did the Congress move the petition if it had to withdraw its pleas, Singhvi said the offer to hold live telecast was given only after our petition. He described the move of live telecast as “a virtue out of necessity".

Singhvi said, "We wanted safeguards to be in place on our apprehension. In a way most of our demands have been met."

Another senior leader of the party, P Chidambaram, saluted the apex court and added the live broadcast of the House proceedings would mean every citizen watching television “will be a pro tem speaker”.

“In Karnataka, what is at stake is not only who will form the Government, but who will be loyal to the electorate and uphold the verdict of his/her voters.

“Every trick of the BJP to delay or derail the vote of confidence has been defeated. Now, I am sure the Congress and JDS MLAs will defeat Mr Yeddyurappa,” he tweeted.

The Supreme Court today ordered live telecast of the floor test, which is scheduled for 4 pm.

"Live broadcast of floor test will be the best possible way to ensure transparency in the proceedings," a bench comprising justices A K Sikri, S A Bobde and Ashok Bhushan said.

The bench also made it clear that no other item in the agenda shall be taken up during the trust vote.

The bench said the secretary of the Legislative Assembly will record the proceedings of the House.

It said that several local channels will be provided the live feed of the proceedings so that they can also be in a position to telecast simultaneously.

The Supreme Court yesterday ordered a floor test in the Karnataka Assembly at 4 PM today, drastically slashing the 15-day window given by the Governor to BJP Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa to prove majority.

The BJP has emerged as the single largest party with 104 seats, followed by the Congress with 78, JD(S) with 37 and three seats have gone to others in the 224-member Assembly where elections were held for 222 seats.

The majority mark is 112 seats and the post-poll alliance strength of the Congress-JD(S) combine, which claims to have 117 MLAs, has alleged foul play in the Governor inviting BJP to form the government.

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Agencies
May 10,2020

New Delhi, May 10: A medium-intensity earthquake of 3.4 magnitude hit Delhi on Sunday.

According to the National Center for Seismology (NCS), the quake occurred at 1.45pm at a depth of five kilometres.

There were no immediate reports of loss of life or property.

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Agencies
June 22,2020

New Delhi, Jun 22: India's COVID-19 cases per lakh people is one of the lowest in the world despite its high population density, and the recovery rate has now reached almost 56 per cent, the Union Health Ministry said on Monday.

For every one lakh population, there are 30.04 coronavirus cases in India, while the global average is over three times at 114.67, the ministry said, referring to the WHO Situation Report 153, dated June 21.

“This low figure is thus a testimony to the graded, pre-emptive and pro-active approach the Government of India along with the states and UTs took for prevention, containment and management of COVID-19," the ministry said in a statement.

Citing the WHO Situation Report, the ministry said the US has 671.24 cases per lakh population, while Germany, Spain, Brazil and the UK have 583.88, 526.22, 489.42 and 448.86 cases per lakh population, respectively.

It said Russia has 400.82 cases per lakh people, while Italy, Canada, Iran and Turkey have 393.52, 268.98, 242.82 and 223.53, respectively.

Coming back to India, as on Monday morning, the total number of coronavirus cases stood at 4,25,282 and the death toll at 13,699, according to figures issued by the ministry.

In its update issued at 8 AM Monday, the ministry said 9,440 COVID-19 patients recovered in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of recoveries to 2,37,195, a recovery rate of 55.77 per cent.

Presently, there are 1,74,387 active cases and all are under medical supervision, it said.

"The difference between the recovered patients and the active COVID-19 cases continues to widen. Today, the number of recovered patients has crossed the number of active patients by 62,808," the ministry said.

The COVID-19 testing infrastructure is continuously being ramped up and number of government labs has been increased to 723 and the private labs to 262, adding up to a total of 985, it said.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research, a total of 69,50,493 samples have been tested up to 21 June, 1,43,267 of them just on Sunday.

On Monday, the country added 14,821 new COVID-19 cases in a single day, pushing the tally to 4,25,282, while the death toll rose to 13,699 with 445 new fatalities reported till 8 am.

The country breached the four lakh-mark on Sunday, eight days after crossing three lakh COVID-19 cases. It has recorded 2,34,747 infections since June 1.

Monday was the 11th day in a row when the country registered over 10,000 cases.

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News Network
April 9,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 9: The Kerala government has set up five COVID-19 helpdesks for non-resident Keralites in countries which have a substantial number of Pravasi Malayalis.

Addressing a press conference here Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday said: "In order to address the concerns and issues faced by the non-resident Keralites, we have set up five dedicated COVID helpdesks in countries where we have a substantial number of Pravasi Malayalis."

The helpdesks started by Norka Roots will be managed locally by persons and voluntary organisations active among non-resident Keralites. The Kerala government has requested the Indian Ambassadors in various places to cooperate with these helpdesks.

The Chief Minister also informed that online medical services would be made available to the non-resident Keralites through the Norka Roots website.

"Pravasi Malayalis can consult prominent doctors in Kerala by audio or video calls through the website, with prior registration. The services of various speciality doctors will be available from 2 pm to 6 pm IST," he said.

Currently, registration for the Norka Pravasi ID card is only available for the Malayali expatriates residing or working abroad for a period of not less than six months. "Now students from Kerala studying abroad can also avail this facility. The overseas student registration service would enable them to get Insurance benefits and discounts on flight tickets. This registration will be mandatory for all students presently studying abroad as well as for those going abroad, from now on," Vijayan said.

The Pravasi ID card is a multi-purpose photo identity card that entitles every non-resident Keralite to avail all services and facilities offered by Norka Root. The card comes with an add-on Personal Accident Insurance (PAI) coverage. Two prominent airlines are offering a discount on the base fare for air tickets booked by Norka Id card holders. 

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