Is President in your pocket? Sena asks BJP

Agencies
November 2, 2019

Mumbai, Nov 2: The Shiv Sena on Saturday slammed senior BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar for his statement that Maharashtra may head for President's rule if the new government is not put in place by November 7 and sarcastically questioned the senior ally whether the President's seal was lying at its office in the state.

The Sena, which is locked in a bitter battle with the BJP over sharing of power since the results of the assembly elections were declared on October 24, also dared its senior ally to stake claim to form the next government.

The tenure of the current Legislative Assembly ends on November 8.

Terming Sena's demand for chief minister's post on a rotational basis with the BJP as the "main hurdle" in government formation, Mungantiwar had said, "A new government will have to be in place within the stipulated time, or else the President will have to intervene. President's rule will be imposed if the government formation doesn't happen in the given time."

Attacking Mungantiwar, the Finance minister in the outgoing government, Sena said he issued the "threat" of imposing the President's rule, like other "intimidation tactics" like using investigating agencies for settling political scores have fallen flat in Maharashtra.

"What the common people have to make out of the threat given by Mungantiwar? Is that supposed to mean that President of India is in our (BJP's) pocket or that the seal of the President is lying in the office of the BJP in Maharashtra?

"Are these people trying to convey that the BJP could impose the President's rule in Maharashtra using that seal in the event of that party not able to form its government?" the Sena questioned in the edit in the party mouthpiece "Saamana".

The Marathi editorial titled "Insult to Maharashtra, Is President in your pocket?" described Mungantiwar's comments "undemocratic and unconstitutional."

"The statement shows the lack of knowledge about the Constitution and the rule of law. This threat might be a move to sidestep the established norms and get things done the way one wants. This statement is an insult to the mandate of the people," the party said.

In the October 21 assembly polls, the BJP failed to perform up to the mark though it emerged as the single largest party by winning 105 seats, 17 less than the 2014 tally, in the 288-member House. The ally Sena won 56 seats, 7 less than its 2014 performance.

The halfway mark in the Legislative Assembly is 145.

"The attitude that only we will rule irrespective of numbers and no one else can attempt the formation of the government was defeated in the recent elections," the Sena said.

The edit further said that those talking about the President's rule should first stake claim to form the government in the state.

"The President is the supreme authority in the Constitution. It is not about an individual but the country. The country is not in anybody's pocket," the editorial said.

The Sena also said it should not be blamed for the present impasse over formation of the government.

"There is no morality left in public life," it said.

Interestingly, Sharad Pawar-led NCP too on Friday criticised Mungantiwar's statement as a "kind of threat."

The Sena's fresh attack on the BJP on Saturday is likely to further strain the soured relations between both the parties.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led party has been demanding the CM's post for 2.5 years and 50:50 division of portfolios, as the BJP's tally took a beating in the polls.

Both these demands have been rejected by the BJP which has insisted that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will continue to hold the post for the next five years.

Thackeray had reportedly said that other options (read NCP and Congress) are available for his party.

However, the Sharad Pawar-led NCP, which won 54 seats in the polls, had said that it would sit in the Opposition.

The Congress, which has 44 MLAs, seems to have adopted a wait-and-watch policy.

Top Congress leaders from Maharashtra on Friday held meetings in Delhi and discussed the situation with party president Sonia Gandhi.

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News Network
March 11,2020

Rome, Mar 11: Italy has recorded its deadliest day of the coronavirus crisis despite locking down the entire country, as New York deployed the National Guard to contain a disease that has sown worldwide panic.

The hardest-hit country in Europe said its death toll from the COVID-19 virus had risen Tuesday by a third to 631, with the surging epidemic taking its toll on global sporting, cultural and political events.

While authorities in China, where the outbreak began, have declared it "basically curbed", cases are multiplying around the world, sparking panic buying in shops, and wild swings on financial markets.

China remains the hardest-hit overall with more than 80,000 cases and over 3,000 deaths, out of a global total of 117,339 cases and 4,251 deaths across 107 countries and territories, according to an AFP tally.

The virus is infecting all walks of life, including politics, with US Democratic presidential hopefuls Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden both cancelling campaign rallies and British health minister Nadine Dorries saying she had tested positive.

And amid criticism of the US authorities' response, New York deployed the National Guard for the first time during the crisis to help contain the spread of the disease from an infection-hit suburb.

There have been 173 confirmed cases in New York state, including 108 in Westchester County, home to New Rochelle where the majority of infections have been detected.

"It is a dramatic action, but it is the largest cluster in the country. This is literally a matter of life and death," said state governor Andrew Cuomo.

"People are scared, it's an unusual situation to be in," Miles Goldberg, who runs a New Rochelle bar, told AFP.

"It makes people nervous to be around others, it makes people nervous to get inside into businesses and such," he said.

In an unprecedented move, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has told the 60 million residents of his country they should travel only for the most urgent work or health reasons.

And while squares in Milan and Rome were emptied of their usual bustle and traffic, some residents appeared uncertain if they were even allowed to leave their homes for everyday tasks like shopping.

The virus has battered tourism around the world, as people scrap travel plans, and a restaurant owner in Florence in northern Italy said that the impact on business had been catastrophic.

"We hope that we will see the end of it, because from around 140 covers a day, this afternoon, we've gone down to 20-25," Agostino Ferrara told AFP.

Pope Francis also seemed to muddy the waters, holding a mass in which he urged priests to go out and visit the sick -- something Conte has specifically discouraged.

Sporting events continued to fall victim to the virus as authorities urge people to avoid large gatherings.

Arsenal's game at Manchester City was postponed after players from the London club were put into quarantine, making it the first Premier League fixture to be called off because of the virus.

The virus has sparked doubts about the Olympics due to open in Tokyo on July 24 and the traditional flame lighting ceremony in Greece is set to be held without spectators.

In the United States, organisers rescheduled the two-week Coachella music festival for October.

The virus and the response to the crisis has prompted pandemonium on global markets with volatility not seen since the world financial crisis in 2008.

After suffering its worst session in more than 11 years at the beginning of the week, the Dow Jones Index in New York bounced back significantly, rising five percent on Tuesday.

Politicians around the world have scrambled to put together emergency packages to ease the significant financial hardships the virus is expected to cause for households and businesses.

US President Donald Trump, who is relying on a strong economy to boost his re-election hopes, promised to announce "major" economic measures on Tuesday.

The biggest item on his wish list is a cut in payroll taxes. But even allies in Congress and reportedly some aides in the White House are sceptical, questioning the cost.

Italy prepared Tuesday to let families skip mortgage and some tax payments while Japan unveiled a second emergency package to tackle economic woes stemming from the outbreak, including $15 billion in loan programmes to support small businesses.

Analysts warned of further volatility ahead however.

"It's like winding up a rubber band. The more you wind it, when you let go, the more it pops," said LBBW's Karl Haeling.

"A lot of the uncertainty goes to the root of the virus itself."

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News Network
May 9,2020

Lucknow, May 9: The first patient to receive plasma therapy as an experimental treatment for coronavirus infection in Uttar Pradesh died following a heart attack on Saturday.

The patient, a 58-year-old doctor, was admitted at the King George’s Medical University (KGMU) here.

The doctor, who was on ventilator since the last 14 days, died on Saturday evening following a heart attack, KGMU Vice-Chancellor M L B Bhatt said.

Since he had high blood pressure and diabetes, he was under the continuous observation of doctors in the isolation ward, Bhatt said.

“The patient was in a stable condition. His lungs had improved, but he later developed urinary tract infection. Two reports of his samples came out as negative (for COVID-19) today,” the vice-chancellor said.

“He, however, suffered a heart attack around 5 pm. Despite all efforts, he could not be saved,” he said.

The doctor from Orai in Uttar Pradesh was administered plasma therapy at the state-run KGMU on April 26. He was administered the plasma donated by a doctor from Canada who was the first COVID-19 patient admitted at the hospital and later recovered.

Tulika Chandra of Blood Transfusion Department, KGMU said, "When the patient was given plasma therapy, his condition was very bad. His lungs, however, improved. But as he was an old patient with diabetes, he was kept on the ventilator.”

Convalescent Plasma Therapy is an experimental procedure for treating COVID-19 patients. In this treatment, plasma, a blood component, from a cured patient is transfused to a critically ill coronavirus patient.

The blood of a person who has recovered from COVID-19 develops antibodies to fight the virus. This therapy uses the antibodies from the blood of a cured patient to treat another critical patient.

The Union health ministry, however, had advised against considering the therapy to be a regular treatment for coronavirus, adding it should be used for research and trial purposes till there is a piece of robust scientific evidence to support its efficacy.

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News Network
January 8,2020

Howrah, Jan 8: Following the 'Bharat Bandh' called by trade unions, protesters blocked railway tracks in Howrah and Kanchrapara in North 24 Parganas on Wednesday.

They raised anti-government slogans and criticised the Center for its policies. They were holding placards, posters and banners against the government.

Commuters faced difficulties as bus services were also affected. CPI (M) protesters also stopped the operation of state transport buses. In Odisha, the public agitation started around 6 am at Talcher, Bhubaneswar, Brahmapur, Bhadrak and Kendujhargarh.

Due to the protests, the following trains are detained enroute at different stations --Bhadrak-Brahmapur passenger at Bhadrak, Kendujhargarh-Bhubaneswar passenger at Kendujhargarh, Bhubaneswar-Balangir InterCity at Bhubaneswar, Howrah-Yesvantpur Express at Brahmapur, Ichhapur-Cuttack MEMU at

Brahmapur and Puri-Rourkela passenger at Bhubaneswar.

The ten central trade unions including Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), among others have given the call for strike with a 12-point charter of demand. Trade union Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) is not taking part in the strike.

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