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Rahul picks holes in PM's 'Kerala dear to me' remark

Agencies
June 9, 2019

Thiruvambady, Jun 9: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Sunday sought to dismiss Prime Minister Narendra Modi's assertion that Kerala was as dear to him as Varanasi, alleging that the PM was meting out stepmotherly treatment to non-BJP-ruled states and he did not expect any cooperation from him.

In his speech, thanking the voters of the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency for electing him, Gandhi claimed that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was blinded by "hatred and anger" and viewed those not following the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideology as not Indians while vowing to fight it.

He was addressing a gathering at Engapuzha near here, a tiny town in Kozhikode district and part of his Lok Sabha constituency, after a roadshow on the third and final day of his thanksgiving visit to Wayanad.

"The prime minister considers BJP-ruled states and non-BJP ruled states differently. I know, he will never consider Kerala the way he considers Uttar Pradesh because the CPI(M) is ruling here," he said, referring to Modi's speech at Guruvayur in Kerala on Saturday.

After offering prayers at the famous Krishna temple in Guruvayur, Modi had said the BJP was not working for mere electoral politics and that it was keen on building the country and ensuring that India got its place of pride in the international arena.

"Elections have their place in democracy and it is the responsibility of the winner to take care of the 130 crore people. Those who made us win or those who did not, both are our (people). Kerala is as dear to me as Varanasi," he had said, referring to his Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh.

The Congress chief, however, said he was not expecting any cooperation from the prime minister and the BJP-led central government for the development of Wayanad and Kerala.

Referring to his Saturday meeting with the CPI(M) MLA from Kalpeta, which falls under the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, Gandhi said there might be "ideological differences" (between the Congress and the Left), but those would be set aside and both parties would work together for the development of Wayanad.

But, such cooperation was not coming from the prime minister and the BJP, he charged.

"Because they are blinded by hatred and anger...because either you follow the ideology of the RSS or you are not an Indian.... We will fight that and I promise you that we will not be ruled by Nagpur (where the RSS is based)," Gandhi said.

As in the last two days, hundreds of party workers and locals, including women and children, greeted Gandhi during the roadshow at Engapuzha in the morning.

Several people in the crowd were seen wearing T-shirts with slogans such as "Rahul we need you" and "Rahul pada" (army).

Before leaving for New Delhi in the afternoon, Gandhi would take out one more roadshow at Mukkam, near here.

This is the All India Congress Committee (AICC) president's first visit to Wayanad after his thumping poll victory with a margin of about 4.31 lakh votes. The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) swept the parliamentary election in Kerala, winning 19 of its 20 seats.

Besides Wayanad, Gandhi had also contested the polls from his pocket borough of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh. He lost the Amethi poll battle to Union minister Smriti Irani.

After arriving in Kerala on June 7, the Congress chief took out massive roadshows in various parts of his high-range constituency, which spreads over three districts -- Wayanad, Malappuram and Kozhikode.

He accepted memorandums and complaints from people and spent time listening to the grievances of representatives of tribals and farmers at the Wayanad district collectorate on Saturday.

During his roadshows, Gandhi lashed out at Modi and assured the people that he would raise the issues of not only Wayanad but of entire Kerala in Parliament.

Reviving his attack on Modi after the polls, he alleged that the prime minister's election campaign was filled with "lies, poison and hatred", while his party stood for "truth, love and affection".

Gandhi's visit to Kerala came days after he offered to resign as the Congress president in view of the party's dismal showing in the second consecutive general election. But the offer was rejected by the Congress Working Committee, the highest decision-making body of the party.

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News Network
April 27,2020

New Delhi, Apr 27: A private hospital here claimed that a coronavirus patient, who was administered plasma therapy for the first time in the facility, was discharged on Sunday after being completely cured.

The 49-year-old man had tested positive for COVID-19 on April 4 and was admitted to Max Hospital, Saket, it said in a statement.

As his condition deteriorated, he was put on ventilator support on April 8, the hospital added.

When the patient showed no signs of improvement, his family requested for administration of plasma therapy on compassionate grounds, it said, adding that the family arranged a donor for extracting plasma.

The patient was administered fresh plasma as a treatment modality as a side-line to standard treatment protocols on the night of April 14, the statement said.

Subsequently, the patient showed improvement and by the fourth day, was weaned off ventilator support and continued on supplementary oxygen. He was shifted to a room with round-the-clock monitoring on Monday after testing negative twice within 24 hours, it said.

He has now fully recovered and was discharged, the hospital said, adding that he will stay at home for another two weeks.

Group medical director of Max Healthcare and senior director of the Institute of Internal Medicine Dr Sandeep Budhiraja said, "We can say that plasma therapy could have worked as a catalyst in speeding up his recovery. We cannot attribute 100 per cent recovery to plasma therapy only, as there are multiple factors which carved his path to recovery."

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Agencies
July 30,2020

New Delhi, Jul 30: India's gold demand in 2020 is expected to fall to the lowest level in 26 years with domestic bullion prices hitting a record high and as falling disposable incomes could curtail retail purchases, the World Gold Council (WGC) said on Thursday.

Lower demand by the world's second-biggest bullion consumer could limit a rally in global prices, which hit a record high earlier this month, although it could also reduce India's trade deficit and support the ailing rupee.

"Fast rising gold prices could act as headwinds," said Somasundaram PR, the managing director of WGC's Indian operations.

Local gold futures have jumped 35% so far this year after rising a quarter in 2019.

India's gold consumption in the first half of 2020 plunged 56% on-year to 165.6 tonnes. Meanwhile, the coronavirus-triggered lockdown also slashed demand by 70% in the June quarter to 63.7 tonnes, the lowest in more than a decade, the WGC said in a report published on Thursday.

Millions of Indians have lost their jobs or taken a pay cut after the country imposed a lockdown on its 1.3 billion people to curb the spread of the virus that has infected more than 1.5 million Indians.

Consumption is generally high during the June quarter due to weddings and key festivals such as Akshaya Tritiya, but lockdown restrictions kept shoppers indoors this year.

The weak demand in the first half could drag down India's gold consumption in 2020 to the lowest since 1994, when demand stood at 415 tonnes, Somasundaram said, adding that it is still difficult to provide an estimate for full-year demand as the coronavirus crisis is still unfolding.

"Indian demand has previously jumped as much as 300 tonnes in a quarter. Latent demand could come out in the second half," Somasundaram said.

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Agencies
July 1,2020

Sopore, Jammu And Kashmir: A three-year-old boy survived as his grandfather was killed in a terror attack on the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Jammu and Kashmir's Sopore town this morning. A CRPF jawan was also killed in the line of duty as terrorists opened fire on a patrol team.

In heart-wrenching images, the child is seen sitting on the blood-splattered body of his grandfather, a civilian caught in the crossfire. The boy was numb with fear when he was picked up by policemen, according to the police.

The Kashmir police also tweeted a photo of the child being carried to safety by a policeman.

"Jammu and Kashmir police rescued a three-year-old boy from getting hit by bullets during the terrorist attack in Sopore," said the tweet by the Kashmir Zone Police.

The child was travelling in a Maruti car with his grandfather from Srinagar to Handwara when it was hit by a spray of bullets in Sopore town, which is in Baramulla district about 50 km from Srinagar.

The police said terrorists hiding in a mosque fired indiscriminately at the patrol team as it was getting off a bus. The CRPF troops retaliated but the terrorists managed to escape.

According to the CRPF, the grandfather stopped the car and got out to run to a safe spot but was shot dead in the firing by terrorists. The boy was later rescued by a policeman standing nearby.

Last week, a six-year-old boy was killed during a terror attack on the CRPF in Anantnag.

Little Nihaan Bhat was sleeping in a parked car when he was hit by a bullet. Police say the terrorist was on a bike and opened fire from a pistol on a CRPF patrol. One jawan was killed. The child's killing drew widespread anger and condemnation.

The terrorist believed to be involved in the Anantnag attack escaped yesterday after an encounter with security forces. Police said two other terrorists who were hiding with him at a village were killed.

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