Kochi, Aug 12: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh
today made an aerial survey of two rain-ravaged districts of Kerala and said the situation in the state was "very serious".
He assured the state government of all help from the Centre to meet the challenges posed by the unprecedented floods.
The minister was speaking to reporters at the airport here after conducting the aerial survey of Idukki and Ernakulam districts.
New Delhi, Jul 19: Amid the political firestorm in Rajasthan following Sachin Pilot's rebellion, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Sunday called for amending the anti-defection law to ban all defectors from holding public office for five years and fighting the next election.
Sibal also said that the "antibodies" against the "virus of corrupt means" to topple elected governments lie in amending the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution (anti-defection law).
His attack comes in the wake of Pilot's open rebellion against the Ashok Gehlot government, which has been on shaky ground since, with at least 18 legislators backing the rebel leader.
Pilot was sacked as deputy chief minister and the state Congress chief earlier this week.
The Congress has accused the BJP of making efforts to topple the Gehlot government by indulging in horse-trading.
"Need for Vaccine: Virus of 'corrupt means' to topple elected governments has spread through a 'Wuhan like facility' in Delhi," Sibal tweeted, in an apparent swipe at the BJP.
"Its 'antibodies' lie in amending the Tenth Schedule. Ban all defectors from: Holding public office for five years, fighting the next election," he said.
Taking a swipe at Pilot over his claim that he is not joining the BJP, Sibal on Thursday had asked what happens to his "ghar wapsi" and whether Rajasthan's dissident legislators are vacationing in Haryana under the "watchful eye" of the saffron party.
In the house of 200, the Congress has 107 MLAs, including the 19 dissidents who have been issued notices of disqualification by the speaker and they have challenged them in the high court.
The Congress has maintained the claim that the Gehlot government has the support of 109 MLAs, including the two BTP MLAs.
I FULLY AGREE WITH MR. KAPIL SIBAL. IN FACT, IT IS NEED OF THE HOUR TO SAVE OUR DEMOCRACY.
New Delhi, Feb 9: Calling India a "long-standing friend", Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on Saturday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for visiting his country in the aftermath of last year's Easter Sunday terror attacks and outlined that New Delhi has always helped Colombo in its fight against terrorism.
In a joint press briefing with PM Modi, Mahinda Rajapaksa said he hopes that India will continue to help Sri Lanka fight terrorism.
Mahinda Rajapaksa expressed his gratitude to PM Modi for the neighbourhood first policy and the priority India gives to Sri Lanka.
"We had agreed that our cooperation is multifaceted and priority is given to a number of areas including security, economy, culture and social sectors. Part of our discussions centered on cooperation with regard to the security of the two countries. India has always assisted Sri Lanka to enhance our capacity, capabilities in intelligence and counter-terrorism. We look forward to getting continued support in this regard," he said.
"I thank the Prime Minister for visiting Sri Lanka in the aftermath of the Easter Sunday terror attacks that provided us with immense strength to come to terms with the tragedy. We also appreciate Prime Minister Modi's $400 million line of credit to enhance the economy of Sri Lanka and another $50 million line of credit for fighting terrorism," he added.
The Sri Lankan president urged PM Modi to consider further assistance to expand housing projectS all over Sri Lanka to benefit people from rural areas.
"The Prime Minister and I discussed how Sri Lanka and India can work together in the field of economy. India is among the world's fastest growing economies. I discussed with PM Modi how Sri Lanka could benefit from certain economic sectors where India is in a strong position," he said.
Concluding his statement, Mahinda Rajapaksa said, "India is our closest neighbour and a long-standing friend. The close historical links...provided a solid foundation to our ties."
Malappuram, Apr 11: Farmers in Malappuram district are facing problems in selling cucumbers and watermelons due to the drop in demand and prices in the market amid the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown.
"We have cultivated cucumbers for our Vishu festival in Kerala. In recent conditions, we are facing issues in selling our crops. In comparison to the previous years, we have a huge production this time," said Saifu, a farmer in the Malappuram district.
"We have also cultivated different kinds of watermelons here. The major issues that we are facing are the low prices and the lockdown," he added.
The nationwide COVID-19 lockdown was imposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi form March 25 for 21 days as a precautionary measure against the spread of the virus.
According to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the total number of positive COVID-19 cases in Kerala is 364. Till now, 123 people have either been cured or discharged, while two deaths have been reported.
The total number of positive coronavirus cases across the country are 7,529 including 6,634 active cases. So far, 652 patients have either been cured or discharged while 242 deaths have been recorded in the country, as per data provided by the Ministry of Health on Saturday evening.
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