Storm in Shiv Sena over MNS support to BJP

March 11, 2014

Shiv_SenaMumbai, March 11: A veritable storm has erupted in the Shiv Sena two days after its bete-noire, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), decided to support the BJP in the state without joining the NDA or the saffron Grand Alliance.

Amidst a public clamour from Shiv Sainiks to break the nearly 25-year old alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), senior BJP leaders rushed to meet and mollify Uddhav Thackeray here Tuesday.

For starters, state BJP chief Devendra Fadnavis called on Thackeray and assured him that the existing five-party saffron Grand Alliance would be intact in the state.

He told media-persons that unnecessary attempts were on to create "misunderstandings" between the BJP and the Shiv Sena.

Later Tuesday evening, BJP general secretary in-charge of Maharashtra Rajiv Pratap Rudy is expected to call on Thackeray at the latter's Matoshri Bandra residence.

BJP sources said that senior party leaders, including Rajnath Singh and its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi spoke to Thackeray Tuesday and attempted to reassure him on its alliance with Shiv Sena.

The developments came in the wake of a meeting of the party's top leadership and Lok Sabha candidates summoned by Thackeray Tuesday to discuss its future strategy in the wake of the changing political scenario.

The Shiv Sena has toughened its stance vis-a-vis the BJP after its senior leader Nitin Gadkari openly wooed MNS chief Raj Thackeray and sought his support for the BJP and Modi, and not to contest the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

Raj Thackeray played his cards carefully by declaring support to Modi and putting up Lok Sabha candidates opposite only Shiv Sena nominees - except in Pune.

The MNS candidates include Bala Nandgaonkar (Mumbai South), Bollywood actor-director Mahesh Manjrekar (Mumbai North-West), Rajiv Patil (Kalyan), Ashok Khandebard (Shirur), Pradeep Pawar (Nashik) and Deepak Paygude (Pune) - the last from where the BJP candidate is contesting.

While the Shiv Sena maintained a cryptic silence, an embarrassed BJP, welcomed MNS support to Modi, but urged Raj Thackeray to extend support to all the Grand Alliance and National Democratic Alliance candidates.

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Agencies
July 30,2020

Chennai, Jul 30: Tamil Nadu government on Thursday extended the Covid-19 lockdown till August 31, giving only a few relaxations like allowing delivery of non-essential goods by e-commerce sites. The ban on public transport has been extended till August 31, while availing of e-pass for inter-district and inter-state travel will continue to be in force.

In a detailed statement, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami announced a “complete lockdown” during which only essential services would continue to be in force on all Sundays during the month of August across the state.  

In Chennai, restaurants will be allowed to open dine-in facilities at 50 percent of its total capacity from 6 am to 7 pm from August 1, while vegetable shops, grocery outlets and standalone commercial establishments will also be allowed to remain open from 6 am to 7 pm.

E-commerce sites have been allowed to begin delivery of non-essential goods from August 1, while the ban on public transport, temples in urban areas and towns, cinema halls, shopping malls, and gyms would continue till August 31.

It also said companies or factories in Chennai that have been allowed to function with 50 percent of staff can increase their strength to 75 percent from August 1.

COVID-19 Pandemic Tracker: 15 countries with the highest number of coronavirus cases, deaths

The government also asked companies to encourage its employees to work from home and advised commercial establishments to follow the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) as advised by it. Inter-state or inter-district travel will be allowed only with e-pass, while ban on metro and suburban trains continues.

The decision to extend the lockdown till August 31 comes as Tamil Nadu continues to grapple with an increasing number of coronavirus cases. The prevalence of the virus is no more limited to one city or region of the state with almost all districts reporting fresh cases, some of them over 200 new patients, every day.

On Thursday morning, Tamil Nadu’s Covid-19 tally was 2,34,114 including 1,72,883 discharges and 3,741 deaths. The active cases stood at 57,490.

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News Network
March 9,2020

Mumbai, Mar 9: India's Yes Bank will not be merged with State Bank of India, which is set to infuse funds in the beleaguered lender, the newly appointed administrator leading the rescue plan said in a television interview on Monday.

"There is absolutely no question of a merger," Prashant Kumar, the administrator, told the CNBC TV18 channel.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday took control of Yes Bank, after the lender - which is laden with bad debts - failed to raise the capital it needs to stay above mandated regulatory requirements.

Placing Yes Bank under a 30-day moratorium, the central bank imposed limits on withdrawals to protect depositors and said it would work on a revival plan. The move spooked depositors, who rushed to withdraw funds from the bank.

Kumar, a former finance chief at SBI, assured depositors their money was safe and that the moratorium on Yes Bank might be lifted much before the deadline on April 3 and normal banking operations might resume as early as Friday.

He also mentioned that the withdrawal limit of Yes Bank may be removed by March 15, 2020.

SBI Chairman Rajnish Kumar said on Saturday the state-run bank would need to invest up to 24.5 billion rupees ($331 million) to buy a 49% stake in Yes Bank as part of the initial phase of the rescue deal, adding that the survival of troubled lender was a "must".

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News Network
June 24,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Jun 24: Kerala on Tuesday was among those honoured for tackling the Covid-19 pandemic when the United Nations celebrated the Public Service Day.

The function, held on a virtual platform, saw the participation of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and other top UN dignitaries who applauded all the leaders which included state Health Minister K.K. Shailaja for effectively tackling Covid-19.

Speaking on the occasion, Shailaja noted that the experiences of tackling Nipah virus and the two floods - 2018 and 2019 - where the health sector played a crucial role, all helped in tackling Covid-19 timely.

"Right from the time when Covid cases got reported in Wuhan, Kerala got into the track of the WHO and followed every standard operating protocols and international norms and hence, we have been able to keep the contact spread rate to below 12.5 per cent and the mortality rate to 0.6 per cent," she said.

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