Terror has no religion, says BJP; slams PDP MLAs' demand for return of Afzal Guru's remains

March 3, 2015

New Delhi, Mar 3: Day-old Jammu and Kashmir government was hit by another row Monday when a group of PDP MLAs demanded that the Centre hand over the remains of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru to his Kashmir-based family.

Afzal GuruBJP has condemned the demand made by the group, asking its ally to shun "this type of politics".

The party asserted that it practises zero tolerance on terrorism. On a day the BJP government was forced in Parliament to disassociate itself with Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed's comments crediting Pakistan and militants for peaceful polls in the state, the ruling party again had to defend itself over the Guru controversy later in the evening.

"Terror has no religion. We condemn this type of politics. Terrorism is an enemy of humanity and the whole country should unite to root this out. BJP believes in zero tolerance to terrorism," BJP secretary Shrikant Sharma told PTI.

The BJP-led NDA was in power when the audacious attack on December 13, 2001 left 14 people dead.

“PDP (Peoples Democratic Party) has always maintained that late Afzal Guru’s hanging was travesty of justice and constitutional requirements/process was not followed in hanging him out of turn,” the MLAs said.

The PDP-BJP government got off to a rocky start Sunday when chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed thanked Pakistan and militant outfits for smooth conduct of polls in the state within hours of taking oath.

The BJP distanced itself from the PDP patron’s remarks but came under Opposition fire in Parliament.

In Srinagar more trouble was brewing. “PDP stands by the demand for return of his (Guru’s) mortal remains, and the party promises to follow vigorously for the return of the mortal remains,” eight PDP MALs said in a statement.

Guru, 43, was hanged and buried in Delhi’s Tihar Jail on February 9, 2013 by the previous UPA government.

Guru’s family has alleged that the Centre didn’t inform them and they got to know about the hanging from TV and the state government. The hanging remains an emotive issue and figured prominently during campaigning.

The PDP MLAs also said an assembly resolution brought in 2011 to seek clemency for Guru should have been adopted.

“The way he was picked up from serial no.28 and singled out has been condemned by the PDP…” they said.

Former CM and National Conference chief Omar Abdullah took another jibe at the PDP. “Has Mufti decided the Modi-Mufti accord was a mistake? Are the father-daughter duo trying to force BJP to break off the alliance?” he tweeted.

Bitter rivals, the PDP and the BJP held marathon talks over two months and climbed down from their stated position before sealing the deal.

Not just ideologies but their support bases also sets apart the two unlikely partners who would be tempted to play to gallery to humour their voters, observers say.

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News Network
May 7,2020

Visakhapatnam, May 7: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday announced an ex- gratia payment of Rs one crore each to the kin of those killed in the styrene gas leak incident at LG Polymers Limited near here.

The NDRF had put the death toll from the leak at 11.

The chief minister announced a committee to probe into the mishap and also said the government would talk to the LG Polymers management seeking job for the kin of the deceased in any of its businesses.

Speaking to reporters after conducting a review meeting, Reddy also announced Rs 10 lakh each to those undergoing treatment on ventilator support and Rs 25,000 to those who took treatment as out-patients after developing health complications due to inhalation of the styrene vapour.

Earlier, he held a review meeting at the Andhra Medical College with District Collector Vinay Chand and others.

The gas leak victims undergoing treatment in various hospitals would be paid Rs one lakh each. The 15,000-odd population in the five villages that were affected by the gas leak would be paid Rs 10,000 each, the chief minister added.

Reddy further announced constitution of a high-level committee, headed by the Special Chief Secretary (Environment and Forests), to probe into the mishap and make recommendations to prevent such tragedies in the future.

Earlier, he visited the King George Hospital and consoled the victims of the gas leak.

Accompanied by his Deputy holding the health portfolio A K K Srinivas and Chief Secretary Nilam Sawhney, Reddy flew down to the port city and went straight to the KGH.

He met the gas leak victims undergoing treatment and enquired about their well-being.

At the review meeting, the Collector informed the Chief Minister that the gas spread was limited to a 1.5 to 2 km area from the epicentre of the leak and that the locals were evacuated to safety.

Of the two styrene tanks in the plant, the leak occurred from one that was holding about 1,800 kilo litres of the chemical.

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Agencies
January 5,2020

Bikaner, Jan 5: A government-run hospital in Bikaner saw the death of at least 162 children, higher than the number of deaths in Kota's JK Lon Hospital in December.

"In December, we received 2,219 children from different hospitals out of which 162 children died in the Intensive Care Unit here. None of them was born at the hospital," said Dr HS Kumar, Principal, Sardar Patel Medical College, PBM Hospital.

He, however, denied any negligence on the part of the hospital and said that all efforts were made to save every single life.

The official said that all the deceased children had taken birth at the Primary Healthcare Centres (PHC) and the Community Health Centres (CHC) and were referred to the PBM Hospital in a critical condition.

"Their condition was critical and they breathed their last during treatment," he said.

At least 110 children have lost their lives at JK Lon government hospital in Kota, Rajasthan.

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News Network
March 11,2020

Jaipur, Mar 11: A 85-year-old man in Jaipur, who had returned from Dubai on February 28, has tested positive for coronavirus, a state government official said on Wednesday.

He was found presumptive positive in the first test on Tuesday and hence, a second test was conducted with fresh samples, the reports of which arrived late Tuesday night, Additional Chief Secretary, Medical and Health, Rohit Kumar Singh, said.

“The man who travelled to Dubai has been tested positive for coronavirus. It has been confirmed now,” Singh said.

“We have also got the manifest of the Spicejet flight he took from Dubai to Jaipur and are doing due diligence on that,” the official said, adding that intense contact tracing was underway.

The man has been kept in isolation at the SMS Hospital here.

“The man came to the hospital on Monday with symptoms of the virus. After the first test, his wife and son too have been kept in isolation at the hospital. The two, however, do not have coronavirus affliction symptoms,” Singh said.

A total of 235 people who came in contact with the octogenarian and his family have already been traced and are being monitored, he said.

Other contacts are also being traced, Singh added.

An Italian couple, who tested positive for COVID-19 last week, are also admitted in the hospital but their condition is improving, he said.

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