That’s not a selfie, says union minister after his pic with coffin of braveheart draws flak

Agencies
February 18, 2019

New Delhi, Feb 18: After drawing flak for allegedly posting a selfie with the mortal remains of a slain CRPF soldier, Union Minister KJ Alphons alleged that some miscreants circulated his photograph on social media to reduce his reputation.

In a letter written to Kerala's Director General of Police (DGP), the Union Minister said that he was attending the last rites of Vasantha Kumar at Wynad on February 16.

"I attended the last ceremonial rites of Vasantha Kumar, who sacrificed his life for the nation, on February 16 at Wayanad. Some person had taken my photographs standing near the coffin. My media secretary had put the same on Facebook," Alphons said.

"Alleging that the photo was a selfie taken by me, some miscreants had spread false news against me on social media. The act of those miscreants reduced my reputation in the public, which is an offence punishable under the provisions of IPC," he added,

Saying that it was "uncharitable", "unbecoming and illegal" to spread false news regarding a sensitive issue involving a CRPF soldier who laid down his life for the nation, Alphons said appropriate action should be taken against the culprits under the law.

"It's uncharitable, unbecoming and illegal to spread false news when I, representing the nation as a Union Minister, was paying homage to a jawan who laid down his life for the nation. Kindly take appropriate action against culprits and bring them before the law," he urged.

A photo of Alphons standing next to the coffin of a CRPF soldier who was killed in the Pulwama terror attack had gone viral, with many condemning the minister for choosing to click a selfie at the funeral of a jawan.

Wayanad-based Vasantha Kumar was among the 40 CRPF personnel who were killed in Awantipora in an attack orchestrated by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).

The convoy of 78 buses, in which around 2500 CRPF personnel were travelling from Jammu to Srinagar, came under attack around 3.15 pm at Ladhu Modi Lethpora on February 14.

Deleted tweet of KJ Alphons:

Comments

kumar
 - 
Monday, 18 Feb 2019

I think in the picture he is not Alphons.   This person from bjp is too much desh bhakt learned from his party.  BJP is the only deshbhakt party and all the members are shocked by phulwama tragedy.   Sakshi maharaj was seen crying  during funeral of one jawan.   His assistance was seen carrying bundle of tissue paper to wipe his tears.   The phone showing him smiling is also fake.    None can even dream that such a deshbhakat can smile at the time of tragedy.   Many pictures showing bjp leaders joking and laughing during funeral of jawans is also not true.   BJP is the only 100 percent pure deshbhakt party and only bjp can save indian soldiers as it has been doing for the last 5 years.   We lost finger countable jawans during last 5 years of well organised government of bjp.  Amit shah has sacrificed a lot for the nation and he has offered himself int he service of public. 

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News Network
January 2,2020

Kolkata, Jan 2: In what could spark fresh tensions between West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the BJP-led centre, the Union Ministry of Defence on Wednesday rejected her state's tableau proposal for the Republic Day parade on January 26.

"The tableau proposal of West Bengal government was examined by the expert committee in two rounds of meetings. The tableau proposal of the West Bengal government was not taken forward for further consideration by the committee after deliberations in the second meeting," the ministry said in its statement.

Twenty two proposals comprising 16 states and union territories and six ministries and departments have been shortlisted for the parade. The shortlist was compiled from as many as 56 tableau proposals - 32 from states and union territories and 24 from various ministries and departments - received by the central government.

"The expert committee examines the proposals on the basis of theme, concept, design and visual impact before making its recommendations. Due to time constraints arising out of the overall duration of the parade, only a limited number of tableaux can be shortlisted for participation in the parade," the statement read, adding that West Bengal was shortlisted for the 2019 Republic Day parade through a similar process.

"The rejection of the West Bengal tableau for the Republic Day parade is discriminatory. It has been done because West Bengal has been opposing the centre's CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) and the NRC (National Register of Citizens) plans," Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy told news agency.

"West Bengal is known to be living state as far as culture, including arts, music and other things are concerned. So obviously, this is a discriminatory step taken by the central government against West Bengal," Mr Roy added.

The Trinamool Congress-led Bengal government is at loggerheads with the central government over several issues, and the expanding presence of the BJP in the eastern state ahead of the 2021 assembly elections has further intensified their rivalry.

Mamata Banerjee has repeatedly said that she will not allow Bengal to be a part of the proposed nationwide National Register of Citizens, an assertion that the BJP claims is proof of her minority appeasement strategy. Last month, a four-member delegation of Trinamool Congress politicians that visited BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh to meet families of those killed in violent protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act were stopped by police personnel at the Lucknow airport.

The BJP leadership has now decided to launch a campaign blitzkrieg in West Bengal to counter what it claims is the Trinamool's "misinformation programmes" against the amended citizenship law and reach out to refugees. Protests across the country have currently put the party on the backfoot.

The Citizenship Amendment Act, for the first time, makes religion the test of citizenship in India. The government says it will help minorities from three Muslim-dominated countries get citizenship if they fled to India because of religious persecution before 2015. Critics say it is designed to discriminate against Muslims and violates the secular principals of the Constitution.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro will be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations.

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News Network
April 11,2020

Apr 11: India has sent back 20,473 foreigners who wanted to return to their countries following the Covid-19 global pandemic, it was revealed on Friday (April 10).

"So far, we have successfully evacuated 20,473 foreign nationals as of yesterday. This is an ongoing process," said Dammu Ravi, Coordinator on Covid-19 issues at the Ministry of External Affairs, MEA.

"This involves several countries," Ravi said during the daily government briefing on Covid-19, although he could not list the countries offhand. "We are receiving excellent cooperation from governments all over the world for this process."

Many foreigners, especially tourists, were stranded in India when domestic and international flights were abruptly cancelled last month in a bid to curb transmission of the coronavirus.

The Ministry of Tourism has asked stranded foreigners to get in touch with the government through a special portal started for the purpose, through their embassies in India and other sources to facilitate their evacuation if they wished to head home.

As of Friday evening, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had confirmed 6,761 Covid-19 cases in India, of whom 515 patients have been cured.

There were 206 deaths reported from across the country.

Two states, Punjab and Orissa, have extended the ongoing lockdown until April 30.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will consult state chief ministers on Saturday to decide whether to extend the country-wide lockdown, which is due to end at midnight on April 14.

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News Network
May 20,2020

New Delhi, May 20: With 5,611 new cases reported in the last 24 hours, India's COVID-19 tally reached 1,06,750 on Wednesday, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

As many as 140 deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of deaths to 3,303.

Out of the total cases, 61,149 are actives cases and 42,298 patients have been cured/discharged/migrated.

Maharashtra continues to remain the worst-affected state with 37,136 cases, followed by Tamil Nadu (12,448 cases), Gujarat (12,140 cases), and Delhi (10,554 cases).

The nationwide lockdown imposed as a precautionary measure to contain the spread of coronavirus has been extended till May 31.

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