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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:

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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
August 8,2020

New Delhi, Aug 8: The Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan on Friday directed the governments of four states -- Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, to analyse the factors driving the high COVID-19 mortality and devise ways and means to reduce the mortality.

Apart from the higher case mortality, these states account for 17 per cent of India's active cases, high daily new cases, low tests per million, and high confirmation percentage.

In a high-level virtual meeting, Bhushan advised state administrations to adhere to measures suggested by central advisories and guidelines to prevent and reduce mortality due to coronavirus infection.

According to the health ministry, 16 districts in these four states are reporting maximum virus fatalities. It includes -- Ahmedabad and Surat in Gujarat; Belagavi, Bengaluru urban, Kalaburagi and Udupi in Karnataka; Chennai, Kanchipuram, Ranipet, Theni, Thiruvallur, Tiruchirappalli, Tuticorin and Virudhnagar in Tamil Nadu; and Hyderabad and Medchal-Malkajgiri in Telangana respectively.

"The districts were advised to ensure that the advisories, guidelines and clinical treatment protocols issued by the Health Ministry are adopted and effectively implemented to reduce the mortality among COVID-19 patients and other preventable deaths among all sections of the people, particularly those with co-morbidities, pregnant women, the elderly and children," said the health ministry official.

"States were advised to ensure optimum capacity utilization of testing labs, increase tests per million population and reduce confirmation percentage, in addition to ensuring timely availability of ambulances with target zero refusal," the official further said.

"States were also advised to analyze availability and need for projected beds and oxygen, and plan in a timely manner. States and district administration have also been advised to ensure good infection prevention and control practices to control infection in the healthcare workers," said the official.

Principal Secretary (Health) and MD (NHM) from the four States along with district surveillance officers, district collectors, commissioners of the municipal corporation, Chief Medical Officers, and Medical Superintendent of Medical Colleges participated in the meeting.

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News Network
July 19,2020

New Delhi, Jul 19: Blaming the BJP for the political drama in Rajasthan, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Sunday asked Sachin Pilot not to leave the grand old party.

In an interview to news agency, the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister said Pilot should not follow Jyotiraditya Scindia into the BJP, as he has bright future in Congress.

His remarks follow Pilot's open rebellion against the Ashok Gehlot government, which has been on shaky ground with at least 18 legislators backing the rebel leader.

Pilot was sacked as Rajasthan deputy chief minister and the state Congress chief recently and the Congress has accused the BJP of making efforts to topple the Gehlot-led government by indulging in horse-trading.

"The BJP is behind the crisis in Rajasthan," Singh said.

The Congress veteran said he tried to call Pilot but his calls and text messages went unanswered.

"Age is on your side. Ashok (Gehlot) may have offended you, but all such issues are best resolved amicably. Dont make the mistake that Scindia made. BJP is unreliable. Nobody who joined it from any other party has succeeded there," Singh said.

He said this is the first time that Pilot hasn't responded to him.

"Sachin is like my son. He respects me and I also like him. I called him three-four times and also texted him. He didn't revert. He used to respond immediately earlier," he said.

"It is good to be ambitious. How can one move forward without having ambitions, but along with ambition, one must also have commitment to your organisation, ideology and the nation," Singh said.

For latest updates on the Rajathan Political Crisis, click here

"I heard that he (Pilot) may form a new party. But what is the need for it. Has Congress not given him anything? He was made an MP at 26, a Union minister at 32, the state Congress president at 34 and deputy chief minister at 38. What else does he want? Time is on his side," Singh said.

If Pilot had any issue, then as the state party unit president, he should have called a meeting and discussed the matter, he said. Pilot could have involved Congress national general secretary and Rajasthan in-charge Avinash Pande in talks with Gehlot to resolve differences, he added.

"If you have faith in your legislators, why have you have confined 18-19 of them in ITC Grand hotel at Manesar in Haryana," Singh said.

This is the same hotel where the BJP kept MLAs from Maharashtra, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh (during political dramas in those states), he said.

Pilot should forget whatever has happened, come back and sit across the table to discuss how Congress could be strengthened, he said

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News Network
February 9,2020

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."

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