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Tripura: BJP emerges as major challenge to CPI-M as Cong leaders turn saffron

Agencies
February 4, 2018

Agartala, Feb 4: The coming Assembly election in Tripura is likely to witness a fight between the CPI(M)-led Left Front and the BJP in the state.

The state had in the past witnessed an electoral battle between the CPI(M) and the Congress.

Sudip Roy Burman, former state Congress president and an MLA who had joined the BJP, said, "The Congress was not serious about fighting the CPI(M)" and claimed that the BJP would defeat the Marxists in the Assembly poll.

Burman, who headed the state Congress in 2013 Assembly election, told PTI, "In 2013, the CPI(M) had faced strong anti-incumbency but Congress central leadership had helped CPI(M) in the state clandestinely for enjoying the party's support in Parliament".

CPI(M) politburo member Prakash Karat also admitted that this time it is a contest between the Left Front and the BJP in the February 18 election.

"All the earlier elections in the state were fought between the Left Front and the Congress but this time, it is a contest between the BJP and the Left Front as Congress leaders and supporters had joined the saffron party", Karat had stated at an election meeting in South Tripura on Friday.

Six Congress MLAs including Burman had crossed over to the BJP.

"We are forced to join the BJP as we found that the Congress is not serious about fighting the CPI(M)", Burman said.

Tripura Congress vice-president, Tapas Dey said, "A communal party like the BJP became so strong in the state due to the misrule and partisan behaviour of the CPI(M)".

The CPI(M) never fulfilled the justified demands of the people, he said and alleged, "They (CPIM) have a vindictive attitude towards people who do not support them."

CPI(M) spokesperson Gautam Das said, Tripura is a model state in the country in terms of development.

"The pro-people programmes of the Left Front government, especially for the poor and the working class, would bring it back to power", he said.

To garner the tribal vote which constituted around 31 per cent in the state, BJP has stitched an alliance with the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT).

"The alliance between BJP and IPFT will make a strong impact in the 20 tribal reserve constituencies," said Mrinal Kanti Deb, BJP spokesperson.

Karat had, however, alleged that the IPFT is the mask of insurgents, who had killed people of the state a decade-and- a-half ago.

The BJP forging an alliance with such a party was tantamount to "sedition", the senior CPI(M) leader had said.

That the BJP is very serious in wresting power from the CPI(M) is evident from the list of its star campaigners like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home minister Rajnath Singh, BJP president Amit Shah and a galaxy of party leaders who will campaign for party candidates in Tripura.

Cautioning the people in the state, Karat had said, "The Assembly election in the state is important not only for Tripura, but for entire India, as it would show which way the country would move".

Comments

shaji
 - 
Sunday, 4 Feb 2018

Dear Burmon, we want to know for which cost you have sold yourself in the hands of anti nationals and communal party.   Shame on.   People like you are sick and look for money + position.

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Agencies
February 11,2020

New Delhi, Feb 11 Congress's performance touched a record low in the Delhi Assembly election as the party bagged less than 5 per cent of the total votes polled and 63 of its candidates lost their deposits.

The party, which ruled Delhi for 15 years on the trot under former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, failed to open its account for the second consecutive assembly election in Delhi.

Only three of its candidates Arvinder Singh Lovely from Gandhi Nagar, Devender Yadav from Badli and Abhishek Dutt from Kasturba Nagar managed to save their deposits.

Security deposit of a candidate is forfeited if he/she fails to secure one-sixth of the total valid votes cast in a constituency.

Most of Congress candidates got less than 5 per cent of the total votes polled in their respective constituencies.

Delhi Congress chief Shubhash Chopra's daughter Shivani Chopra, who was the party candidate from Kalkaji, also could not save her deposit.

Former Delhi Assembly Speaker Yoganand Shastri's daughter Priyanka Singh also forfeited her deposit.

The party's campaign committee chairman Kirti Azad's wife, Poonam Azad, lost badly and stood fourth, polling only 2,604 (2.23) votes.

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Agencies
February 25,2020

Agra, Feb 25: The architectural grandeur of 17th century Taj Mahal and the story of its construction by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan left US President Donald Trump "impressed" during his visit to the famed mausoleum, according to the guide who accompanied him.

Nitin Kumar, an Agra-based guide, said the first word the president said after laying his eyes on the marble marvel was "incredible".

He and First Lady Melania Trump visited on Monday the iconic Taj Mahal in Agra, the second stop on his little less than 36-hour-long trip of India, and marvelled at the Mughal-era mausoleum built as a monument of love.

After Dwight David Eisenhower (1959) and Bill Clinton (2000), he became the third US president to visit the architectural icon.

"I told them the story of the Taj Mahal, the construction, and the story behind it. President Trump got very emotional after knowing the story of Shah Jahan and his wife Mumtaz Mahal. How he was kept under house arrest by his own son Aurangzeb, and buried here at Taj, next to Mumtaz's grave, after his death," Kumar told reporters.

The couple was left speechless on the first sight of the monument, and showed interest when they were told about the history and architecture of the dome, and the design details, Kumar said.

"Melania Trump asked about the mud-pack treatment and was amazed when she got to know the details of the process," he said.

One of the most photographed sites in the world, it is always high on the itinerary of head of states visiting India.

The monument was built over a period of nearly 20 years by Shah Jahan in memory of his wife after her death in 1631.

"The Taj Mahal inspires awe, a timeless testament to the rich and diverse beauty of Indian Culture!' Thank You, India," the US President and First Lady jointly wrote in the visitors' book before signing it.

According to Mohammed Zafar, who lives close to Taj Mahal complex, Nitin has been conducting guided tours for many years. "He was selected for this VVIP visit," he said.

"Many people were taking selfies with him, after the end of the visit. So, many media persons interacted with him. He has got some instant fame of sorts," Zafar said.

Authorities at Archaeological Survey of India had "advanced the dates" for mud-pack treatment for the graves of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal at Taj Mahal in view of the US President Trump's visit to Taj, a senior official had earlier said.

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Agencies
August 3,2020

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has given nod to the Serum Institute of India (SII) for conducting phase 2 and 3 human clinical trials of the Oxford University developed Covid-19 vaccine candidate in the country.

Government officials said that the approval for conducting phase 2 and 3 clinical trials by the SII was granted by DCGI Dr V G Somani late Sunday night after a thorough evaluation based on the recommendations of the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) on Covid-19.

"The firm has to submit safety data, evaluated by the Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB), to the CDSCO before proceeding to phase 3 clinical trials," a senior official said.

"As per the study design, each subject will be administered two doses four weeks apart (first dose on day one and second dose on day 29) following which the safety and immunogenicity will be assessed at predefined intervals," the official said.

As a rapid regulatory response, the expert panel at the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) on Friday, after a detailed deliberation and considering the data generated on the vaccine candidate in phase 1 and 2 of the Oxford University trial, had recommended granting permission for phase 2 and 3 clinical trials of the potential vaccine, 'Covishield', on healthy adults in India,  the officials said.

Currently, phase 2 and 3 clinical trials of the Oxford vaccine candidate is going on in the United Kingdom, phase 3 clinical trial in Brazil and phase 1 and 2 clinical trials in South Africa.

The officials said that the SII had submitted a revised proposal on Wednesday after the SEC on July 28, following deliberation over its application, had asked it to revise its protocol for the phase 2 and 3 clinical trials besides seeking some additional information.

The panel had also recommended that the clinical trial sites which have been proposed for the study be distributed across India.

According to the revised proposal by the SII, 1,600 people aged above 18 years will participate in the trials across 17 selected sites, including AIIMS-Delhi, B J Medical College in Pune, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences (RMRIMS) in Patna, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh, AIIMS-Jodhpur, Nehru Hospital in Gorakhpur, Andhra Medical College in Visakhapatnam and JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research in Mysore.

"According to the application, it would conduct an observer-blind, randomised controlled study to determine the safety and immunogenicity of 'Covishield' on healthy Indian adults," the official said.

The SII, which has partnered with AstraZeneca, for manufacturing the Oxford vaccine candidate for Covid-19 had submitted its first application to the DCGI on July 25 seeking permission for conducting the phase 2 and 3 trials of the potential vaccine. 

Initial results of the first two-phases of trials of the vaccine conducted in five trial sites in the UK showed that it has an acceptable safety profile and homologous boosting increased antibody response, sources had said.

To introduce the vaccine, SII, the world's largest vaccine maker by number of doses produced and sold, has signed an agreement to manufacture the potential vaccine developed by the Jenner Institute (Oxford University) in collaboration with British-Swedish pharma company AstraZeneca. 

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