Turmoil in Parliament over scribe's meeting with Hafiz

July 15, 2014

New Delhi, Jul 15: The turmoil over the meeting of a journalist with terror mastermind Hafiz Saeed today stalled Parliament for the second consecutive day, with Government stating it has nothing to do with it and terming it as "diplomatic misadventure of a private individual".turmoil

Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha saw disruptions as soon as the two Houses met for the day, with opposition Congress seeking suspension of Question Hour to get government's response over the "serious" matter.

Both Houses were again disrupted during the Zero Hour with Congress members expressing concern over the meeting and entering the Well raising slogans.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told Rajya Sabha that the government has nothing to do with either the visit or the meeting between Ved Pratap Vaidik and Saeed. "It is a diplomatic misadventure of a private individual," he said.

In Lok Sabha, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said government has nothing to do with a journalist meeting India's one of the most wanted terrorists Hafiz Saeed in Pakistan recently.

"Allegation that the government facilitated the journalist's meeting with Hafiz Saeed is false and baseless," Swaraj said.

The issue led adjournment of the Rajya Sabha twice and Lok Sabha once.

Jaitley said in the Upper House that the concerns of the Leader of the Opposition are also the concerns of the entire country.

"Yesterday, I clearly said in unambiguous terms that Government of India has nothing to do with either his visit or his meeting with someone whom we regard as a terrorist," he said.

"The person or his views has nothing to do with either the government or my party," Jaitley said leading to uproar with slogan-shouting Congress members storming the Well.

As soon as the Lok Sabha assembled for the day, Congress members led by Mallikarjun Kharge were on their feet demanding a reply from the government on the reported meeting of the journalist with Saeed, India's one of the most wanted terrorists who was also the mastermind of the 26/11 attack.

When Speaker Sumitra Mahajan declared that Question Hour will not be suspended, Congress members trooped into the Well shouting slogans like 'Vaidik ko mat bachao' (Don't save Vaidik), 'Home Minister jawab do' (Home Minister give reply), 'Hafiz ka sach batao' (Tell us the truth on Hafiz affairs).

Amid uproar, Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party members Mehbooba Mufti and Tariq Hameed Karra too came to the Well protesting against the killing of "innocent" in Gaza due to the bombing by Israel.

They were carrying placards that read 'Gaza needs our voice', 'In solidarity with Gaza' and shouted slogans like 'Speak India Speak'.

Mahajan asked the members not to disturb Question Hour and warned the PDP members not to show placards as it was against the Parliamentary rules.

Earlier, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said government would make a statement on the issue of journalist meeting Saeed only when the Chair allowed.

The Speaker told the opposition members not to take the House for granted by staging protests during Question Hour.

"Suspension of Question Hour is not done. Question Hour is for all the members. If you do not want the Question Hour, drop it. I do not have any objection. But do not make it (disruption) a precedent," she said.

Congress leader Kharge said they tried to raise the issue yesterday at least twice but in vain as there was no response from the government which forced them to stage protest today.

Members of Left parties too supported the PDP protest against Israel's bombing in Gaza and stood in the aisle demanding a reply from the government.

RJD member Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav opposed the introduction of a new examination pattern by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and asked the government to intervene.

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News Network
May 14,2020

New Delhi, May 14: With a spike of 3,722 new cases in the last 24 hours, the COVID-19 count in India reached 78,003 on Thursday morning, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

As per the latest update by the Ministry, there are 49,219 active cases in the country while 26,235 patients have been cured and discharged, and one migrated, so far.

With 134 new deaths being reported due to the disease since yesterday, the toll due to the disease reached 2,549.

With 25,922 confirmed cases, Maharashtra is the worst affected by the infection in the country so far.

Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, with 9,267 and 9,227, cases respectively are the next worst affected by the disease.

The national capital, Delhi, is just a couple of cases behind the 8 thousand mark as per the update on Thursday morning.

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Agencies
February 12,2020

New Delhi, Feb 12: Delhi Chief Minister-designate Arvind Kejriwal was on Wednesday elected as the leader of AAP legislative party, a day after he led the party to an emphatic victory in the Delhi Assembly elections.

Kejriwal was elected as the AAP legislative party leader during a meeting called by him with the newly-elected party MLAs. The meeting was held at the AAP chief's residence.

Atishi, AAP's winning candidate from Kalkaji constituency said after the meeting, "It is definitely a validation of the work that has been done by AAP in the last five years, be it education, health care, water or electricity."

Kejriwal is slated to take oath as the Delhi Chief Minister for the third time at Ramlila Maidan on February 16.

AAP galloped to a landslide victory by winning 62 of the 70 seats in the Delhi Assembly elections in the face of a high-voltage campaign by the BJP, which fielded a battery of Union Ministers and Chief Ministers in its electioneering, spearheaded by Home Minister Amit Shah.

The BJP marginally improved its tally, managing just eight seats from its 2015's tally of three seats. The Congress, which drew a blank in the previous elections, failed to open its account yet again.

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News Network
May 24,2020

New Delhi, May 24: The Indian economy is likely to slip into recession in the third quarter of this fiscal as loss in income and jobs and cautiousness among consumers will delay recovery in consumer demand even after the pandemic, says a report.

According to Dun & Bradstreet's latest Economic Observer, the country's economic recovery will depend on the efficacy and duration of implementation of the government's stimulus package.

"The multiplier effect of the stimulus measures on the economy will depend on three key aspects i.e. the time taken for effecting the withdrawal of the lockdown, the efficacy of implementation and duration of execution of the measures announced," Dun & Bradstreet India Chief Economist Arun Singh said.

The report noted that the government's larger-than-expected stimulus package is likely to re-start economic activities.

Besides, measures taken by the Reserve Bank of India like reducing the repo rate by a further 40 basis points to 4 per cent, extending the moratorium period by three months and facilitating working capital financing will also help stimulate the momentum.

Singh said while the measures announced by the government are "positive", most of them have been directed towards strengthening the supply side of the economy, and "it is to be noted that supply needs to be matched with demand", he said.

Besides, "in the absence of cash-in-hand benefits under the government's stimulus package, demand for goods and services is expected to remain depressed", he added.

He further said the loss in income and employment opportunities, and cautiousness among consumers, will lead to a delayed recovery in consumer demand, even after the pandemic. As debt and bad loan levels increase, the banking sector might face challenges.

The report further noted that even as the monetary stimulus is expected to inject liquidity and stimulate demand for a wider section of the economy, the channelisation of funds from the financial institutions will be subjected to several constraints.

The foremost concern being increase in risk averseness, as the balance sheets of firms, households, and banks/NBFCs have weakened considerably and low demand for funds by firms as production activities have been on a standstill during the lockdown period, Singh said.

India has been under lockdown since March 25 to contain the spread of the coronavirus, resulting in supply disruptions and demand compression.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi imposed a nationwide lockdown to control the spread of coronavirus on March 25. It has been extended thrice, with some relaxations. The fourth phase of the lockdown is set to expire on May 31. 

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