Uddhav bats for Ram temple; backs tie-up with BJP

Agencies
October 9, 2019

New Delhi, Oct 9: Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday made a strong pitch for a Ram temple in Ayodhya and demanded enactment of a special law to facilitate its construction, while he justified his decision to ally with the BJP for the October 21 Maharashtra assembly elections.

Making a slew of announcements ahead of the polling, he said the Shiv Sena is committed to providing reservation in jobs and education to the Dhangar (shepherd) community and will also fight for the rights of "India-loving" Muslims.

In his 35-minute-long speech at the Sena's annual Dussehra rally in Shivaji Park in central Mumbai, Thackeray spoke on a range of issues, from Article 370 to the ongoing protests in Hong Kong.

"Courts have a holiday on the day when Lord Ram killed Ravan (on Dussehra). Courts are also closed the day when Ram returned to Ayodhya (on Diwali) after killing Ravan. The only issue of contention now is whether Ram was born in Ayodhya," he said.

He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had advised not to speak on the Ram temple issue as the matter is pending before the Supreme Court.

"The Supreme Court verdict is expected this month, but our demand remains that a special law is enacted for construction of a Ram mandir in Ayodhya," he said.

Speaking at a rally in Nashik last month, Modi, in an apparent jibe at ally Shiv Sena, had said the Supreme Court is hearing the Ram mandir case and asked "some loudmouths" to refrain from making statements on the issue.

"I am amazed at the 'bayan bahadurs and badbole' (loudmouths) on the Ram Mandir issue. Everyone in the country respects the Supreme Court. The apex court is hearing the case. I want to tell these people with folded hands to have faith in the judicial system," Modi had said.

Speaking at the Dussehra rally, Thackeray said his party is not the raising the issue of Ram temple for politics or electoral gains.

"We are committed to the construction of the temple. When we got our bow and arrow symbol, the issue of Ram mandir wasn't there," he said to drive home the point that the sensitive matter was above politics for the party.

Thackeray sought to dispel the notion that the Shiv Sena had "surrendered" while entering into a pre-poll alliance with the BJP for the assembly polls.

Of the 288 seats, the BJP is contesting 164 and the Shiv Sena 124, establishing the latter as a junior ally in a state where it was once the senior coalition partner.

"The Shiv Sena doesn't bow before anyone except Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and the Marathi-speaking people," he asserted.

"We did make some compromises for the alliance to happen, but they were in the interest of Maharashtra. I apologise to Shiv Sainiks whose seats have gone to the allies.

"You have to continue working hard to make the party strong and work to ensure its victory," he said, seeking to assuage the feelings of those left out in ticket race and to ensure they don't work against official alliance nominees.

In an apparent reference to the BJP, Thackeray said no one should even dare to betray Shiv Sainik.

"Chhatrapati Shivaji's Maharashtra doesn't kowtow before anyone. The Shiv Sainik is my sword. I will not give strength to the Congress which opposed scrapping of Article 370 (which accorded special status to Jammu and Kashmir) and wanted to repeal sedition laws," he said.

Thackeray said there was a vast difference between the Sena-BJP alliance and the SP-BSP tie-up in Uttar Pradesh.

"Ours is a genuine alliance, while the SP-BSP pact was solely for the lust of power so people rejected it," the Sena president said.

Hitting out at the Congress-NCP combine, Thackeray mocked senior Congress leader Sushilkumar Shinde for his remarks that the two opposition parties are now tired as separate entities and should come together.

"First decide who is your leader - (NCP president) Sharad Pawar or (Congress chief) Sonia Gandhi because of whom the NCP was formed. Don't be tired."

"Keep yourself fresh to have our victory pedas (sweets)," he said, expressing confidence about the saffron front's win in the polls.

After Article 370, construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya and enactment of a Uniform Civil Code should be next on agenda of the government, Thackeray said.

Taking potshots at NCP leader Ajit Pawar, who recently got emotional at a press conference, the Sena chief said he was merely shedding crocodile tears.

Speaking about the Opposition's charge that the BJP-led government was acting out of revenge, reflected in an ED case against Sharad Pawar and his nephew Ajit, he said in 2000, the then Congress-NCP government had acted out of revenge by arresting his father, Bal Thackeray, in a 10-year-old riot case.

Thackeray also criticised the Congress-NCP combine over their manifesto promising 80 per cent reservation in jobs to local youth.

"When Shiv Sena fought for the rights of the Marathi youth, the Congress government had punished Shiv Sainiks with lathis," Thackeray said.

He said on being voted to power, the Sena will ensure loan waiver for farmers, 'thali' of nutritious food at Rs 10 for the poor, reduce electricity rates for consumption up to 300 units, start health check-up at Re one and launch special bus services for women.

Thackeray said this year Vijayadashmi is being celebrated on two days - October 8 and October 24 (when assembly election results will be announced).

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News Network
May 25,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, May 25: About 100 people, including a Magistrate and some police personnel, have been asked to go into quarantine after an accused, who was produced before a lower court here following his arrest, later testedpositive, officials said on Monday. The accused, who was arrested along with two others in connection with a case relating to illicit liquor transportation two days ago, had been shifted to thePoojapura central jail after he was remanded to judicial custody.

With his sample testing positive on Sunday, theman has been sent to a designated COVID-19 hospital. The Nedumangad court magistrate, before whom he was produced, 34 police personnel, including a circle inspector, who were on duty at the Venjaramoodu police station when the accused was broughtafter his arrest, some employees of a government hospital where his swab sample was taken and 12 officials of thePoojapura central jail have gone into quarantine, police sources said.

. Meanwhile, Malayalam film actor Suraj Venjaramoodu and Vamanapuram MLA D K Murali (CPI) are under self-imposed quarantineas they had attended a function in which the circle inspector had taken part.

Two days ago, a car in which illicit liqour was being transported had hit a policeman and sped away, but people managed to stop the vehicle and the three accused, who were in an inebriated state, were arrested, sources said.

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Agencies
February 10,2020

New Delhi, Feb 10: After an hour-long standoff between the security forces and the students on Monday, the police resorted to a lathi-charge on the protesters near Holy Family hospital which is within walking distance of Jamia Millia Islamia.

A scuffle ensued when police confronted the protesters who tried to push forward towards Parliament. The lathi-charge was made to push back the protesters.

In the melee that ensued, many from both sides fainted.

Some security forces personnel resorted to the lathi-charge while others pushed back the protesters when they threw water pouches at the security forces and abused them.

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News Network
March 4,2020

Beijing/Zurich, Mar 4: China has approved the use of Swiss drugmaker Roche's anti-inflammation drug Actemra for patients who develop severe complications from the coronavirus as it urgently hunts for new ways to combat the deadly infection that is spreading worldwide.

China is hoping that some older drugs could stop severe cytokine release syndrome (CRS), or cytokine storms, an overreaction of the immune system which is considered a major factor behind catastrophic organ failure and death in some coronavirus patients.

Actemra, a biologic drug approved in 2010 in the United States for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), inhibits high Interleukin 6 (IL-6) protein levels that drive some inflammatory diseases.

China's National Health Commission said in treatment guidelines published online on Wednesday that Actemra can now be used to treat coronavirus patients with serious lung damage and high IL-6 levels.

Separately, researchers in the country are testing Actemra, known generically as tocilizumab, in a clinical trial expected to include 188 coronavirus patients and running until May 10.

Roche, which donated 14 million yuan ($2.02 million) worth of Actemra during February, said the trial was initiated independently by a third party with the aim of exploring the efficacy and safety of the drug in coronavirus patients with CRS.

It added that there was currently no published clinical trial data on the drug's safety or efficacy against the virus.

More than 3,000 people have died and 93,000 have been infected by the novel coronavirus thought to have originated in Wuhan, China, before spreading to around 90 countries including the United States, Italy, Switzerland, France and Germany.

The Swiss company, for which China is its No. 2 market behind the United States, also makes diagnostic gear to detect the coronavirus.

Since Actemra's approval a decade ago, it has become a go-to drug against other inflammatory conditions, including cytokine storms in cancer patients receiving cell therapies from Novartis and Gilead Sciences.

In 2012 it helped save the life of a young U.S. girl, the first child to be treated for leukaemia with Novatis' Kymriah, from a post-treatment rush of IL-6.

Priced at between $20-30,000 annually for RA according to SSR Health, Roche's medicine is also used for rare juvenile arthritis and giant cell arteritis, or inflammation of the blood vessels.

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