Uddhav chairs first cabinet meet; assures concrete farm aid

Agencies
November 29, 2019

Mumbai, Nov 29: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday night chaired the maiden meeting of his cabinet which sanctioned Rs 20 crore for conservation of the Raigad Fort as he promised concrete assistance for farmers after reviewing existing schemes instead of any piecemeal aid.

Thackeray, sworn in the CM here hours earlier, chaired the first meeting of his cabinet at Sahyadri Guest House in south Mumbai.

He said the first decision of the cabinet was to approve a sum of Rs 20 crore for conserving the Raigad Fort, which was the capital of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the 17th century.

Addressing his first press conference after taking over as CM, Thackeray said he has asked the chief secretary to review all existing government schemes for farmers to understand how much they have actually helped the community.

"We can paint a better picture if we know the reality.

We have sought inputs. Farmers have not got anything, but only assurances. We want to provide concrete help to farmers," he said after the meeting.

"I have asked the chief secretary to provide a realistic picture about the number of schemes aimed at helping farmers and how much they have benefited them.

"Once I get the real picture, we will be able to come up with solution," Thackeray said.

The CM said he is not looking at piecemeal approach to resolve issues related to cultivators, who suffered crop losses in unseasonal rains in October.

"I don't want to provide any negligible assistance but whatever we will do, it will be a grand and satisfactory provision for farmers," Thackeray said.

"So far farmers have been given false promises and they have not benefited actually. I have seen farmers were given certificates of loan waiver but they did not benefit in reality," he said, said hitting out at the erstwhile Devendra Fadnavis government which had announced a mega farm loan waiver in June 2017.

"Even the crop insurance scheme has failed to address farmer issues. The Sena has taken their issues to the streets.

We want to provide some meaningful help to farmers," said Thackeray, who is also president of the Sena, a key member of the Maha Vikas Aghadi, the governing coalition also comprising the Congress and the NCP.

"We want to ensure an atmosphere in the state wherein nobody will feel terrorised," he said.

Before the swearing-in ceremony, the three parties unveiled their common minimum programme (CMP), which will guide the three-party government.

Former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis expressed his disappointment over the programme, saying it does not talk about other parts of the state such as north Maharashtra and Marathwada.

Asked about it, Thackeray said, "The cabinet is of entire Maharashtra and the person who is making such comment was chief minister for five years. A cabinet is not of a particular region, but it represents the entire state." "He should study and tell us to which region our cabinet belongs to," Thackeray said sarcastically.

Elaborating on the first decision taken by the cabinet related to conservation of the Raigad Fort, he said, "The total cost of the project is Rs 606 crore of which Rs 20 crore was disbursed by the previous government.

"I am happy the first decision in my cabinet was sanctioning (Rs 20 crore) for the second round of the ongoing work."

At the media briefing, Thackeray was accompanied by his cabinet colleagues Chhagan Bhujbal, Jayant Patil, Nitin Raut and Balasaheb Thorat.

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News Network
March 27,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 27: Kerala Police social media team is using innovative methods to get people engaged in the home during the lockdown period. From conversing with people to giving them suggestions of must watch movies and sharing links of e-books Kerala police have become new 'chat friend' of people in the state.
"The traditional method of policing of interacting with people is not possible due to social distancing, so Kerala police is using the digital platform to reach out to people," Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Head Quarters Manoj Abraham, who is heading the social media wing told ANI.
"We used social media and tried to be different at the same time innovative. From creating awareness to taking precautions we through various videos like police dance, coronavirus animations etc reached out to people. We used film stars also and used local dialect. It has got good reach and public acceptance. The most important aspect is that they received the underlying message well and are staying home" he added.
Abraham also said that Social Media team of Kerala Police is also fighting the fake news and rumours being spread at the COVID- 19 times.
"Some people were misusing social media by spreading wrong information. We also went behind those who tried to sell medicines saying it is good against Coronavirus. We crushed them with an iron hand - registered cases and arrested them. We send a strong message in social media that no rumour-mongering will be allowed, " he said.
He said the Kerala Police realised that people staying indoors was one of the keys to winning the fight against COVID-19.
"We started a chat box with the public. People were in their houses and they used the time to chat with police on various aspects of lockdown. We provided them with the right information, " he said.
The social media team has prepared a list of e-books that can be downloaded and also has a list of must watch movies. Not only that the team also occasionally share jokes with people during chat sessions.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced a 21-day lockdown in the entire country effective from midnight to deal with the spread of coronavirus, saying that "social distancing" is the only option to deal with the disease.

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News Network
March 5,2020

Lucknow, Mar 5: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath said last night that the role of teachers would come under the scanner when "anti-India" slogans are raised at universities and institutions of higher education.

"When anti-India slogans are raised at institutions of higher education, we should be prepared to ask why this type of distortion occurrs among our students?" he said at a programme organised by the Basic Shiksha Parishad in Lucknow.

"We begin our work with pledge for the country's unity and integrity and today slogans are raised for the division of the nation. In such a situation, questions are raised over the role of teachers who are considered equal to god in society," he said.

"Who all are involved in this sin and chaos? Governments can provide resources, but the one who has given them basic education, who has given them secondary education and who has led them to that place, all of them should evaluate their actions today," the chief minister said.

Speaking about the condition of education in the state when his government came to power three years ago, he said there was an atmosphere of chaos and anarchy in the state and the condition of basic education was very bad.

"The worst problem was that of proxy teachers. Our government started the process of prohibiting proxy teachers in the first phase," he said.

Adityanath said that a teacher is not just a government servant, but the fate of the nation. He said teachers should learn from Chanakya.

Had Chanakya confined himself to Nalanda University, he would not have been able to make India a superpower of the world during that period. Teachers will have to prepare themselves according to the challenges and need of society, he added.

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News Network
January 30,2020

New Delhi, Jan 30: Tension spiralled in Jamia Nagar on Thursday after a man fired a pistol at a group of anti-CAA protesters, injuring a Jamia Millia Islamia student before walking away while waving the firearm above his head and shouting "Yeh lo aazadi" amid heavy police presence in the area.

Massive protests erupted in the area after the incident with hundreds of agitated people gathering near the university, breaking barricades and clashing with police personnel.

The man, who identified himself as "Rambhakt Gopal", was subsequently overpowered by police and detained. He was taken into custody and was being interrogated, police said.

The entire drama, which triggered panic in the area, was captured by television cameras that showed the man in light coloured pants and a dark jacket, walking away on an empty road barricaded by police, turning around and shouting at the protesters in Hindi, "Here, take this freedom."

The gunman went live on Facebook before the brandishing the gun. Police said they were verifying whether it is his real name.

Before the attack, the man also put out messages on Facebook stating "Shaheen Bhag Khel Khatam" (Run Shaheen, the game is over). Another message stated, "Please wrap me in saffron in my last journey with slogans of Jai Shri Ram". His Facebook profile was deleted after screenshots of his posts were circulated widely on social media platforms.

Several students recapped how their peaceful march on Gandhi's death anniversary became violent.

"We were moving towards the Holy Family Hospital where the police had raised barricades. Suddenly, a gun-wielding man came out and opened fire. One bullet hit my friend's hand," Aamna Asif, a student of economics at the university, told PTI.

She said her friend, Shadab Farooq, a mass communication student, was trying to calm the attacker but he shot at him injuring his left hand.

Farooq, who belongs to Kashmir, was taken to the AIIMS Trauma Centre.

Ragibh Naushad, an LLB student at the university, said, "The Jamia Coordination Committee organised a march to pay homage to Gandhi ji on his death anniversary. It started at 12 noon from Gate number 7, but police denied the permission and stopped the march near the Holy Family hospital.

"A man named Gopal, came there and started brandishing a weapon and later shot a round. He was also chanting pro-CAA slogans."

The incident led to panic in the area.

Khalid Hassan, a JMI alumnus, said initially many were not sure whether it was a gunshot or a tyre burst.

There was heavy police and media presence when the incident took place.

The students were heading from Jamia to Mahatma Gandhi's memorial Rajghat. The march was stopped at the Holy Family Hospital near the university.

Chinmoy Biswal, DCP (southeast), said the students wanted to take out a march from Jamia to Rajghat but were denied permission.

"They were being repeatedly told that the protest should be carried out peacefully. We had barricaded the road just before the Holy Family hospital. Meanwhile, a person was seen in the crowd who waved something which appeared to be a weapon."

"We have detained him and are interrogating him. One person has also been injured," Biswal said.

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