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Vasundhara Raje no more 'Maharani' as she loses her raj to Cong

Agencies
December 11, 2018

Jaipur, Dec 11: Often seen in wispy 'bandhini' and 'lahariya' chiffons, trademarks of not just Rajasthan craft but also of royalty, Vasundhara Raje is a politician to the manner born, a careful mix of hauteur and reserve -- even in defeat.

The former royal, who is usually called Maharani, is expected to win her seat Jhalrapatan with a handsome margin but her party appeared headed for a loss to the Congress on Tuesday.

As results came in and her party's defeat seemed imminent, she visited the BJP headquarters here but did not make a comment. This was her second term as chief minister and, in keeping with the tradition of voters choosing the Congress and the BJP alternately, the ruling party looks set to lose power.

Trends showed a majority for the Congress, which was in the lead in 101 seats, miles ahead of its tally of 21 in 2013 when the BJP won a massive victory of 163 seats in the 200-member house.

Raje, the daughter of Jivaji Rao Scindia, the last reigning Maharaja of Gwalior, and Vijayaraje Scindia, a prominent BJP leader, ruled Rajasthan as chief minister from 2003-2008 and from 2013-2018 and was the leader of the opposition from 2008 to 2013.

The high-profile Raje, who blends well into the erstwhile land of kings and queens and grand forts, began her Rajasthan connect after her marriage into the erstwhile royal family of Dholpur in the eastern part of the state.

Equally fluent in both Hindi and English, the 65-year-old, known for her glamour quotient and as a crowd puller, was born on international women's day on March 8 and is known for speaking her mind on issues.

She slammed former JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav last week for body shaming her on the last day of campaigning by calling her fat and saying she needed rest.

"I feel insulted. This is the insult of women," Raje said, adding that she was "absolutely shocked" and did not expect such a comment from an experienced leader.

It is probably this matter of fact, candidness that has helped her overcome the many challenges in her political career.

The five-time parliamentarian's style of functioning is described as 'autocratic' by many, within and outside the BJP. Senior BJP legislator Ghanshyam Tiwari had openly criticised her and complained to the high command, demanding action against her. Eventually, it was he who had to part ways from the party in June this year.

Amid rumours of her differences with BJP president Amit Shah, Raje led the BJP's election campaign in the state and took out a Gaurav Yatra. The Congress termed it 'Vidai Yatra' but she was unperturbed.

The Jal Swavalamban Abhiyan, an initiative for making villages self-reliant in water conservation with the support of the public, is among the programmes her government came to be known for.

Despite her being a popular leader among masses, many complain that she continues to be imperious and does not keep in touch with common people.

Raje, who did her schooling from Presentation Convent, Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu, graduated with honours in Economics and Political Science from Sophia College, University of Mumbai.

Her first brush with politics came in 1984 when she was made a member of the National Executive of the newly formed BJP. A year later, she was appointed a vice president of the Yuva Morcha, Rajasthan, BJP. The same year, she was elected a member of the 8th Rajasthan Assembly from Dholpur.

Raje was elected as MP from Jhalawar constituency in 1998 and also became the minister of state in the Ministry of External Affairs, working closely with then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Raje has been the member of parliament for five times and has held various portfolios, including Small Scale Industries and Agro and Rural industries.

Given that politics runs in the family, the four-time legislator's son Dushyant Singh is a BJP MP from Jhalawar.

Raje may have lost this election but will surely be back to fight another day.

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News Network
June 2,2020

London/Milan, Jun 2: World Health Organization experts and a range of other scientists said on Monday there was no evidence to support an assertion by a high profile Italian doctor that the coronavirus causing the COVID-19 pandemic has been losing potency.

Professor Alberto Zangrillo, head of intensive care at Italy's San Raffaele Hospital in Lombardy, which bore the brunt of Italy's COVID-19 epidemic, on Sunday told state television that the new coronavirus "clinically no longer exists".

But WHO epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove, as well as several other experts on viruses and infectious diseases, said Zangrillo's comments were not supported by scientific evidence.

There is no data to show the new coronavirus is changing significantly, either in its form of transmission or in the severity of the disease it causes, they said.

"In terms of transmissibility, that has not changed, in terms of severity, that has not changed," Van Kerkhove told reporters.

It is not unusual for viruses to mutate and adapt as they spread, and the debate on Monday highlights how scientists are monitoring and tracking the new virus. The COVID-19 pandemic has so far killed more than 370,000 people and infected more than 6 million.

Martin Hibberd, a professor of emerging infectious disease at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said major studies looking at genetic changes in the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 did not support the idea that it was becoming less potent, or weakening in any way.

"With data from more than 35,000 whole virus genomes, there is currently no evidence that there is any significant difference relating to severity," he said in an emailed comment.

Zangrillo, well known in Italy as the personal doctor of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, said his comments were backed up by a study conducted by a fellow scientist, Massimo Clementi, which Zangrillo said would be published next week.

Zangrillo told Reuters: "We have never said that the virus has changed, we said that the interaction between the virus and the host has definitely changed."

He said this could be due either to different characteristics of the virus, which he said they had not yet identified, or different characteristics in those infected.

The study by Clementi, who is director of the microbiology and virology laboratory of San Raffaele, compared virus samples from COVID-19 patients at the Milan-based hospital in March with samples from patients with the disease in May.

"The result was unambiguous: an extremely significant difference between the viral load of patients admitted in March compared to" those admitted last month, Zangrillo said.

Oscar MacLean, an expert at the University of Glasgow's Centre for Virus Research, said suggestions that the virus was weakening were "not supported by anything in the scientific literature and also seem fairly implausible on genetic grounds."

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Agencies
June 15,2020

New Delhi, Jun 15: After Two Indian officials working with Indian High Commission in Pakistan wet missing on Monday,  the Ministry of External Affairs summoned Pakistan's Charge d'affaires to India in the national capital and told them not to interrogate or harass Indian officials.

"Two Indian High Commission officials are missing since morning while on official work. The matter has been taken up with the Pakistani authorities," Akhilesh Singh, First Secretary and spokesperson, Indian High Commission, Pakistan, said.

According to sources quoted by PTI news agency, the MEA told the  Pakistan's Charge d'affaires to India that the responsibility of safety and security of Indian personnel in Islamabad "lays squarely with Pakistani authorities."

"Pakistan was asked to ensure return of two Indian officials along with official car to Indian High Commission in Islamabad immediately," sources added. 

The incident comes after two Pakistani officials at the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi were accused of espionage and deported.

The two officials have been missing since Monday morning. Officials said the issue has been taken up with the Pakistan government.

Earlier, a vehicle of India's Charge d'affaires Gaurav Ahluwalia was chased by Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) member.

In March, the Indian High Commission in Pakistan sent a strong protest note to the foreign ministry in Islamabad protesting against the continuing harassment of its officers and staff by Pakistani agencies.

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News Network
August 8,2020

The Kozhikode International Airport located at Karipur is not safe for the landing of flights in rainy season, according to an air-safety expert, who had warned the aviation ministry and the civil aviation regulator about this in 2011. 

The warning was particularly about the dangers of permitting passenger aircraft to land on runway 10 of the airport during rains and unfavourable wind conditions. 

Nine years later, on August 7, 2020, the warning became a reality when an Air India Express pilots landed in tailwind conditions and the aircraft overshot the tabletop runway to drop off the end and crash.

 “An aircraft landing on runway 10 in tailwind will experience poor braking action due to heavy rubber deposits … All such flights … are endangering the lives of all on board,’’ said Capt Mohan Ranganathan, in a letter sent on June 17, 2011 to then director general of civil aviation Bharat Bhushan and Nasim Zaidi, chairman of a civil aviation safety advisory committee, which was formed after the May 2010 Mangaluru air crash which killed 158 people.

“My warning issued after the Mangaluru crash was ignored. It is a table-top runway with a down slope. The buffer zone at the end of the runway is inadequate,” Capt Ranganathan said. Given the topography, he pointed out, the airport should have a buffer of 240m at the end of the runway, but it only has 90m (which the DGCA had approved). “Moreover, the space on either side of the runway is only 75m instead of the mandatory 100m,” he added.

Capt Ranganathan said there is no guideline for operations on a table-top runway when it is raining. “Runway 10 approach should not be permitted in view of the lack of runway end safety area (RESA) and the terrain beyond the end of the runway. RESA of 240m should be immediately introduced and runway length has to be reduced to make the operations safe,” his letter said.

If an aircraft is unable to stop within the runway, there is no RESA beyond the end. The ILS localiser antenna is housed on a concrete structure and the area beyond is a steep slope. “The Air India Express accident in Mangalore should have alerted AAI to make the runway conditions safe. We have brought up the issue of RESA during the initial Casac-sub group meetings. We had specifically mentioned that the declared distances for both runways have to be reduced in order to comply with ICAO Annex 14 requirement,” Capt Ranganathan said.

He said the condition of the runway strip was known to DGCA teams that have been conducting inspection and safety assessments. “Have they considered the danger involved? Did the DGCA or the airlines lay down any operational restrictions or special procedures?”

The letter also refers to Approach and Landing Accident Reduction (ALAR) training, which is supposed to be mandatory before every monsoon, but airlines don’t follow it, he said. “70% of accidents take place during approach and landing and that is why this training is essential,” he added.

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