Vijayawada to be new capital of Andhra Pradesh

September 4, 2014

Chandrababu NaiduHyderabad, Sep 4: Putting an end to months of suspense, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday announced that the new capital of the state would be located “around Vijayawada”.

Making a statement in the Legislative Assembly amid a din caused by opposition YSR Congress, Mr. Naidu said, “The Cabinet met on September 1 and resolved to locate the capital city in a central place of the state, around Vijayawada, and go for decentralised development of the state with three mega cities and 14 smart cities.

“It is proposed to go for land pooling system to be worked out by a Cabinet sub-committee,” he said.

“This decision of the Cabinet is a reflection of the popular sentiment, and is affirmed by views expressed in the representations received by the Sivaramakrishnan Committee (appointed by the Centre),” he said.

“Nearly 50 per cent of the representations received by the Committee favoured Vijayawada-Guntur region as the best location for the capital area,” Mr. Naidu said.

The State Government, as resolved by the Cabinet, was of the opinion that the interests of the entire state and its balanced development could be best served by locating the capital city at a central place around Vijayawada.

This would enable equal access to people from all regions of the state, he observed.

Before Mr. Naidu made a statement on the issue, YSR Congress MLAs stalled the proceedings demanding that the House first discuss the Sivaramakrishnan Committee report on location of new state capital.

The House had to be adjourned twice for 15 and 10 minutes respectively as the Opposition legislators remained in the Well, holding placards and raising slogans for a discussion on the subject.

Though Speaker Kodela Sivaprasada Rao, Legislative Affairs Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu, other ministers and TDP MLAs found fault with the YSRC’s conduct, the opposition members remained adamant on their demand.

“You can’t dictate terms to the House. It runs as per rules and procedures. You can take part in the discussion and express your views,” the Speaker told the agitating members but to no avail.

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Agencies
July 30,2020

Kochi, Jul 30: The Kerala High Court on Thursday refused to grant the extension for the stay of a 74-year-old US citizen, Johnny Paul Pierce, who had earlier said that he felt safer to remain in India than in the United States amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The single-judge bench of Justice CS Dias, which considered the writ petition, observed that the grant or extension of visa to foreign nationals fall exclusively within the domain of the Government of India (GoI) and that judicial review in such matters is minimal.

The power of the GoI to expel foreigners is absolute and unlimited, the bench said.

"In view of the categoric declaration of law by the Supreme Court, the plea of the petitioner to permit him to stay back in India cannot be accepted, as it falls within the purview of the guidelines and the discretion of the Government of India," the order said.

"The petitioner cannot be heard that the guidelines/policies/regulations formulated by the Government of India, that an American national though has been granted a visa having validity of five years has to leave India within 180 days, is irrational or unreasonable," it added.

The High Court, which was hearing a plea to permit the US citizen to stay in India for a further period of six months, said that the petitioner does not have a case that there is an infraction of Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

"The petitioner was well aware of the visa conditions when he arrived in India, and it is too late in the day for him to raise a grievance on the visa conditions," the bench said noting that the petitioner's love for India was heartening.

The High Court also directed the Foreigners Registration Officer to consider the petitioner's representation within a period of two weeks in accordance with the applicable guidelines and policies.

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News Network
June 18,2020

New Delhi, Jun 18: Republican Party of India (RPI-A) leader Ramdas Athawale on Thursday urged Indians to boycott Chinese food and asked for a ban on all restaurants which serve the cuisine.

"Restaurants selling Chinese food should be banned. Restaurants should be closed by the order of the state government. I appeal to people who consume Chinese food to boycott it," Athawale told ANI here.

The Union Minister also said that both the products which come from China and its literature should also be banned in the country.

"The Chinese literature should also be banned, its products too should be banned and its companies too should not be given business here. We should develop such companies in the country which can manufacture the same products here," he added.

Athawale also warned China to reconsider its actions and stop its nefarious activities on the border by saying, "You took Buddha from us but we don't want yuddha (war) with you. A war will prove to be costly for both countries, economically and loss of lives will also occur. If we (Indians) are not crossing the border then why are you doing so?"

Athawale's statements came after at least 20 Indian Army personnel, including a Colonel rank officer, lost their lives in the violent face-off in the Galwan valley area of Ladakh on June 15.

The clash happened as a result of an attempt by the Chinese troops to "unilaterally change" the status quo during de-escalation in eastern Ladakh and the situation could have been avoided if the agreement at the higher level been scrupulously followed by the Chinese side, India said on June 16.

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Agencies
May 5,2020

Jammu and Kashmir, May 5: Awarding the prestigious Pulitzer Prize to three Indian photographers, the Pulitzer Board at Columbia University claimed that it was for their work in Kashmir as "India revoked its independence".

The award to Channi Anand, Mukhtar Khan and Dar Yasin in the feature photography category for their pictures for the Associated Press was announced on Monday.

The prizes, considered the most prestigious for US journalism, are associated with the university's Graduate School of Journalism where the judging is done and is announced, although this year it was done remotely.

Besides a certificate, the prizes carry a cash award of $15,000, except the public service category for which a gold medal is awarded.

The public service prize went to The Anchorage Daily News for a series that dealt with policing in Alaska state.

In making the award to the three, the Board said on its website that it was "for striking images of life in the contested territory of Kashmir as India revoked its independence, executed through a communications blackout".

Besides making the false claim about "independence" of Kashmir being "revoked", the board that includes several leading journalists did not explain how their photographs could have reached the AP within hours of the incidents recorded "through a communication blackout".

India's Central government only revoked Article 370 of the Constitution that gave Jammu and Kashmir a special status and it was not independent.

Indian journalists were allowed to operate in Kashmir, while only non-Indian journalists were barred.

The wording of the award announcement calls into question the credibility of the Pulitzer Board that gives out what are considered prestigious journalism awards.

The portfolio of pictures by the three on the Pulitzer web site included one of a masked person attacking a police vehicle and another of masked people with variants of the Kashmir flag, besides photos of mourners and protesters.

One of the finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for explanatory journalism was a reporter of Indian descent at The Los Angeles Times, Swetha Kannan, who was nominated for her work with two colleagues on the seas rising due to climate change.

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