Western UP is mini-Pakistan, says VHP leader Sadhvi Prachi

Agencies
October 23, 2019

Lucknow, Oct 23: After claiming to be under threat from jihadi groups, firebrand Hindu leader Sadhvi Prachi on Wednesday said that western Uttar Pradesh has turned into a mini-Pakistan.

She said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's next aim after the revocation of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir, should be to deal firmly with those who issue fatwas.

"Till now I used to fearlessly move around the country but after the murder of Kamlesh Tiwari in Lucknow and Mukesh Sharma in Meerut, I feel apprehensive," she told reporters.

She further said that Tiwari had given a statement in response to the statement made by a leader in Rampur and has paid for it with his life.

Tiwari was brutally murdered in Lucknow on October 18 in his house. Autopsy revealed on Wedenesday, the Hindu Samaj Party leader was stabbed 15 times and shot in the face. The two assailants who entered his premises under the pretext of wishing to join his party, also tried to slit his throat.

Prachi, after the murder of Tiwari had claimed to be facing threat to her life. She said that Tiwari's killing was the doing of Jihadis (Islamic militants). Speaking to reporters in Haridwar on Sunday, she asked Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the governments of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh to provide her security.

Prachi was in Rampur on Wednesday to meet the family of Mukesh Sharma, a lawyer who was shot dead in Meerut on the same day as Tiwari.

Sharma, a senior member of the Meerut Bar Association, was shot dead by unidentified assailants here late on Friday. He was also an office bearer of the Brahmin Sabha.

The assailants fled after the incident and Mukesh Sharma, was rushed to the Anand Hospital, where the doctors declared him brought dead.

His daughters have alleged that the murder was planned because all shops in the village usually remain open till midnight but on that day, all shops had closed at 8.p.m, an hour before Sharma was shot dead in his Kamalpur village.

On Sunday, after the two murders, Prachi said: "I have received threats from the ISIS on several occasions. I believe firmly in God and have not discussed this till now. But the murder of Kamlesh Tiwari has upset me. A few days ago, some unknown persons came to my ashram and made inquiries about me. I feel that I need security."

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News Network
March 21,2020

Mar 21: India’s economy, already in the grip of a slowdown, is in for more pain after Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to citizens to stay at and work from home to curb the coronavirus outbreak.

The services sector, which accounts for about 55% of India’s gross domestic product, is poised to be the worst hit after Modi, in a late evening address on Thursday, urged citizens to go on a self-imposed curfew for a day and private companies to allow employees to work from home for longer. In the country’s vast informal sector, social-distancing measures could mean a dent to productivity and consumption because of job or pay losses.

“The impact of a partial lock-down or social distancing will be significant,” said Rahul Bajoria, a senior economist at Barclays Plc in Mumbai. “If there’s a widespread community outbreak, GDP could fall as low as 3.5% in the year starting April 1.”

Shrinking output may limit growth in an economy that’s already set to expand at an 11-year low of 5% in the current year to March 31. Before the virus outbreak, India had forecast growth to recover to 6%-6.5% in the next fiscal year. S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings have already slashed their growth forecast by 50 basis points.

“The current social-distancing measures will severely impact airlines, hotels, malls, multiplexes, restaurants and retailers,” according to analysts at Crisil Ltd., the local unit of S&P Global. “Lower footfalls and occupancies, decline in business volume and sub-optimal operating efficiencies will impact cash flows of companies in these sectors,” wrote the analysts led by Chief Economist Dharmakirti Joshi.

The government will try to announce a relief package for virus-affected sectors as early as possible, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said Friday.

In a televised address, Modi advised all citizens to stay at home for a day on March 22, as he sought to stem the spread of the coronavirus -- cases of which are relatively low in India at about 200, compared with more than 200,000 infected people globally. His government also barred incoming flights for a week from that day, joining a growing list of countries effectively sealing their borders.

What Bloomberg’s Economists Say

We had only earlier this week lowered our GDP outlook to consider the direct impact of the local outbreak as confirmed virus cases exceeded 100 as of March 15 and the federal and state governments announced social distancing measures that have already started to crimp economic activity. We are now revising down our GDP estimate for 4Q fiscal 2020 to 3.3%, from our 3.5%.

-- Abhishek Gupta, India economist

For more, click here

“Consumption being the biggest component of GDP, a lock-down is bound to have a big impact on the economy,” said Devendra Kumar Pant, chief economist at India Ratings and Research, the local unit of Fitch. “Modeling uncertainty in any system will be very difficult, but one can say the slowdown could deepen or prolong further.”

Work From Home

While companies, including billionaire Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Industries Ltd., are asking employees to work from home, the option isn’t feasible in India’s vast informal sector.

“The option to work remotely simply won’t exist for most,” said Shilan Shah, an economist with Capital Economics Pte. in Singapore.

As many households don’t have savings buffers, the government would probably have to back this up with large-scale cash handouts that reach the poorest, he said.

Work from home is posing implementation challenges for the manufacturing sector where workers are required to be physically present at the production sites. The services sector, such as banking and information technology, also needs employees to be present in offices as confidential data is used, according to industry group Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

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News Network
July 17,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 17: A gunman posted at the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram allegedly attempted suicide on Friday, the police said.

"A gunman who was working at the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram allegedly attempted to commit suicide today. He is currently admitted to a hospital. 

The police were searching for him after his relatives had filed a missing complaint on Thursday night. A case has been registered and a probe is underway," said Police.

The person is identified as Jayagosh. He is attached to the police Armed Reserve (AR) camp and was reported missing since last night. Later, his relatives had filed a missing complaint with the police.

Jayagosh was later found lying in a pool of blood near his house in Akkulam and was taken to the hospital.

A police investigation is underway and more details are awaited.

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Agencies
February 7,2020

Jammu & Kashmir, Feb 7: Former Jammu and Kashmir chief ministers Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah, besides two political stalwarts from NC and its arch-rival PDP were booked under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) by the administration on Thursday, officials said.

A magistrate accompanied by police served the order to Mufti at the bungalow where she has been detained, the officials said.

Abdullah was also booked under the PSA, they said.

National Conference general secretary and former minister Ali Mohammed Sagar, who wields a support base in downtown city, was served with a PSA notice public order by the authorities.

Similarly, senior PDP leader Sartaj Madani was booked under the PSA. Madani is the maternal uncle of former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti.

Both Sagar and Madani were detained in the aftermath of August 5 crackdown by the Centre on politicians following abrogation of special status of the erstwhile state, besides its bifurcation into two union territories.

Their six-month preventive custody was ending on Thursday.

Earlier, the officials had said that former NC legislator Bashir Ahmed Veeri was also booked under the PSA but later it turned out that he had been released.

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