You can only see death of 2 men, not 21 cows: BJP MLA on Bulandshahr violence

Agencies
December 21, 2018

Dec 21: A BJP MLA Thursday criticised former bureaucrats who have sought Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s resignation over the Bulandshahr mob violence, saying they were concerned only with the death there of two men and not of “21 cows”.

MLA Sanjay Sharma, who represents Anupshahr assembly constituency in Bulandshahr, also said only the people have the power to remove a chief minister elected with huge mandate.

Over 80 former bureaucrats had written an open letter Wednesday alleging failure of the state and central governments in the handling of the December 3 mob violence in Bulandshahr’s Siyana Tehsil after cow carcasses were found near a village.

They had accused Adityanath of bigotry and sought his resignation over the violence in which an on-duty police inspector, Subodh Kumar Singh, and a civilian, Sumit Kumar, were died after suffering bullet injuries. “Now you all are worrying about the Bulandshahr incident. Your imaginative brains can see only the two deaths, that of Sumit and the duty-bound police inspector. You cannot see that 21 cows also died,” MLA Sharma wrote in his open letter Thursday.

“In a state where farmers are tolerating loss of their crops for the last two years for the sake of cows and thank the chief minister for stopping cow slaughter how would that Hindu then tolerate cow slaughter? “Had there been no cow slaughter, such an incident would not have taken place. Hence, the action against those slaughtering cows is correct,” he wrote.

His letter comes at a time when the police in Bulandshahr have arrested three men over the alleged cow slaughter that took place in Siyana on December 3. Police registered an FIR for cow slaughter on a complaint by local Bajrang Dal leader Yogesh Raj, who had accused seven people. During initial probe, police had arrested four people but later released them. Three men who were not named in the FIR were arrested Tuesday as “the actual culprits” in the case.

For mob violence, another FIR was registered on the same day naming 27 people and 50 to 60 unidentified people. So far, 19 people have been arrested in the mob violence case, even as Yogesh Raj of the Bajrang Dal, who is a key suspect in the violence, remained at large.

MLA Sharma said the former civil servants have accused the chief minister of bias against a particular community, when he himself allowed them permission to hold a huge three-day congregation. “This happened in the same state where previous governments would not allow Ramleelas to be held in villages. Had there been a bias, why would the government allow the congregation?” he wrote.

On wrong people getting arrested for cow slaughter and they all being from the same community, the MLA said it was the government which “self-corrected” itself at that point but “unfortunately the others arrested later for the act also belong to the same community and your assertion of bias in that light reflects your mental weakness.” “On your demand for the chief minister’s resignation in your letter, in which you have umpteen times referred to the Constitution, let me remind you that only the people, who have elected the chief minister with a huge mandate, can remove him and not some scurrilous people like you who challenge the constitutional system,” Sharma wrote.

The lawmaker also the former bureacrats’ letter appeared “politically motivated”.

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News Network
March 13,2020

New Delhi, Mar 13: Delhi's Tis Hazari Court on Friday sentenced expelled Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar and six others to 10 years imprisonment for the death of Unnao rape survivor's father. Sengar is already serving life imprisonment for raping the minor.

While sentencing them, District Judge Dharmesh Sharma said, "There can be no denying that rule of law was broken. Sengar was a public functionary and had to maintain the rule of law. The way the crime has been committed, it does not call for leniency."

Sengar and his brother Atul has been directed to give 10 lakh compensation to family of the victim for loss of their father. "There are four minor children involved, three girls and one boy. They have also been uprooted from native place," the judge said.

Seven people, including Sengar, his brother and two police personnel, were held guilty for culpable homicide and criminal conspiracy, earlier this month.

The case pertains to the death of rape survivor's father in custody on April 9, 2018. It was alleged that he was assaulted following a quarrel with some of the accused in the case.

He was taken to the police station and then framed for allegedly possessing an illegal firearm. Pursuant to this, he was sent to custodial remand, during which he died.

The case was transferred to Delhi from a trial court in Uttar Pradesh on the Supreme Court's directions in August last year. Both the death and illegal firearm case was later clubbed by the court.

During the arguments on sentencing on March 12, Sengar had told the court that he should be "hanged and acid poured into his eyes if he has done anything wrong".

The former MLA had also raped the daughter of the deceased in 2017 in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao district and was sent to jail for "remainder of his natural biological life", last year.

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News Network
May 15,2020

New Delhi, May 15: Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan has appealed to all states and Union Territories to ban the sale of smokeless tobacco products and spitting in public places in line with the orders of the Rajasthan and Jharkhand governments to prevent the spread of coronavirus infection.

In a letter to all state health ministers, Vardhan said smokeless tobacco users have a tendency to spit in public places or otherwise and therefore, increase health risks especially those of spreading contagious diseases like COVID-19, tuberculosis, swine flu, encephalitis and others.

"Use of smokeless tobacco also creates an unhygienic environment which further spreads the diseases. The large gathering at the retail outlets where smokeless tobacco products are sold, also pose the risk of spread of COVID-19," he said.

In the letter dated May 11, the Union minister underlined that tobacco use is a major threat to public health globally. He also mentioned the Indian Council of Medical Research's (ICMR) appeal to the public not to consume and spit smokeless tobacco products in public places.

Chewing tobacco products and areca nut increases the production of saliva followed by a very strong urge to spit. Spitting in public places could enhance the spread of the COVID-19, Vardhan said.

"By banning spitting in public places, states and UTs can help in achieving not only Swachh Bharat but also Swasth Bharat (Clean India and Healthy India)," he said.

Vardhan also mentioned the May 1 guidelines issued by the Union Home Ministry under the National Disaster Management Act, 2005, which stipulate that "spitting in public places shall be punishable with fine as may be prescribed by the state/UT local authority and consumption of liquor, pan, gutkha, tobacco etc in public places is not allowed".

Appreciating the efforts of Rajasthan and Jharkhand in this direction, the Union Health Minister urged all states to take similar measures and create widespread awareness regarding the harm of spitting in public places.

The Rajasthan government had by an ordinance banned spinning in public places and sale of paan, gutka and tobacco in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. The Jharkhand too has imposed a complete ban on all types of tobacco products to prevent spitting in public places that could increase the spread of coronavirus infection.

"I am happy to note that the governments of Jharkhand and Rajasthan have already completely banned the sale of tobacco products and spitting in public places. Therefore, I urge upon you to take similar measures and also create widespread awareness in your state/ UT regarding harms of spitting in public places.

"It is also requested that the directions of Ministry of Home Affairs in this regard may be implemented scrupulously and effectively," Vardhan said in the letter.

Tobacco smoking is a known risk factor for many respiratory infections and increases the severity of related diseases. A review of studies by public health experts convened by WHO on April 29 found that smokers are more likely to develop severe diseases, compared to non-smokers, said Binoy Mathew, senior programme officer of Voluntary Health Association of India.

It is one of the main risk factors for a number of chronic ailments, including cancer, lung and cardiovascular diseases, he said, adding that according to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey, with 268 million or 28.6 per cent of all adults in India, the country has the second largest number of tobacco users in the world.

At least 12 lakh die from tobacco-related diseases every year, Mathew said.

Those keen to quit smoking and smokeless products can avail of free of charge telephone-based services launched by the government. The Ministry of Health has set up a National Tobacco Quit Line Services to provide counselling services to help tobacco consumers quit the habit.

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Agencies
July 23,2020

Ahmedabad, Jul 23: Private schools in Gujarat have suspended online classes for an indefinite period from Thursday, after a state government order said they should not collect fees from students until the schools reopen.

In a notification issued last week, the Gujarat government directed self-financed schools in the state not to collect tuition fees from students as long as they remain shut in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It also asked these schools not to hike fees for the academic year 2020-21.

Unhappy with the move, a union of representing nearly 15,000 self-financed schools in Gujarat decided to put on hold online classes, an alternative arrangement started earlier this month for students.

Majority of these schools informed the parents through SMS on Wednesday night that there will not be any online classes for their wards from Thursday.

Self-financed School Management Association's spokesperson Dipak Rajyaguru on Thursday said almost all the self-financed schools in the state refrained from imparting online education.

"If the government believes online education is not real education, then there is no meaning of imparting such unreal education to our students. Online education will remain suspended until the government withdraws that notification," Rajyaguru said in a statement.

He said the association will also approach the high court against state government's decision.

Jatin Bharad, a prominent educationist and member of the association, said there is no alternative to online education in the present scenario.

"Self-financed schools need to pay salaries to the teachers and other staff. No state in India has taken such decision that fees cannot be collected despite conducting online classes. If we adhere to the state notification, it will be impossible for us to pay salaries and run the school.

Thus, we have decided to suspend the online classes," said Bharad said.

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