Modi consults allies on ministry berths

May 24, 2014

Modi consults ministryNew Delhi, May 24: Prime minister-designate Narendra Modi is giving final shape to a compact “right-sized” council of ministers, which may see the BJP offering its allies at least one Cabinet and two Ministers of State (MoS) berths, depending on their tally of Lok Sabha seats.

Under this formula, big allies like the Shiv Sena and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which won 18 and 16 seats respectively, could look forward to even one Cabinet rank and three MoS.

Smaller allies could be offered a Cabinet berth or a MoS with independent charge.BJP insiders said Modi had in mind a team of 20 to 25 Cabinet ministers in all and an equal number of MoS after clubbing together some ministries and departments that were doing the same area of work.

In any case, Modi was against a jumbo ministry of 70 or more nominees. The 91st amendment to the Constitution, enacted in 2003, warrants that the total number of ministers, including the prime minister or chief minister, in the council of ministers should not exceed 15 per cent of the total number of members of the Lok Sabha or a state Assembly.

Besides the Shiv Sena and the TDP, Modi will have to accommodate Ram Vilas Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), which won six seats.

Though Modi is in no mood to accept Paswan’s demand for Railways, the prime minister- designate cannot ignore the “social importance” of the LJP when the Bihar assembly polls are due next year. Paswan’s party could be offered a Cabinet and a MoS berth.

Another Bihar NDA ally, Upendra Kushwaha-led Rashtriya Lok Samta Party, is likely to get one MoS post. The party won three LS seats.

Modi’s formula for the Shiv Sena will have to take into account the fact that Maharashtra is headed for Assembly polls in November. Therefore, the BJP will have to accommodate its wishes though portfolios will be chosen by Modi, party sources said.

TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu will meet Modi and other top BJP leaders on Sunday to decide the berths for his party MPs. TDP sources said Naidu hoped to secure at least four berths as the list of aspirants in his party was long.

The party has six MPs in Rajya Sabha, including two from Telangana, and 16 in Lok Sabha, of which only one is from Telangana.

As many as 12 of the 16 MPs are new faces in Parliament though three of them -- J C Diwakar Reddy, P Ashok Gajapathi Raju and Thota Narasimham -- have rich experience as MLAs and state ministers.

Going by his seniority as a six-time legislator and command over parliamentary affairs, Raju could be a front-runner for a Cabinet berth, party sources said. Five-time MP Rayapati Sambasiva Rao joined the TDP on election eve and won a sixth term. He too is tipped for Cabinet rank.

Chittoor MP N Siva Prasad, who has been elected for the second consecutive term, is likely to be TDP’s choice under Dalit quota and may get MoS. He had previously served as a minister in the Naidu ministry.

Earlier in the day, Akali Dal chief and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his deputy-CM son Sukhbir Badal met BJP?president Rajnath Singh at his residence. Akali Dal, one of the oldest BJP allies, may land a berth.

Badal had initially conveyed his party’s reluctance to join Modi’s Cabinet because of its poor performance, which saw the defeat of senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley from Amritsar. The Akali Dal won only four of the 13 seats from Punjab.

Modi, who will be sworn in on May 26, held a meeting with senior leaders, including Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari and Arun Jaitley at Gujarat Bhawan on Friday.

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News Network
July 1,2020

Mumbai, Jul 1: Mumbai police on Wednesday imposed section 144 of CrPC prohibiting the movement of people in public places and gatherings, to prevent the spread of Covid-19, an official said.

The prohibitory order, issued by a senior police official, says restrictions on the movement of residents for non- essential work will remain in force till July 15.

The order prohibits "presence or movement of one or more persons in public places or gathering of any sort", the official said.

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News Network
April 20,2020

New Delhi, Apr 20: The Centre on Monday said that India's COVID-19 doubling rate has improved to 7.5 days from 3.4 days before the lockdown was enforced to check the spread of the coronavirus.

"India's doubling rate before the lockdown was 3.4 days. It has now improved to 7.5 days. As per data on April 19, in 18 States, the rate is better than the national average," said Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry, at a daily briefing here.

"The number of districts where no case has been reported in the last 14 days has increased to 59 in 23 States and UTs. Goa is now COVID-19 free," he said.

India's total number of coronavirus positive cases has risen to 17,656 including 14,255 active cases, 2,842 cured/discharged/migrated and 559 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

"Mahe in Puducherry, Kodagu in Karnataka and Pauri Garhwal in Uttarakhand have not reported any COVID-19 case in last 28 days," said Agarwal.

Let us take a look at the top developments of the day regarding the COVID-19 situation in the country:

1. There are 23 active COVID-19 cases in Himachal Pradesh. 11 patients have recovered, four migrated out of the State and one person succumbed to the disease. A total of 2,902 people have been tested for COVID-19 so far, said Himachal Pradesh Health Department.

2. The number of COVID-19 cases has risen to 408 in Karnataka including 16 deaths and 112 discharges, according to the state Health Department. 18 new cases have been reported in the last 24 hours.

3. "14 new COVID-19 cases reported, all from Kashmir. The total number of cases now stands at 368, Jammu-55 and Kashmir-313," said Rohit Kansal, Principal Secretary, Planning, Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir administration.

4. According to Punya Salila Srivastava, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry wrote to Kerala government yesterday, expressing concerns over modified guidelines regarding lockdown. "Kerala has allowed some activities that violate the Ministry's instructions issued under the Disaster Management Act," she said.

5. Five more police personnel from Chandni Mahal police station have tested positive for COVID-19. Till now eight personnel from the police station have tested positive for the virus, according to the Delhi Police.

6. Total 57 new COVID19 cases and two deaths have been reported today. Cumulative positive cases now stand at 1,535, and toll at 25, said Rajasthan's Health Department.

7. Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has said that RTPCR kits are US FDA approved and have good standards and these should be stored under 20-degree temperature for better result.

8. "A total of 283 more COVID-19 cases have been reported in Maharashtra, taking cumulative positive cases in the State to 4,483, as of 11 am today. Of the 283 new cases, Mumbai has recorded 187," said Rajesh Tope, Maharashtra Health Minister.

9. One new COVID-19 positive case was reported today in Bokaro, taking the total number of cases in the State to 42, said Nitin Madan Kulkarni, Jharkhand's Health Secretary.
10. According to Punjab's Health Department, only one person has been tested positive for COVID-19 in the State today. The person is a contact of the COVID-19 patient.

11. "There is only one red zone district in Chhattisgarh. For the last 72 hours, no COVID-19 positive patient has been found even in that red zone district. I am hoping that whole of Chhattisgarh will be green zone soon," said Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel.

12. Six new COVID-19 cases were reported in Kerala, all from Kannur, of which 5 have foreign travel history. Total cases in the State at 408, including 114 active cases, said Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

Meanwhile, the Centre has constituted six Inter-Ministerial Central Teams (IMCTs), two each for West Bengal and Maharashtra and one each for Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan to make an on-spot assessment of the situation and issue necessary directions to the state authorities for their redressal and submit a report to the Central government in the larger interest of the general public.

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News Network
June 11,2020

Washington, Jun 11: Observing that historically India has been a tolerant, respectful country for all religions, a top Trump administration official has said the US is "very concerned" about what is happening in India over religious freedom.

The comments by Samuel Brownback, Ambassador-At-Large for International Religious Freedom, came hours after the release of the "2019 International Religious Freedom Report" on Wednesday.

Mandated by the US Congress, the report documenting major instances of violation of religious freedom across the world was released by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the State Department.

India has previously rejected the US religious freedom report, saying it sees no locus standi for a foreign government to pronounce on the state of its citizens' constitutionally protected rights.

"We do remain very concerned about what's taking place in India. It's historically just been a very tolerant, respectful country of religions, of all religions," Mr Brownback said during a phone call with foreign journalists on Wednesday.

The trend lines have been troubling in India because it is such a religious subcontinent and seeing a lot more communal violence, Mr Brownback said. "We're seeing a lot more difficulty. I think really they need to have a - I would hope they would have an - interfaith dialogue starting to get developed at a very high level in India, and then also deal with the specific issues that we identified as well," he said.

"It really needs a lot more effort on this topic in India, and my concern is, too, that if those efforts are not put forward, you're going to see a growth in violence and increased difficulty within the society writ large," said the top American diplomat.

Responding to a question, Mr Brownback said he hoped minority faiths are not blamed for the COVID-19 spread and that they would have access to healthcare amid the crisis.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has criticised any form of discrimination, saying the COVID-19 pandemic affects everyone equally. "COVID-19 does not see race, religion, colour, caste, creed, language or border before striking. Our response and conduct thereafter should attach primacy to unity and brotherhood," PM Modi said in a post on LinkedIn in February.

The government, while previously rejecting the US religious freedom report, had said: "India is proud of its secular credentials, its status as the largest democracy and a pluralistic society with a longstanding commitment to tolerance and inclusion".

"The Indian Constitution guarantees fundamental rights to all its citizens, including its minority communities… We see no locus standi for a foreign entity/government to pronounce on the state of our citizens' constitutionally protected rights," the Foreign Ministry said in June last year.

According to the Home Ministry, 7,484 incidents of communal violence took place between 2008 and 2017, in which more than 1,100 people were killed.

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