Congress begins seeking out allies on Presidential race

April 27, 2012

RastraNew Delhi, April 27: With two months left for the installation of the new President, the Congress has begun consultations with United Progressive Alliance (UPA) allies in the hope of achieving agreement on a common name. Defence Minister A.K. Antony will be flying down to Chennai shortly to meet Dravida Munnetra Kazagham president M. Karunanidhi to discuss the coming presidential elections, senior Congress sources said.

And when West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee arrives here on May 4/5 for talks between the Centre and the States on the contentious National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), she is likely to meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi on the subject of the next President, according to senior Congress sources.

Mamata-SP envoy meet

Ms. Banerjee recently met Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav's envoy, Kiranmay Nanda, on the issue, leading to speculation that the regional parties would try and force a name of their choice on the Congress. After this meeting, a section in the Congress, angered by the episode, began to say the party could get Vice-President Hamid Ansari elected President with the help of the Left parties even if the Trinamool decided to support some other candidate. But, of course, if the Congress were to do that, the Trinamool would not be able to continue in the UPA. “The Congress has to first get its own partners on board,” party sources stressed.

Pawar's clarification

On Thursday, Union Agriculture Minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Pawar met Ms. Sonia Gandhi at her invitation: he is believed to have clarified to her that he had not said that he was in favour of a non-political President — what was important was that there should be consensus on a name.

In the first round of talks, the Congress is hoping to get the green signal on a common name from all its major partners, starting with the Trinamool, the DMK and the NCP — which have the largest chunk of votes after the Congress in the UPA. In the second part of this exercise, the Congress will begin discussions with parties that are supporting it from outside, especially the vote-rich SP and Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party.

In the final round, the Congress will talk to the opposition parties because it is still working to avoid a contest. But party sources have made it clear that the name that appears to be emanating from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) circles — that of former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam — is unacceptable to it. If the BJP insists on that name, there will be a contest, Congress sources stressed.

However, even as Delhi is swirling with the names of presidential probables, the Congress is holding its cards close to its chest. In the end, it could even be a name currently not in circulation.

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News Network
June 7,2020

Bhopal, June 7: In a shocking incident of medical cruelty, an 80-year-old man was tied to a hospital bed in Madhya Pradesh after he allegedly failed to make payment of fees for his treatment. The incident took place at the City Hospital in Shajapur.  

The hospital, however, claimed that he was having convulsions and as a result had his hands and legs tied so that he could not hurt himself.

The man’s family members have accused the hospital authorities of resorting to the heinous act after they failed to pay a fee of Rs 11,000 for his treatment at the. 

“We had deposited a bill of Rs 5,000 at the time of admission but when the treatment took a few more days, we did not have the money to pay the bill,” his daughter told the channel.

The hospital, however, maintained that the man was shackled because he was suffering from an electrolyte imbalance. “He was having convulsions because of electrolyte imbalance,” an unidentified doctor said. “We tied him so that he could not hurt himself.” 
The doctor claimed the hospital had waived off the man’s bill on “humanitarian grounds”.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan took cognizance of the matter and promised strict action against the hospital authorities. 

The Shajapur administration has also ordered an inquiry and has sent a police team to the hospital for investigation, the district collector told media persons.

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News Network
February 2,2020

Lucknow, Feb 2: In an early morning firing at Lucknow's Hazratganj, the city centre, Vishva Hindu Mahasabha state president Ranjit Bachchan was killed while he was out on a morning walk on Sunday.

Ranjit Bachchan was taking a stroll in Hazratganj in the morning when bike-borne assailants opened fire on him and killed him on the spot. The Mahasabha leader was shot in the head multiple times.

The incident took place near the CDRI building in Lucknow's Hazratganj.

In the firing, Ranjit Bachchan's brother also suffered bullet injuries. He has been rushed to the trauma centre. Ranjit Bachchan was a resident of Gorakhpur.

The early morning shootout in the Uttar Pradesh capital's central area has caused tension in the area.

Dinesh Singh, DCP Central Lucknow, said, "The body has been identified as of Ranjit Bachchan, who had gone out on morning walk when some unknown assailant shot him. A police team has been formed and further investigation is being carried out."

Before being associated with the Mahasabha, Ranjit Bachchan was a Samajwadi Party member and was often spotted with former UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav.

The Samajwadi Party has hit out at the Yogi Adityanath government over the law and order situation in the state and demanded immediate resignation of the government.

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News Network
May 29,2020

New Delhi, May 29: With the highest spike of 7,466 more COVID-19 cases and 175 deaths reported in the past 24 hours, India's COVID-19 tally reached 1,65,799 on Friday, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The number of active coronavirus cases stands at 89,987 while 71,105 people have been cured or recovered and one patient has migrated, it said. The death toll due to the infection has reached 4,706 in the country.

Maharashtra is the worst affected state with 59,546 cases. Tamil Nadu has recorded as many as 19,372 cases while Gujarat and Delhi have recorded 15,562 and 16,281 coronavirus cases respectively.

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