Presidential fight finalised, focus shifts on Ansari's successor

June 23, 2012

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New Delhi, June 23: With the battle lines drawn for the July 19 presidential election, the focus is gradually shifting to the vice-presidential poll in August, for which incumbent M. Hamid Ansari appears to be a strong contender, Congress sources said Saturday.

After having had its way on fielding Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee as the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) nominee for the next president, the Congress appears keen to call the shots in the vice-presidential election as well.

Congress sources said that there was a possibility of Ansari getting a second term at the high post but other names were also doing the rounds. These included former union minister Mohsina Kidwai, the Rajya Sabha's former deputy chairman K. Rahman Khan and Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief Saifuddin Soz.

A party leader, insisting on anonymity, said that generally the vice president was chosen for the post of president if the same party continued in power. However, since Mukherjee was named for presidency, "I feel he (Ansari) may be renominated," the leader told IANS.

He said the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), which announced support for Mukherjee in the presidential poll, may back Ansari if he was renominated as vice-president.

Ansari was a common candidate of the UPA and the Left parties in the vice-presidential poll in 2007. His term comes to end Aug 10.

Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh, in a recent TV interview, praised Ansari saying he had conducted himself admirably as the vice-president.

At one point, Ansari was in the reckoning as the Congress choice for the post of president along with Mukherjee, who was eventually chosen as the official UPA nominee.

A party leader said that there was high probability of Ansari being re-nominated as the vice-president as he had missed the UPA's nomination as the presidential candidate.

Congress leaders said there was “sufficient time” to decide the vice-presidential candidate and an announcement was likely to be made after the declaration of the presidential poll result July 22.

The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party is expected to chart its course warily in the vice presidential election as two of its allies in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) broke ranks with it and declared their support to Mukherjee in the presidential poll.

The party decided to contest the presidential poll so as to not allow a "walkover" to the Congress and not to be seen as backing a nominee of what it has consistently called a "failed" government.

The name of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal was doing the rounds, initially, as a possible choice of the NDA in the vice-presidential poll.

BJP leader Jaswant Singh met Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav earlier this month, fuelling speculation about his interest in the vice president's post.

The vice president is elected by an electoral college consisting of members of both houses of parliament, in accordance with the system of proportional representation by the means of the single transferable vote. The voting is by secret ballot.

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News Network
May 27,2020

Muzaffarpur, May 27: A toddler's vain attempt to wake up his dead mother from eternal sleep on a railway platform in Bihar's Muzaffarpur on Wednesday presented the most poignant picture of the massive migrant tragedy unfolding across several states.

A video tweeted by Sanjay Yadav, an aide to RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, shows the child walking unsteadily up to his mother's body, tugging at the blanket placed over her, and when failing to wake her up, covering his own head with it.

As the mother still lay still, he wobbles away from her, announcements continuing in the background about the arrival and departure of trains that would bring in tens of thousands of people in a rush to get away from hunger and hardship they face in large cities that could sustain them no more.

"This small child doesn't know that the bedsheet with which he is playing is the shroud of his mother who has gone into eternal sleep. This mother died of hunger and thirst after being on a train for four days. Who is responsible for these deaths on trains? Shouldn't the opposition ask uncomfortable questions?" tweeted Yadav.

However, police had a different story to tell.

Ramakant Upadhyay, the Dy SP of the Government Railway Police in Muzaffarpur, said the incident occurred on May 25 when the migrant woman was on way to Muzaffarpur from Ahmedabad by a Shramik Special train.

He told reporters the woman, who was accompanied by her sister and brother-in-law, had died on the Madhubani bound train.

"My sister-in-law died suddenly on the train. We did not face any problem getting food or water," the officer said, quoting the deceased's brother-in-law who he did not name.

He said on getting information, poice brought down the body and sent it for postmortem.

Citing the brother-in-law of the deceased, Upadhyay said she was aged 35 years and was undergoing treatment for "some disease" for the last one year in Ahmedabad. "She was also mentally unstable," he said.

When persistently queried about the cause of death, he said,"Only doctors can tell".

A massive exodus of migrant workers is on in several parts of the country, unprecedented in magnitude since Partition.

The humanitarian crisis still unfolding on highways and railway platforms has shone light on disturbing tales of entire families walking hundreds of kilometres with little children on foot in a seemingly endless march to escape hunger.

People have been found travelling on trucks and in the hollow of concrete mixing plants, and in many cases, dying from hunger and exhaustion before reaching their destinations.

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News Network
May 19,2020

Hyderabad, May 19: Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao has hit out at the Narendra Modi-led NDA government over the fiscal stimulus package, accusing it of treating states like "beggars" and imposing "laughable" conditions for increasing borrowing limits under the FRBM Act.

"This is 'pure cheating. Betrayal. Jugglery of numbers. All gas. The Centre has reduced its own prestige," he said while referring to conditions linked to the increased borrowing limits for states under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act.

Rao cited international journals that had commented on whether the Union Finance Minister's aim was to revive the GDP or to reach the Rs 20 lakh crore number (the stimulus package announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi).

"This is a very cruel package. It is fully in a feudal policy and dictatorial attitude. We fully condemn this. This is not what we asked for," Rao, who had supported several measures taken by the Centre so far in the fight against coronavirus, said.

At a time when the finances of states were paralysed due to COVID-19 global pandemic, the state governments wanted funds to reach them so that they can help people in different forms, he said. "When we asked for it, you treat states like beggars, what did the Centre do? Is this the way reforms are implemented in India?" he asked during an interaction with media on Monday after a cabinet meeting.

For example, two per cent increase under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act (about Rs 20,000 crore in Telangana) has been given.

But, the conditions put are "laughable" and "very nasty" though the loan was to be fully repaid by the state, he said.

Explaining the situation, Rao said Rs 2,500 crore would be given if reforms were implemented in power sector and Rs 2,500 crore would be allowed if reforms in market committees as suggested by the central government are accepted.

"Is this a package? What is this? This cannot be called a package. Very sorry.. This is not the policy to be followed in a federal system... Then what are the state governments for?" the Telangana Rashtra Samithi supremo asked and said they were also constitutional governments and not subordinates.

The CM said he felt anguished and the way the Centre was wielding control over states was against the spirit of federalism.

"Prime Minister ji said cooperative federalism. This has proved that it is totally hollow and bogus," he added.

The state, however, has already fulfilled certain conditions, he added.

On the occasion, Rao also outlined his government's certain policy guidelines for regulatory farming proposed to be implemented.

On the additional water proposed to be drawn by the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh from Srisailam project, he said there was no question of compromising on the states interests.

Flaying Opposition criticism against his government for allegedly failing to protect the state's interests, Rao said he had sought peaceful co-existence with all the neighbouring states.

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News Network
April 1,2020

Prayagraj,  April 1: Seven Indonesian nationals, one person from Kolkata and one from Kerala who had attended the event at Delhi's Nizamuddin Markaz have been put under quarantine, informed SP (City) Prayagraj, Brijesh Kumar Srivastava on Wednesday.

"Seven Indonesian nationals, one person from Kolkata and one from Kerala, were found at Abdullah mosque here. During the investigation, it was found that they had attended the Markaz gathering in Delhi. These people, along with 28 people who came in contact with them, have been quarantined." he said.

"A case has also been registered against them for not informing the police on reaching here," he added.

Earlier, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain had said that the officials are not certain of the accurate number of people who participated in the event but it is being estimated that 1,500-1,700 people had assembled at the Markaz building.

The religious gathering was held at the Markaz building in Nizamuddin between March 13 and March 15.

The total number of active cases rose to 1466 in the country, while 132 people have been cured and discharged after receiving treatment, as of 9 am.

The number of deaths due to the infection also rose to 38, while one person has migrated.

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