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Congress in a fix as BSP, SP lock horns over reservation bill

[email protected] (The Hindu)
December 11, 2012

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New Delhi, December 11: A week after convincing the SP and the BSP to support it during the FDI-in-retail vote, the UPA now has the job of getting the bitter rivals on the same page on the quota bill. BSP leader Mayawati on Monday warned of a tough posture after the SP succeeded in not letting the government table the bill that provides for quotas for the SCs/STs in promotions. “We will see for two-three days more...we will see the government’s stand on the issue, what they do and what the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha says. Then, we will decide and take a tough stand,” she said.

 

Ms. Mayawati, whose BSP walked out in the Lok Sabha during the FDI vote but voted for the government in the Rajya Sabha, noted that “the SC/ST Bill is a very serious issue for us. It is the government’s duty to run the House properly and get this bill debated and passed.”

 

The Rajya Sabha could not function post-lunch following the SP’s action. The Congress now seems to be in a fix as its two supporting parties — (pro-Bill) Bahujan Samaj Party and (anti-Bill) SP — have taken intractable positions. As Ms. Mayawati insisted on the bill, Samajwadi Party leaders said they would not let the Rajya Sabha function if the Congress-led UPA government went ahead. SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav said: “We will continue to oppose the Bill and we are ready for suspension. If they [the government] are adamant to get it passed, then we will do it [disrupt the House].”

 

Senior ministers continue to be in touch with both SP president Mulayam Singh Yadav and Ms. Mayawati to end the logjam. Rajya Chairman Hamid Ansari’s meeting with leaders of various parties remained inconclusive. Mr. Ansari is likely to meet these leaders, including Leader of the Opposition Arun Jaitley, BSP leader Satish Mishra, SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath and Minister of State in the PMO V. Narayanasamy, again in the morning to find a way out to let the Upper House function.

 

Earlier in the day, when the Rajya Sabha reassembled at 2 p.m., the SP MPs started raising slogans against the bill as Mr. Narayanasamy tried to move the Constitution Amendment Bill on quota in promotion for discussion. Amid the din, Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien asked the SP MPs to oppose the Bill when it came up for discussion. However, as the sloganeering continued, Mr. Kurien adjourned the House for the day.

 

BJP and SP working together

 

Later, talking to journalists, Ms. Mayawati accused the SP and the BJP of being hand-in-glove in trying to stall the Bill. “It is sad that to stop this bill, the BJP and company raised the issue of lobbying [by Walmart] in the Rajya Sabha. They allowed the Lok Sabha to function but they did not remember the issue of FDI and lobbying there. It proves that the BJP and its supporters don’t want this bill to be passed,” she added.

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News Network
April 19,2020

New Delhi, Apr 19: The government on Sunday prohibited the sale of non-essential items through e-commerce platforms during the ongoing lockdown, four days after allowing such companies to sale mobile phones, refrigerators and ready-made garments.

Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla issued an order excluding the non-essential items from sale by the e-commerce companies from the consolidated revised guidelines, which listed the exemption given to the services and people from the purview of the lockdown.

The order said the following clause "E-commerce companies. Vehicles used by e-commerce operators will be allowed to ply with necessary permissions" is excluded from the guidelines.

The previous order had said such items were allowed for sale through e-commerce platforms from April 20.

However, the reason for reversing the order is not known immediately.

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News Network
July 14,2020

New Delhi, Jul 14: India's COVID-19 tally breached the 9 lakh mark as 28,498 new coronavirus cases were reported in the last 24 hours, informed the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Tuesday.

As per the Health Ministry, there are a total of 9,06,752 coronavirus cases in the country of which 3,11,565 patients are active cases.

5,71,459 patients have been cured/discharged while one patient has been migrated, the Ministry informed further.

553 more deaths due to COVID-19 were reported in the last 24 hours in the country, taking the number of patients succumbing to the virus to 23,727.

The Centre further informed that India's recovery rate from COVID-19 stands at 63.02 per cent while the recoveries and deaths ratio stood at 96.01 per cent and 3.99 per cent respectively.

As per the Ministry, Maharashtra -- the worst-affected state from the infection -- has a total of 2,60,924 COVID-19 cases and 10,482 fatalities. While Tamil Nadu has a tally of 1,42,798 cases and 2,032 deaths due to COVID-19.

Delhi has reported a total of 1,13,740 cases and 3,411 deaths due to COVID-19.

As per the information provided by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) 1,20,92,503 samples have been tested for COVID-19 till July 13, of these 2,86,247 samples were tested on Monday.

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News Network
July 17,2020

Lukung, Jul 17: Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday assured that not an inch of our land can be taken by any power in the world while he interacted with the Indian Army and ITBP personnel at Lukung.

Referring to the India-China border standoff, he said, "Talks are underway to resolve the border dispute but to what extent it can be resolved I cannot guarantee. I can assure you, not one inch of our land can be taken by any power in the world."

Emphasising on finding a diplomatic solution to the standoff, he further said, "If a solution can be found by talks, there is nothing better."
"Recently what happened between troops of India and China at PP14, how some of our personnel sacrificed their lives protecting our border. I am happy to meet you all but also saddened because of their loss. I pay my tributes to them," he added.

Singh interacted with the Army and Paramilitary troops here along with Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and Army Chief General MM Naravane.

Earlier today, the Defence Minister witnessed para dropping and scoping weapons here. He also inspected a Pika machine gun.

Indian Army T-90 tanks and BMP infantry combat vehicles carried out the exercise at Stakna, Leh in presence of Singh, Chief of Defence Staff and Army Chief.

Defence Minister is on a two-day visit to Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir. He will take stock of the situation at both the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and the Line of Control (LOC).

While Pakistan constantly violates ceasefire from across the LoC, China has continued to intrude into Indian territory in Ladakh region in recent past, escalating tensions between India and its eastern neighbour.

On June 15, twenty Indian soldiers laid out their lives during combat with Chinese forces in Galwan valley, leading to tensions between both nations. Chinese soldiers subsequently started moving back following dialogues between two countries through the military level and diplomatic level.

Singh was accompanied by the Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and Army Chief General MM Naravane.

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