People who have mandate to rule are typical 'bullies', CAG Vinod Rai says

New Delhi, Apr 23: Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday accused the BJP of spreading the virus of communal prejudice and hatred in the country, asserting that "grave damage" is being done to social harmony

Addressing a meeting of the Congress Working Committee, Gandhi said it should worry every Indian and her party will have to work hard to repair this damage.

"Let me also share with you something that should worry each and every one of us as Indians. When we should be tackling the coronavirus unitedly, the BJP continues to spread the virus of communal prejudice and hatred," she said.

"Grave damage is being done to our social harmony. Our party, we will have to work hard to repair that damage," the Congress president added

Former prime minister Manmohan Singh, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and top Congress leaders attended the meeting through video conference

This is the second time the CWC, the Congress' top decision-making body, is meeting through video-conferencing in the past three weeks ever since the lockdown was enforced to contain the coronavirus threat.

The Congress president said the coronavirus pandemic has increased disturbingly in the past three weeks and called upon the government to increase testing for it

Gandhi said she has written several times to the prime minister since the lockdown was enforced and suggested several measures and constructive cooperation

"Unfortunately, they have been acted upon only partially and in a miserly way. The compassion, large-heartedness and alacrity that should be forthcoming from the central government is conspicuous by its absence," she said

The Congress chief said the focus of the party must continue to be on successfully engaging with health, food security and livelihood issues.

She claimed that around 12 crore people have lost jobs in the first phase of the lockdown and urged the government to provide a relief package for the MSME sector, which accounts for one-third of the GDP

Gandhi called upon the government to provide food and financial security to migrants and jobless stranded at various places and were desperate to reach back home

"We have repeatedly urged PM there is no alternative to testing, tracing and quarantine. Unfortunately, testing still remains low, testing kits still in short supply," she noted

Gandhi said trade, commerce and industry have come to a virtual halt and crores of livelihoods have been destroyed.

"The central government does not appear to have a clear idea on how the situation will be managed after May 3rd. A lockdown of the present nature after that date would be even more devastating," she said

Former prime minister Manmohan said the success of the lockdown will be judged finally on India's ability to tackle COVID-19

He also said the cooperation between the Centre and states was key to success of the country's fight against coronavirus

Singh said it is necessary to focus on a number of issues in the fight against coronavirus

The fight against COVID-19 would very much depend upon the availability of resources, he noted

Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot said unless the central government comes forward to financially help states, the fight against COVID-19 will get weakened

"Unless there is a big financial package for states, how will normalcy return to states post lockdown," he asked

Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel said unless the Centre rises to the occasion and provides financial assistance to states, how will the fight against COVID-19 be won

Puducherry chief minister V Narayanasamy said the Union government has not given any assistance to the states

"How will states survive in times of crisis. We are not enemies but have to act and work together," Narayanasamy said at the CWC meet.

New Delhi, May 26: The in-fighting among the residents of housing societies over feeding of stray dogs is nowhere near ending, with yet another attack on a pregnant Russian woman again in the national capital region this time in Noida.

The Russian woman residing in a condominium in Noida's Sector 71 was allegedly attacked by two men for feeding foundling canines inside the complex.

"We have initiated an inquiry and a case has been registered against the men for voluntarily causing hurt and criminal intimidation," Amit Kumar Singh, Station House Officer of Phase 3 police station told IANS.

The police said that the victim is married to an Indian man and they live in that society.

The issue was raked up on social media by one of the residents of the society. Her post had even solicited a response and help from the Noida Police Commissioner.

Kaveri Rana Bharadwaj wrote, "Mob led by Vikas Sharma, and Mr. Chauhan beat up a pregnant woman in Jagriti Apartment, Sector 71 Noida. Request you to immediately arrest these men and provide security to the scared woman!"

When contacted, a member of the Resident Welfare Association (RWA) of the society said that the allegations levied by her are false and that he, along with a handful of other people, had only asked her not to feed the dogs.

Vikas Sharma divulged, "The woman was called at the society gate by the members of the RWA. When she was asked not to feed the street dogs, she became aggressive, started fighting with the residents of the society and even pushed a 70-year-old woman. The complaint that she registered against us is false. We did not even touch her."

He added that there are 70-80 street dogs in the society who have lately become extremely aggressive. "The lady was asked not to feed them as people feared stepping out of their houses and getting bitten."

In another incident on Tuesday, a Greater Noida man beat up a Chinese woman for allegedly fostering a stray dog which bit his canine.

Greater Noida District Commissioner of Police Rajesh Kumar Singh told IANS that the man named Amar Pratap Singh of ATS Paradiso misbehaved with the woman after his dog was bit by another dog who she used to feed every day.

The incident happened in the wee hours of the day when the accused took his dog out for a walk. "After his dog was bitten, in a fit of rage, he misbehaved with the Chinese woman." A Non-Cognizable Report (NCR) has been registered and no arrests have been made so far, the police said.

New Delhi, Jan 4: In more troubles for the former Finance Minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday questioned him for over six hours in its probe into the Air India aircraft deal case, first time since his release from Tihar jail almost a month ago.

A senior ED official told IANS, "We questioned Chidambaram for over six hours today in the ongoing probe into the Air India deal with Airbus."

According to financial probe agency officials, Air India had planned to buy over 111 aircraft from Airbus and Boeing during the erstwhile United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in 2009. This is the first time the ED has questioned the senior Congress leader in the Air India deal case.

The questioning of Chidambaram came for the first time since his release from the Tihar jail where he spent 106 days in connection with the INX Media money laundering case. He was released from Tihar on December 4 last year after he was granted bail by the Supreme Court. The former finance minister is also being investigated by the ED in a separate money-laundering cases of Aircel-Maxis deal.

An ED official said the contract to buy 43 aircraft from Airbus was finalised by a panel of ministers headed by Chidambaram in 2009. According to the ED, when the proposal to buy 43 aircraft from Airbus was sent to the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), there was a condition that the aircraft manufacturer would have to build training facilities and MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) centres at a cost of Rs 70,000 crore. But later, when the purchase order was placed, the clause was removed.

The name of another UPA minister, Praful Patel, had also come up in the alleged scam in a charge sheet filed by the ED against corporate lobbyist Deepak Talwar on March 30 last year. Talwar was arrested last year by the ED after he was deported from the UAE.

The ED is probing the Air India-Indian Airlines merger; purchase of 111 aircraft from Boeing and Airbus at Rs 70,000 crore; ceding profitable routes and schedules to private airlines, and opening of training institutes with foreign investment.