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Govt decides to shield convicted MPs, MLAs

September 25, 2013

Govtshield_convictedNew Delhi, Sep 25: The Union Cabinet on Tuesday decided to promulgate an ordinance to negate a Supreme Court order which sought to disqualify an MP or an MLA/MLC convicted for crimes with jail term of two years or more.

An immediate beneficiary of this ordinance could be Congress MP Rasheed Masood who was convicted by a CBI court in a corruption case. The court is set to pronounce the quantum of punishment next month.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a fodder scam case involving Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad on September 30. He also faces the prospect of disqualification as Parliament could not pass the Representation of the People (Second Amendment and Validation) Bill during the Monsoon Session.

At an all-party meeting, political parties had agreed to pass the bill, but differences cropped up when it was introduced in the Rajya Sabha. Some political parties were skeptical on rushing through the legislation fearing a public backlash.

The Supreme Court said on July 10 that lawmakers convicted of crimes with jail term of two years or more face immediate disqualification.

The ordinance seeks to negate the apex court judgment from the day it was pronounced if the lawmaker concerned appeals against his conviction within 90 days and gets a stay from a higher court.

However, the lawmaker will not be eligible to vote in Parliament or legislature of a state or draw salary and allowances till his conviction is set aside by the court.

He may continue to take part in the proceedings of the House. The government had also filed a review petition in the Supreme Court in connection with the July 10 judgment after consultations with the attorney general. But it was strongly felt that a bill be brought in Parliament to negate the apex court ruling without waiting for the outcome of the review petition given parties demand.

Congress spokesman P C Chacko defended the decision to promulgate an ordinance and rejected suggestions that the government was resorting to “backdoor methods” to shield convicted MPs.

“Ordinance is not an undemocratic act by the government. It is not a backdoor method. It has to have the nod of Parliament. It will be placed before Parliament in the very next session,” he said.

BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman slammed the government for deciding to promulgate the ordinance to protect convicted MPs and MLAs.

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News Network
March 23,2020

Bengaluru, Mar 23: Indian stocks plunged over 9% on Monday, as the rapidly spreading coronavirus pandemic sent major states including the country's capital into a lockdown amid increasing fears that outbreak could bring world economies to a grinding halt.

The NSE Nifty 50 index slipped 9.17% to 7,937.75 by 0408 GMT, while the S&P BSE Sensex was 9.42% lower at 27,093.24.

Over the weekend in India, the virus drove several companies to shut operations and the government sent states into lockdowns, bringing normal life to a grinding halt.

"Panic has gone up domestically because of the lockdown situation," said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services.

"There is fear that the situation will not be brought under control soon."

The rupee hit a fresh record low of 76.05 against the dollar, as a flight into cash and worries about tightening liquidity boosted demand for the world's reserve currency.

Meanwhile, global markets crumbled, with MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan sliding nearly 4% as the global death toll climbed to over 14,000, further battering economic activity, and raising fears of a global recession.

After market hours on Friday, the Securities and Exchange Board of India halved position limits for certain stock futures, restricted short-selling of index derivatives and raised margin rates for some shares to curb "abnormally high" volatility amid the pandemic.

In domestic trading, the Nifty PSU Bank Index plunged 8%, while the Nifty bank index crashed nearly 10%.

The Nifty Auto Index slid 9% after several carmakers over the weekend suspended production due to the virus.

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News Network
August 7,2020

Kozhikode: An Air India Express flight from Dubai with 190 people on board overshot the Kozhikode tabletop runway on landing there today. The Boeing 737 “fell off” the runway into the valley, broke into two causing death and devastation. 

According to reports, around 20 people were dead including two pilots.

An Air India spokesperson said: “Air India Express flight IX 1344 operated by Boeing 737 aircraft from Dubai to Calicut overshot the runway at Kozhikode at 7.41 pm Friday. No fire reported at the time of landing. There are 174 passengers, 10 infants, two pilots and five cabin crew on board. Rescue operations are on and passengers are being taken to hospital for medical care. We will soon share the update in this regard.”

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is probing this accident. “Prima facie, the aircraft landed beyond the touchdown point and fell into a valley. It has broken into two. We suspect some casualties. More information is awaited,” said a senior DGCA official.

Taking to twitter, defence minister Rajnath Singh wrote: “Devastating news from Kozhikode, Kerala. I am deeply anguished by the loss of lives due to an accident carrying several passengers on Air India flight. In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with the bereaved families. I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured.”

Foreign minister S Jaishankar tweeted: “Deeply distressed to hear about the Air India Express tragedy at Kozhikode. Prayers are with the bereaved families and those injured. We are ascertaining further details.”

While, senior BJP leader from Kerala K J Alphons tweeted: “Second tragedy of the day in Kerala: Air India Express skids off the run way at Kozhikode, front portion splits , pilot dies and lots of passengers injured . All passengers evacuated. Very lucky the aircraft didn’t catch fire.”

More details are awaited.

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News Network
July 11,2020

New Delhi, Jul 11: India's COVID-19 case count crossed the eight lakh-mark on Saturday with yet another highest single-day spike of 27,114 new cases in the last 24 hours.

As many as 519 deaths were reported during this period.

The total number of positive cases in the country stands at 8,20,916, including 2,83,407 active cases, 5,15,386 cured/discharged/migrated and 22,123 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

With as many as 2,38,461 COVID-19 cases, Maharashtra continues to remain the worst-affected state, followed by Tamil Nadu (1,30,261) and Delhi (1,09,140).

Meanwhile, 1,13,07,002 samples have been tested for COVID-19 till July 10. Out of these 2,82,511 samples were tested yesterday, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

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