Rahul Gandhi writes to Manohar Parrikar, says he never shared their meeting details

Agencies
January 31, 2019

New Delhi, Jan 31: Congress President Rahul Gandhi Wednesday said he empathises with Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar for being "forced" to accuse him of doing petty politics over a courtesy visit and asserted he never shared any details of their meeting.

Replying to Parrikar, hours after the former defence minister wrote to him, Gandhi said in his two speeches since their meeting in Panaji, he had only referred to what is already in the public domain on the Rafale deal and what the chief minister had said earlier.

The ailing Goa chief minister Wednesday accused the Congress chief of using his courtesy visit to him for "petty political gains", asserting that there was no mention of the Rafale issue in their five-minute meeting.

Several BJP leaders, including party president Amit Shah, also attacked Gandhi. Gandhi said he was forced to write back to Parrikar to clarify his position on the issue as the chief minister's letter to him has created an "unfortunate and unnecessary controversy".

"Parrikar Ji, I empathise with your situation. I understand the immense pressure you are under after our meeting yesterday.  Pressure that has forced you to take the highly unusual step of demonstrating your loyalty to the PM and his cronies by attacking me in this uncharacteristic manner," Gandhi said in his letter, which he also posted on Facebook and Twitter.

Wishing the Goa chief minister a speedy recovery once again, the Congress chief said he is "disturbed" to hear about a letter which Parrikar has supposedly written to him, "but instead leaked to the press before I have had a chance to read it".

"I have not shared any details of my conversation with you when we met in Goa yesterday. In my two speeches since we met, I have referred to what is already in the public domain," Gandhi claimed.

"Respectfully, my visit to you was strictly personal and driven purely by my empathy for your situation. You will no doubt recall that I also called you when you were undergoing treatment in the United States to enquire after your health and wish you well.

"However Parrikar Ji, regardless of my visit, I am a democratic representative, elected to serve the Indian people, and as such I reserve the absolute right to attack the corrupt PM on his blatant dishonesty in the RAFALE deal," he said.

The Congress chief claimed that in April 2015, when Parrikar was inaugurating a fish market in Goa, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the Rafale deal in France with the then French president Francois Hollande.

"It is also a fact that you clearly stated to the press that you had no idea about the new deal engineered by the PM. This has been widely reported in all sections of the media," he said in his letter.

"Again, it is a fact that there is an audio recording of your own Cabinet colleague in Goa, claiming you told ministers in a cabinet meeting that you have the RAFALE papers in your 'bed room', implying that you have power over PM Modi and his cronies," he claimed.

The BJP had at that time dubbed the tape as forged. On Tuesday, hours after meeting Parrikar at the Goa Assembly complex in Panaji, Gandhi had told Congress workers in Kochi that the former defence minister had said he had nothing to do with the Rafale fighter jet deal.

"Friends, the ex-defence minister Mr Parrikar clearly stated that he has nothing to do with the new deal that was orchestrated by Mr Narendra Modi to benefit Anil Ambani," he had said.

Ripping into Gandhi, BJP chief Shah charged him with "lying" in the name of a person fighting a disease and claiming that people of India are "disgusted by your reckless behaviour".

In his letter, Parrikar asked Gandhi not to use his visit to an ailing person to "feed political opportunism", saying that paying a courtesy visit and then stooping so low to make a false statement for petty political gains has raised in his mind questions about sincerity and purpose of the visit.

He said he felt let down that Gandhi used this visit for his petty political gains as the five minutes they spent together, neither did the Congress president say anything about Rafale nor did they discuss anything related to it.

"Here I am fighting against a life-threatening illness. Due to my training and ideological strength, I wish to serve Goa and its people against any/all odds. I thought your visit would give me your good wishes in that cause of serving our people. Little did I know that you had other intentions," Parrikar wrote.

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Agencies
January 16,2020

New Delhi, Jan 16: The Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government on Thursday rejected the mercy plea of Mukesh, one of the convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya case.

The mercy plea was then forwarded to Lieutenant Governor, who has now sent it to Union Ministry of Home Affairs.

The convicts were sentenced to death for raping a 23-year-old woman in a moving bus in the national capital on the intervening night of December 16-17, 2012.

The victim, who was later given the name Nirbhaya, had succumbed to injuries at a hospital in Singapore where she had been airlifted for medical treatment.

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News Network
May 7,2020

Visakhapatnam, May 7: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday announced an ex- gratia payment of Rs one crore each to the kin of those killed in the styrene gas leak incident at LG Polymers Limited near here.

The NDRF had put the death toll from the leak at 11.

The chief minister announced a committee to probe into the mishap and also said the government would talk to the LG Polymers management seeking job for the kin of the deceased in any of its businesses.

Speaking to reporters after conducting a review meeting, Reddy also announced Rs 10 lakh each to those undergoing treatment on ventilator support and Rs 25,000 to those who took treatment as out-patients after developing health complications due to inhalation of the styrene vapour.

Earlier, he held a review meeting at the Andhra Medical College with District Collector Vinay Chand and others.

The gas leak victims undergoing treatment in various hospitals would be paid Rs one lakh each. The 15,000-odd population in the five villages that were affected by the gas leak would be paid Rs 10,000 each, the chief minister added.

Reddy further announced constitution of a high-level committee, headed by the Special Chief Secretary (Environment and Forests), to probe into the mishap and make recommendations to prevent such tragedies in the future.

Earlier, he visited the King George Hospital and consoled the victims of the gas leak.

Accompanied by his Deputy holding the health portfolio A K K Srinivas and Chief Secretary Nilam Sawhney, Reddy flew down to the port city and went straight to the KGH.

He met the gas leak victims undergoing treatment and enquired about their well-being.

At the review meeting, the Collector informed the Chief Minister that the gas spread was limited to a 1.5 to 2 km area from the epicentre of the leak and that the locals were evacuated to safety.

Of the two styrene tanks in the plant, the leak occurred from one that was holding about 1,800 kilo litres of the chemical.

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News Network
June 8,2020

Panaji (Goa)/Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), Bengaluru(Karnataka)/New Delhi [India], June 8 (ANI): With the government allowing the re-opening of restaurants and eateries from Monday, these establishments re-opened across several states on Monday including in Goa, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi, with necessary precautions in place amid COVID-19 crisis.

Restaurants reopened in Panaji today after relaxations in lockdown.

Speaking to ANI, Goa Hotel and Restaurant Association President, Gaurish Dhond said, "We expect that not more than 25 per cent of restaurants will reopen because our labour force is dependent upon migrant workers who have gone to their homes".

"Every guest will be checked with a thermal gun, we will provide them with a sanitizer and a digital menu most probably. We would like to request our customers to pay online. Residential hotels are also allowed to operate and guidelines have been issued for them," he added.

Bars are not allowed to operate, he added.

While religious places across the country were thrown open today, worship places continued to remain closed in Goa till June 30.

In Bhopal restaurants opened but with fewer customers venturing to eat outside.

Speaking to ANI, C Kumaran, Manager, India Coffee House, New Market said, "We will conduct a temperature check for customers at the entry point. Then the customers will have to wash and sanitize their hands only then they will be allowed to sit inside. Only two persons will be allowed to sit on a four-seat table."

"This restaurant has a seating capacity of around 120 persons which has now been reduced to 50. Even in the kitchen, staff capacity has been reduced to 50 per cent," he added.

Meanwhile, malls re-opened in Bengaluru today, people along with staff members were allowed to enter inside Garuda Mall while maintaining social distancing.

"As per government norms, we are following all the preventive measures. Staff and other people are being sanitized and then only allowed inside the mall. The mall has been deep cleaned. People entering the mall should have Aarogya Setu App installed in their mobile phones if not, they will be sent back," said John Joseph, Manager, Garuda Mall.

Restaurants re-opened in the national capital as Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal announced yesterday that all restaurants and malls are allowed to resume operations from today.

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