Rahul picks holes in PM's 'Kerala dear to me' remark

Agencies
June 9, 2019

Thiruvambady, Jun 9: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Sunday sought to dismiss Prime Minister Narendra Modi's assertion that Kerala was as dear to him as Varanasi, alleging that the PM was meting out stepmotherly treatment to non-BJP-ruled states and he did not expect any cooperation from him.

In his speech, thanking the voters of the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency for electing him, Gandhi claimed that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was blinded by "hatred and anger" and viewed those not following the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideology as not Indians while vowing to fight it.

He was addressing a gathering at Engapuzha near here, a tiny town in Kozhikode district and part of his Lok Sabha constituency, after a roadshow on the third and final day of his thanksgiving visit to Wayanad.

"The prime minister considers BJP-ruled states and non-BJP ruled states differently. I know, he will never consider Kerala the way he considers Uttar Pradesh because the CPI(M) is ruling here," he said, referring to Modi's speech at Guruvayur in Kerala on Saturday.

After offering prayers at the famous Krishna temple in Guruvayur, Modi had said the BJP was not working for mere electoral politics and that it was keen on building the country and ensuring that India got its place of pride in the international arena.

"Elections have their place in democracy and it is the responsibility of the winner to take care of the 130 crore people. Those who made us win or those who did not, both are our (people). Kerala is as dear to me as Varanasi," he had said, referring to his Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh.

The Congress chief, however, said he was not expecting any cooperation from the prime minister and the BJP-led central government for the development of Wayanad and Kerala.

Referring to his Saturday meeting with the CPI(M) MLA from Kalpeta, which falls under the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, Gandhi said there might be "ideological differences" (between the Congress and the Left), but those would be set aside and both parties would work together for the development of Wayanad.

But, such cooperation was not coming from the prime minister and the BJP, he charged.

"Because they are blinded by hatred and anger...because either you follow the ideology of the RSS or you are not an Indian.... We will fight that and I promise you that we will not be ruled by Nagpur (where the RSS is based)," Gandhi said.

As in the last two days, hundreds of party workers and locals, including women and children, greeted Gandhi during the roadshow at Engapuzha in the morning.

Several people in the crowd were seen wearing T-shirts with slogans such as "Rahul we need you" and "Rahul pada" (army).

Before leaving for New Delhi in the afternoon, Gandhi would take out one more roadshow at Mukkam, near here.

This is the All India Congress Committee (AICC) president's first visit to Wayanad after his thumping poll victory with a margin of about 4.31 lakh votes. The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) swept the parliamentary election in Kerala, winning 19 of its 20 seats.

Besides Wayanad, Gandhi had also contested the polls from his pocket borough of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh. He lost the Amethi poll battle to Union minister Smriti Irani.

After arriving in Kerala on June 7, the Congress chief took out massive roadshows in various parts of his high-range constituency, which spreads over three districts -- Wayanad, Malappuram and Kozhikode.

He accepted memorandums and complaints from people and spent time listening to the grievances of representatives of tribals and farmers at the Wayanad district collectorate on Saturday.

During his roadshows, Gandhi lashed out at Modi and assured the people that he would raise the issues of not only Wayanad but of entire Kerala in Parliament.

Reviving his attack on Modi after the polls, he alleged that the prime minister's election campaign was filled with "lies, poison and hatred", while his party stood for "truth, love and affection".

Gandhi's visit to Kerala came days after he offered to resign as the Congress president in view of the party's dismal showing in the second consecutive general election. But the offer was rejected by the Congress Working Committee, the highest decision-making body of the party.

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Agencies
June 23,2020

New Delhi, Jun 23: "Coming up with a clinically tested, evidence-based medicine was a challenge," said Yoga Guru Ramdev as on Tuesday he launched Patanjali's Coronil tablet, which he claims is a cure for COVID-19. He also talked about various other immunity boosters at an event here during the launch.

Patanjali claims those administered the medicine were fully cured and none died. Ramdev even claimed that 69 per cent of them recovered within 3 days.

"We appointed a team of scientists after COVID-19 outbreak," said Balkrishna, Ramdev's close aide and MD of Patanjali Ayurved. He added that Patanjali conducted a clinical case study on hundreds of positive patients.

Patanjali has claimed that the clinical trials which were controlled in nature, was jointly conducted by Patanjali Research Institute which is based out of Haridwar and the National Institute of Medical Sciences, Jaipur.

Talking about the clinical trials, Ramdev said, "Under this 280 patients were included and 100 per cent of those recovered." He added they were able to control Coronavirus and its complications.

He said that in the next few days, data of the trail will be released as evidence to bolster claims. There are now over 9 million people affected by the pandemic since it broke out in China's Wuhan city in December 2019.

He said Ayurvedic elements are being used in the tablet. "There are more than 100 compounds used in the Coronil," he added. An entire kit is being made for that which consists of other Ayurvedic medicine as well which helps in immunity. The entire kit comes at Rs 600. However, he claimed that it will be given for free to those living below the poverty line.

As for doses, Panajali prescribes: "2-2 tablets should be consumed with hot water half an hour after meals. The above mentioned drug intake and quantity is suitable for people between 15 to 80 years of age. Half the amount of the above mentioned medicines can be used for children between the age of 6 to 14 years." These are the written instructions on the pack.

India has been battling the pandemic with close to 4 lakh cases in India on Tuesday and around 14,000 deaths so far.

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News Network
May 27,2020

New Delhi, May 27: With 6,387 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, India's count of COVID-19 rose to 1,51,767 on Wednesday, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

170 people have also died in the last 24 hours due to the infection.

Currently, there are 83,004 active cases while 64,425 COVID-19 positive patients have been cured/discharged and one has migrated. So far, a total of 4,337 deaths have taken place across the country.

Among all states, Maharashtra has the highest number of COVID-19 cases with 54,758. Tamil Nadu has 17,728 cases with Gujarat at 14,821 cases. The national capital has 14,465 reported cases of coronavirus.

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News Network
January 15,2020

Srinagar, Jan 15: The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Tuesday evening allowed mobile Internet in parts of Jammu region and broadband in establishments providing essential services, days after the Supreme Court ordered a review of the curbs imposed in the Union Territory.

The order comes into effect from January 15 and shall remain in force for seven days, a government communication said.

In a three-page order, the administration asked Internet service providers to offer broadband facility (with Mac binding) to all institutions dealing with essential services such as hospitals, banks and government offices.

In order to facilitate tourism, the broadband Internet services would be provided to hotels and tour and travel establishments, the order said.

Mac Binding essentially means to enforce a client machine to work from a particular Internet Protocol address.

"Prior to giving such facility, the service providers have been asked to install necessary firewalls and carry out white-listing of sites that would enable government websites and website dealing with essential services like e-banking," the order said.

However, all social media sites remain out of bounds. "There shall be complete restrictions on social media applications allowing peer-to-peer communication and virtual private network applications for the time being," the order said.

The institutions and government offices that are being provided Internet access shall be responsible to prevent misuse, according to the order.

It said the 2G mobile connectivity on post-paid mobiles for accessing white-listed websites including e-banking will be allowed in districts of Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Udhampur and Reasi -- all in the Jammu region.

The order said that the police has brought material relating to the terror modules operating in Jammu and Kashmir including handlers from across the border who are attempting to aid and incite people by transmission of fake news and targeted messages through use of Internet.

The relaxation came days after the Supreme Court said access to the Internet is a fundamental right under Article 19 of the Constitution.

The SC verdict had come on Friday on a batch of pleas challenging the curbs imposed in Jammu and Kashmir after the Centre's abrogation of provisions of Article 370 on August 5 last year.

The court had also asked the Jammu and Kashmir administration to review within a week all orders imposing curbs in the Union Territory.

It had asked the J-K administration to restore Internet services in institutions such as hospitals and educational places providing essential services.

The J-K administration's Tuesday communication said that in view of the Supreme Court directions, the situation has been reviewed and Internet has been opened whereever it was possible keeping in view the security consideration.

In Kashmir, 400 additional Internet kiosks will be established, besides the 900 terminals which are already operational in the Valley.

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