UPA group seeks larger Telangana

December 3, 2013
New Delhi, Dec 3: A section of the United Progressive Alliance government has suggested merging two Rayalaseema districts—Anantapur and Kurnool—with the proposed Telangana state, evoking strong reactions from leaders in Andhra Pradesh.

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The Rayala-Telangana proposal had initially gained currency in the run-up to the July 30 Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting. Its revival, at a time when the state is divided over the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, may further delay the process of creation of Telangana set in motion by the Centre on October 3, when it formed a Group of Ministers (GoM) on the issue.

The Rayala-Telangana idea was reportedly discussed last week when Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Damodar Rajanarasimha had discussions with the Central leadership and later with the Congress Core Group, including party chief Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Congress sources said a section of leaders from the Seemandhra region, who are keen to have a toehold in Hyderabad, are lobbying for a merger of the two Rayalaseema districts with Telangana.

However, no sooner was the proposal renewed than it was strongly opposed by leaders from the Telangana region. “In principle, I am not comfortable with the proposal. When this has not been mentioned in the earlier phases, it is not correct to bring it at such a later stage,” Science and Technology Minister S Jaipal Reddy told reporters at a late night press conference here.

He made it clear that the proposal for Rayala-Telangana was neither mentioned in the CWC resolution on Telangana nor in the Cabinet note on the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. “This was never accepted nor discussed at any stage. At no stage did we welcome it,” said Reddy, who is considered as a contender for the chief minister’s post for the proposed Telangana.

The present idea of Telangana includes 10 districts comprising 17 Lok Sabha constituencies and 119 Assembly segments. By merging two of the four districts from the Rayalaseema region, the Congress aims at limiting the influence of the YSR Congress, led by Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.

However, the proposal is expected to evoke stiff opposition from the Bharatiya Janata Party, which has been maintaining that the Centre should address the concerns raised by people of Seemandhra before going ahead with the bifurcation of the state.

Besides a section of Congress leaders from Seemandhra, only the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen led by Asaduddin Owaisi may favour the proposal.

Senior leader from Telangana D Srinivas met Defence Minister and GoM member A K Antony and other leaders and is said to have opposed the revived idea.

Meanwhile, the Telangana bill has not been listed on the Parliament agenda for the Winter Session which begins on Thursday. Congress leaders said that this could be because the GoM?was yet to finalise its recommendations on the bifurcation of the state which have to be approved by the Union Cabinet. The GoM, chaired by Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, is expected to meet on Tuesday to finalise its recommendations.

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Agencies
June 17,2020

New Delhi, Jun 17: AAP MLA and national spokesperson Atishi has tested positive for COVID-19, her party colleagues said on Wednesday.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal took to Twitter to wish her speedy recovery.

"Atishi ji has played an important role in the fight against corona. I hope that she will get healthy soon and again get involved in serving the people," Kejriwal tweeted in Hindi.

According to sources, Atishi was tested on Tuesday for COVID-19 and her report came positive today.

She is presently under home quarantine, the sources said.

"Get well soon Atishi, recover soon from Corona," AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj tweeted.

Atishi represents Kalkaji assembly constituency.

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News Network
June 3,2020

Jammu, Jun 3: A mob on Tuesday disrupted the last rites of a coronavirus victim in Jammu and Kashmir and forced his family members to flee with the half-burnt body, prompting intervention by the administration which later ensured the cremation at another place as per protocol.

A 72-year-old man, hailing from Doda district, became the fourth victim of the novel coronavirus to die in Jammu region. He breathed his last at the Government Medical College (GMC) hospital on Monday.

"We had set out for the funeral along with a revenue official and a medical team, and had lit the pyre at a cremation ground in Domana area when a large group of local residents appeared at the scene and disrupted the last rites," son of the deceased said.

Only close relatives of the deceased, including his wife and two sons, were present during the cremation. They had to flee with the half-burnt body in an ambulance to save their skin from the mob which pelted stones and attacked them with sticks.

"We had sought permission from the government to take the body to our home district for the last rites, but we were told that all necessary arrangements were in place, and that we would not face any trouble during the cremation," the victim's son said.

He also alleged that the security officials present at the scene were of no help.

Two policemen who were present there failed to act against the unruly crowd, while the accompanying revenue official went missing, he said.

"The ambulance driver and other staff from the hospital helped us a lot and managed to take us back to the GMC hospital with the body the government should have come out with a better plan to conduct the last rites of coronavirus victims, taking into consideration the past experience and problems encountered during the funeral of such victims," the victim's son said.

Later, the body was taken to a cremation ground at Bhagwati Nagar area of the city, where it was consigned to flames in the afternoon in presence of senior civil officials, including additional deputy commissioner and sub-divisional magistrate under tight security.

"My uncle was admitted in the hospital last week and died on Monday afternoon. He was suffering from various ailments, especially lungs and heart diseases. Before shifting him to GMC hospital Jammu, he underwent a coronavirus test in Doda which came negative," nephew of the deceased said.

However, he said, the victim's second test after his admission in the GMC hospital came positive on Sunday.

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News Network
January 9,2020

New Delhi, Jan 9: Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos will be visiting India next week and is likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and officials, besides industry leaders, according to sources.

The top executive will also attend SMBhav – an event focussing on small and medium businesses in India - that is slated for January 15-16 in the capital city.

When contacted, Amazon declined to comment.

Amazon, which has seen significant growth in its business in India, has also witnessed protest from a section of traders in the country who claim that e-commerce giants including Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart offer deep discounts and engage in unfair business practices.

Last year, the government had tightened rules for e-commerce marketplaces with foreign investment. These rules barred such platforms from offering products of sellers in which they hold a stake and banned exclusive marketing arrangements among other clauses. Following this, Amazon restructured its joint ventures to ensure compliance.

Bezos is likely to discuss regulatory issues in his meeting with the government officials.

He is also slated to engage with SMBs during the SMBhav event. The event - which will focus on discussions around how technology adoption can enable SMBs in India - is slated to see participation from industry experts, policymakers, solution providers and Amazon leadership.

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