Zoramthanga sworn in as Mizoram CM for third time

Agencies
December 15, 2018

Aizawl, Dec 15: Mizo National Front (MNF) president Zoramthanga was Saturday sworn in as Mizoram's new chief minister, heading a 12-member ministry.

He was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor K Rajasekharan during a ceremony at the Raj Bhavan here.

The MNF came to power in the state winning 26 of the 40 seats in the state assembly uprooting the Congress from its last bastion in the Northeast.

This was Zoramthanga's third stint as chief minister of the northeastern state after having led the party's government in Mizoram in 1998 and 2003.

Along with Zoramthanga, 11 others -- five cabinet ministers and six ministers of state -- were also sworn in.

The five cabinet ministers are Tawnluia, R Lalthangliana, Lalchamliana, R Lalzirliana and Lalrinsanga.

Tawnluia has been designated as the deputy chief minister. He was the rehabilitation minister in the Laldenga government during 1987-88 and home minister for two terms in the Zoramthanga government in 1998 and 2003.

The six ministers of state are -- K Lalrinliana, Lalchhandama Ralte, Lalruatkima, K Beichhua, T J Lalnuntluanga and Robert Romawia Ralte.

Lalthangliana was a cabinet minister for two terms in Zoramthanga's previous government too.

Lalzirliana, who was inducted as a cabinet minister, was the home minister for two terms in the Congress government headed by Lal Thanhawla since 2008.

He had resigned from the Congress and was expelled from the party before the November polls.

After taking oath, Zoramthanga told reporters that the MNF has now no intention to leave the BJP-led NDA and the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) although it was under fire for joining hands with the Hindutva forces.

He said combating alcoholism and drug addiction would be among the top priorities of his government, besides taking up the development projects from day one.

"There is no intention at this juncture to leave the NDA and NEDA", he said.

Former chief minister Lal Thanhawla, besides former ministers, legislators and senior officials were present at the oath-taking ceremony.

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, Assam Water Resources Minister Keshab Mahanta and former Assam chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta were also present.

For the first time, the swearing-in ceremony of the government was marked by Bible reading, prayer and singing of a Christian gospel song.

Chairman of Mizoram Kohhran Hruaitute Committee (MKHC), a conglomerate of 16 major churches in the state, Rev R Lalhmingthanga, read out from the Bible and offered prayers.

The chief minister and the newly-inducted ministers took oath of office and oath of secrecy in Mizo language for the first time in Mizoram's history.

Lalchamliana, former assembly speaker who was sworn in as a minister, came to Raj Bhavan dressed in a traditional attire.

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News Network
March 11,2020

New Delhi, Mar 11: According to the Union health ministry, there are 62 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the country.

The Delhi High Court Wednesday sought the stand of the Centre and the Delhi government on a PIL seeking proper and adequate measures to combat coronavirus.

A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice C Hari Shankar issued notice to the Ministry of Health and the Delhi government seeking their replies on the public interest litigation (PIL) filed by an advocate.

The petition, by lawyer Triveni Potekar, seeks directions to the Centre and the Delhi government to make available important and relevant information on access to and availability of medical facilities for testing and treatment for the coronavirus disease.

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News Network
March 18,2020

Dubai, Mar 18: Emirates, one of the world's biggest international airlines, has asked pilots to take unpaid leave to help it mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic that has shattered demand for global travel.

"To this end you are strongly encouraged to make use of this opportunity to volunteer for additional paid and unpaid leave," the airline said in an internal email to pilots, seen by Reuters.

Emirates earlier this month asked some staff to take unpaid leave, although at that time it was not available to pilots.

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Agencies
February 18,2020

Mumbai, Feb 18: A group of citizens on Tuesday demanded a thorough inquiry into the death of special CBI judge Brijgopal Harkishan Loya in 2014.

The group has written a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, seeking a time-bound probe into the death of Loya.

Loya, who was hearing the high-profile Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case of Gujarat, died of a cardiac arrest in Nagpur on December 1, 2014, when he had gone to attend the wedding of a colleague's daughter.

Social activist Ashok Pai, addressing a press conference on behalf of the group, also demanded proper compensation for the judge's family, saying he was on an "official" tour.

Pai said on Tuesday he met NCP president Sharad Pawar, whose party is a key constituent of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra, and raised these demands with him.

Pawar assured to look into the demands, he said at the press conference at the Mumbai Marathi Patrakar Sangh.

"We have handed over a letter to Maharashtra Assembly speaker Nana Patole and dispatched a copy of the letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray (seeking a probe into Loya's death)," Pai said.

As the matter relates to "mysterious" death of a sitting judge of the CBI, all facts about it must be made public after a detailed and time-bound probe, Pai said.

The Loya death case had reached the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court had held that Loya had died of "natural causes" and had rejected PILs seeking an SIT probe into the death, questioning their motive.

The SC had held that petitions were moved by political rivals to settle scores which was a serious attempt to scandalise the judiciary and obstruct the course of justice through a "frontal attack" on its independence.

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