happy independence day · 2020. 8. 14. · independence day today. he is also scheduled to unveil...

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HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY T he Ashok Gehlot dispensa- tion won the confidence motion by a voice vote in the Rajasthan Assembly on Friday, ending the threat to its exis- tence triggered by a rebellion within the Congress ranks in the State led by his former deputy Sachin Pilot. The motion of confidence moved by Rajasthan Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shanti Dhariwal was passed by voice vote, an expected win after the return of the 19 dis- sident Congress MLAs led by Pilot to the party-fold. Replying to the debate on the motion, Gehlot criticised the BJP, accusing it again of trying to bring down his Government. “I will not let the Government topple at any cost even if you make all attempts,” he said. Gehlot said the crisis had come to an end in a beautiful manner and this had hurt the BJP. “What was done in Arunachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Goa, Madhya Pradesh? Elected Governments are being toppled and democracy is under dan- ger,” he said, accusing the BJP of targeting the Congress Governments. Without taking names, he alleged that a Union Minister was involved in the conspira- cy to topple his Government, saying this had become clear after some audio clips sur- faced. The indirect reference was to Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who had earlier rejected the Congress allegation. Gehlot also questioned whether agencies like ED, CBI and Income Tax department are not being misused in the country? “When you hold con- versation on telephone, don’t you say the other person to join you on Facebook and WhatsApp. Is this good thing in a democracy?” the CM said. Gehlot also took potshots on the role of Governor with whom he and his party had to struggle to call the Special Session as the Raj Bhavan was reluctant. “The post of the Governor has lost its dignity. Don’t pro- voke me or else I will be forced to share what transpired between the Governor and me. I think the Governor was under pressure. Hundered editorials have been written about the sit- uation in the State after the Governor returned the file on the State Government’s wish to convene an Assembly session. The job of the Governor is no more than asking to prove majority in the House,” Gehlot said in the Assembly. Using his speech during the debate, Pilot said, “I want to tell that whatever I or my companions had to say, we have told the doctor (Congress high command) about our com- plaints. The MLAs are now all together in the Assembly after receiving the treatment.” Rajasthan BJP chief Satish Poonia said the State Congress Government is suffering from a “political corona”, even though it has won the vote of confidence. Poonia remarked that the way Pilot spoke in the Assembly makes it clear that there are still some differences between Gehlot and Pilot. On Poonia’s comments Pilot said he would like to clar- ify that “I, my work style, my work, my colleagues, and what we discuss within the party, leave it to us. Today’s session is about trust vote. I don’t want to interrupt anyone’s speech. Whether I was pained by any- one’s statement or not, leave it to me. It will be better if we dis- cuss issues facing this Government”. The Opposition BJP accused the Gehlot camp of blaming it for the infighting within the Congress. Targeting the Chief Minister for his comments against his now sacked deputy, Leader of Opposition Gulab Chand Kataria questioned how Pilot became useless after the formation of the Government when he had strengthened the party while in Opposition. Continued on Page 2 W ith over 60,000 cases daily for the past few days, India coronavirus count crossed 2.5 million mark on Friday. For the last 10 days, the country has witnessed a huge surge, adding 5.50 lakh fresh cases during this period. India now accounts for 10.35 per cent of all active cases globally (one in every 10 active cases), and 6.21% of all deaths (one in every 16). Overall, five States with the biggest 24-hour jump in total cases are Maharashtra (12,608), Andhra Pradesh (8,943), Karnataka (7,908), Tamil Nadu (5,890) and Uttar Pradesh (4,512). Meanwhile, the face of India’s Covid-19 fight, Luv Agarwal, joint secretary of the Health Ministry, has also tested coronavirus positive. “Dear All, just to inform that I have tested positive for Covid-19 and initiating home isolation as per guidelines. Requesting all my friends, colleagues for self monitoring. Contact tracing will be done by health team. Hoping to see everyone soon,” he tweeted. The condition of noted singer Balasubrahmanyam deteriorated and based on the advice of expert medical team attending to him, he has been moved to ICU and he is on life support and his condition remains critical. According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India conducted record 8,48,728 tests for detection of coronavirus in a day with an aim to achieve a daily target of 10 lakh and recovery rate rose to 71.17 per cent. The fatality rate has declined to 1.95 per cent. Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan claimed the recovery rate of Covid-19 patients in India is the best in the world. Maharashtra reported 12608 fresh cases and 364 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the total tally to 5, 72,734 including 19,427 deaths. Nagpur district of Maharashtra recorded its highest single-day spike of over 1,000 coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours. Mumbai has reported 979 new infec- tions and 47 deaths, taking the total tally to 1,28,550 and 7,035 deaths so far. The coro- navirus case tally in the slum- dominated Dharavi area here rose to 2,658 on Friday with nine new patients coming to light. Of 2,658 cases, 2,312 patients have already recov- ered and there are only 87 active cases. Delhi has reported 1,192 fresh Covid-19 cases on Friday to go past the 150,000- mark for the total number of coronavirus cases registered in the national capital since the outbreak of the disease in February this year. However, only 11,366 of these are currently infected by the disease and under medical supervision. As per data, 11 deaths have been reported in the past 24-hour cycle due to Covid 19 taking the death toll to 4178. T he Jammu & Kashmir Police has bagged the Kirti Chakra, the second highest peacetime gallantry medal that comes after the Ashok Chakra on the eve of 74th Independence Day and also earned a Shaurya Chakra, the third highest in prece- dence in the category. The J&K Police also topped the list of winners of Police Medals for Gallantry (PMG) by bag- ging 81 medals. The CRPF follows the J&K Police with 51 medals, mostly for operations con- ducted in Jammu & Kashmir. While the Kirti Chakra was awarded posthumously to Head Constable of Jammu & Kashmir Police Abdul Rashid Kalas, the Shaurya Chakra went to Deputy Inspector General of the J&K Police Amit Kumar. The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) on Friday has recommended gallantry medals to 21 troops who fought against China’s People Liberation Army (PLA) in Eastern Ladakh in May-June, for this years’ Independence Day. The ITBP has accorded 294 commendation rolls and insignias to the paramilitary personnel for “displaying raw courage and bravery during face-offs and skirmishes in Eastern Ladakh in May-June , 2020,” on the eve of the national festival. “The ITBP troops not only effectively used shields to protect themselves but also responded fiercely to PLA advancing troops and brought the situation under control. With the highest order of professional skills, ITBP troops fought shoulder to shoulder and also brought the injured Indian Army troops to the rear,” the ITBP said in a statement highlight- ing the bravery against the treachery of the PLA troops. It further said, “Even when the ITBP troops fought the whole night, they received minimum casualties by giving befitting reply to the stone pelters of the PLA. At places, they gave a determined stand- off about 17 to 20 hours throughout the intervening nights.” H itting out at the Opposition over its crit- icism of the recent political developments in Rajasthan, former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot on Friday described himself as the “strongest warrior” of the Congress and said he would protect his party at all costs. Pilot, who has returned to the Congress fold after a month-long rebellion against Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, made the remarks during the debate on a motion of confi- dence in the Assembly. During the debate, Deputy Leader of the Opposition Rajendra Rathore mentioned Pilot’s name in various matters, including the recent political developments in the State and a Special Operations Group (SOG) notice issued to him. New Delhi: Home Minister Amit Shah, who was under- going treatment for coron- avirus at a private hospital in Gurugram, has tested nega- tive. Shah, 55, said on the advice of the doctors, he will be in home isolation for the next few days. “Today, my corona test report has come and it is negative. I thank God and express my heartfelt grati- tude to all those who wished for my recovery,” he tweeted. He also thanked the doc- tors and paramedical staff of Medanta Hospital. C hief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat will unfurl the national flag at the sum- mer capital Gairsain after hoisting the national flag in Dehradun on the occasion of Independence Day today. He is also scheduled to unveil the foundation for developmental works and make some announcements on the occasion. On the next day, the CM will trek to Dudhatoli where he will also pay homage at the Samadhi of Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali. Greeting the people on the eve of Independence Day, Rawat said that the conditions on the occasion are very dif- ferent this time. The whole nation is fighting against the Covid-19 pandemic under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leader- ship. The PM has rolled out a Rs 20 lakh crore special package to strengthen the economy focusing on the interests of all sections includ- ing labourers, farmers, the poor, business- men and industrialists. Additionally, a Rs one-lakh- crore agriculture infrastruc- ture fund has also been facil- itated. The Chief Minister said that honouring the pub- lic sentiment, Gairsain was made the summer capital. Now the work plan for development facilities neces- sary for a capital is being pre- pared. He said that in recent times, there has been a rise in Covid cases in the State but the Government is fully pre- pared. The health system has been strengthened. While there were ICUs in only three districts in 2017, now every district has one. Further, to boost the economy, various types of relaxations have been pro- vided to industries amidst the pandemic. The Mukhyamantri Swarozgar Yojana was also launched to facilitate self employment for the youth and those who have returned to the state during the pandemic. Rawat said, “The impact of the double engine is clear- ly visible in Uttarakhand. The Central Government has approved various projects amounting to about Rs 1 lakh crore for the State. Work on various projects is underway at a swift pace with the major projects being the Rishikesh- Karnprayag rail project, Char Dham road project, Kedarnath reconstruction, Bharatmala project, Namami Gange, Dehradun Smart City and others. There has been considerable expansion in road, rail and air connectivi- ty with special focus having been laid on air connectivity.” The Chief Minister said that the basic mantra of his Government is good governance. HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY

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Page 1: HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY · 2020. 8. 14. · Independence Day today. He is also scheduled to unveil the foundation for developmental works and make some announcements on the occasion

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The Ashok Gehlot dispensa-tion won the confidence

motion by a voice vote in theRajasthan Assembly on Friday,ending the threat to its exis-tence triggered by a rebellionwithin the Congress ranks inthe State led by his formerdeputy Sachin Pilot.

The motion of confidencemoved by RajasthanParliamentary Affairs MinisterShanti Dhariwal was passed byvoice vote, an expected winafter the return of the 19 dis-sident Congress MLAs led byPilot to the party-fold.

Replying to the debate onthe motion, Gehlot criticised theBJP, accusing it again of tryingto bring down his Government.“I will not let the Governmenttopple at any cost even if youmake all attempts,” he said.

Gehlot said the crisis hadcome to an end in a beautifulmanner and this had hurt theBJP. “What was done inArunachal Pradesh, Karnataka,Goa, Madhya Pradesh? ElectedGovernments are being toppledand democracy is under dan-ger,” he said, accusing the BJPof targeting the CongressGovernments.

Without taking names, healleged that a Union Ministerwas involved in the conspira-cy to topple his Government,saying this had become clearafter some audio clips sur-faced.

The indirect reference wasto Gajendra Singh Shekhawat,who had earlier rejected theCongress allegation.

Gehlot also questioned

whether agencies like ED, CBIand Income Tax departmentare not being misused in thecountry? “When you hold con-versation on telephone, don’tyou say the other person to joinyou on Facebook andWhatsApp. Is this good thingin a democracy?” the CM said.

Gehlot also took potshotson the role of Governor withwhom he and his party had tostruggle to call the SpecialSession as the Raj Bhavan wasreluctant.

“The post of the Governorhas lost its dignity. Don’t pro-voke me or else I will be forcedto share what transpiredbetween the Governor and me.I think the Governor was underpressure. Hundered editorialshave been written about the sit-uation in the State after theGovernor returned the file onthe State Government’s wish toconvene an Assembly session.The job of the Governor is nomore than asking to provemajority in the House,” Gehlotsaid in the Assembly.

Using his speech during

the debate, Pilot said, “I wantto tell that whatever I or mycompanions had to say, we havetold the doctor (Congress highcommand) about our com-plaints. The MLAs are now alltogether in the Assembly afterreceiving the treatment.”

Rajasthan BJP chief SatishPoonia said the State CongressGovernment is suffering froma “political corona”, eventhough it has won the vote ofconfidence. Poonia remarkedthat the way Pilot spoke in theAssembly makes it clear thatthere are still some differencesbetween Gehlot and Pilot.

On Poonia’s commentsPilot said he would like to clar-ify that “I, my work style, mywork, my colleagues, and whatwe discuss within the party,leave it to us. Today’s session isabout trust vote. I don’t want tointerrupt anyone’s speech.Whether I was pained by any-one’s statement or not, leave itto me. It will be better if we dis-cuss issues facing thisGovernment”.

The Opposition BJP

accused the Gehlot camp ofblaming it for the infightingwithin the Congress.

Targeting the ChiefMinister for his commentsagainst his now sacked deputy,Leader of Opposition GulabChand Kataria questioned howPilot became useless after theformation of the Governmentwhen he had strengthened theparty while in Opposition.

Continued on Page 2

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With over 60,000 casesdaily for the past few

days, India coronavirus countcrossed 2.5 million mark onFriday. For the last 10 days,the country has witnessed ahuge surge, adding 5.50 lakhfresh cases during this period.India now accounts for 10.35per cent of all active casesglobally (one in every 10active cases), and 6.21% of alldeaths (one in every 16).

Overall, five States withthe biggest 24-hour jump intotal cases are Maharashtra(12,608), Andhra Pradesh(8,943), Karnataka (7,908),Tamil Nadu (5,890) and UttarPradesh (4,512).

Meanwhile, the face ofIndia’s Covid-19 fight, LuvAgarwal, joint secretary ofthe Health Ministry, has alsotested coronavirus positive.

“Dear All, just to informthat I have tested positive forCovid-19 and initiating homeisolation as per guidelines.Requesting all my friends,colleagues for self monitoring.Contact tracing will be doneby health team. Hoping to seeeveryone soon,” he tweeted.

The condition of notedsinger Balasubrahmanyamdeteriorated and based on theadvice of expert medical teamattending to him, he has beenmoved to ICU and he is on lifesupport and his conditionremains critical.

According to the Ministryof Health and Family Welfare,India conducted record8,48,728 tests for detection of

coronavirus in a day with anaim to achieve a daily target of10 lakh and recovery raterose to 71.17 per cent. Thefatality rate has declined to1.95 per cent. Union HealthMinister Dr Harsh Vardhanclaimed the recovery rate ofCovid-19 patients in India isthe best in the world.

Maharashtra reported12608 fresh cases and 364deaths in the last 24 hours,taking the total tally to 5,72,734 including 19,427deaths. Nagpur district ofMaharashtra recorded itshighest single-day spike ofover 1,000 coronavirus casesin the last 24 hours. Mumbaihas reported 979 new infec-tions and 47 deaths, taking thetotal tally to 1,28,550 and7,035 deaths so far. The coro-

navirus case tally in the slum-dominated Dharavi area hererose to 2,658 on Friday withnine new patients coming tolight. Of 2,658 cases, 2,312patients have already recov-ered and there are only 87active cases.

Delhi has reported 1,192fresh Covid-19 cases onFriday to go past the 150,000-mark for the total number ofcoronavirus cases registered inthe national capital since theoutbreak of the disease inFebruary this year.

However, only 11,366 ofthese are currently infected bythe disease and under medicalsupervision. As per data, 11deaths have been reported inthe past 24-hour cycle due toCovid 19 taking the death tollto 4178.

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The Jammu & KashmirPolice has bagged the

Kirti Chakra, the secondhighest peacetime gallantrymedal that comes after theAshok Chakra on the eve of74th Independence Day andalso earned a Shaurya Chakra,the third highest in prece-dence in the category. TheJ&K Police also topped the listof winners of Police Medalsfor Gallantry (PMG) by bag-ging 81 medals.

The CRPF follows theJ&K Police with 51 medals,mostly for operations con-ducted in Jammu & Kashmir.

While the Kirti Chakrawas awarded posthumously toHead Constable of Jammu &Kashmir Police Abdul RashidKalas, the Shaurya Chakrawent to Deputy InspectorGeneral of the J&K PoliceAmit Kumar.

The Indo-Tibetan Border

Police (ITBP) on Friday hasrecommended gal lantr ymedals to 21 troops whofought against China’s PeopleLiberation Army (PLA) inEastern Ladakh in May-June,for this years’ IndependenceDay.

The ITBP has accorded294 commendation rolls andinsignias to the paramilitarypersonnel for “displaying rawcourage and bravery duringface-offs and skirmishes inEastern Ladakh in May-June, 2020,” on the eve of thenational festival.

“The ITBP troops notonly effectively used shields toprotect themselves but alsoresponded fiercely to PLA

advancing troops and broughtthe situation under control.With the highest order ofprofessional skills, ITBPtroops fought shoulder toshoulder and also broughtthe injured Indian Armytroops to the rear,” the ITBPsaid in a statement highlight-ing the bravery against thetreachery of the PLA troops.

It further said, “Evenwhen the ITBP troops foughtthe whole night, they receivedminimum casualties by givingbefitting reply to the stonepelters of the PLA. At places,they gave a determined stand-off about 17 to 20 hoursthroughout the interveningnights.”

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Hitting out at theOpposition over its crit-

icism of the recent politicaldevelopments in Rajasthan,former Deputy Chief MinisterSachin Pilot on Fridaydescribed himself as the“strongest warrior” of theCongress and said he wouldprotect his party at all costs.

Pilot, who has returned tothe Congress fold after amonth-long rebellion againstChief Minister Ashok Gehlot,made the remarks during thedebate on a motion of confi-dence in the Assembly.

During the debate,Deputy Leader of theOpposition Rajendra Rathorementioned Pilot’s name invarious matters, including therecent political developmentsin the State and a SpecialOperations Group (SOG)notice issued to him.

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New Delhi: Home MinisterAmit Shah, who was under-going treatment for coron-avirus at a private hospital inGurugram, has tested nega-tive. Shah, 55, said on theadvice of the doctors, hewill be in home isolation forthe next few days.

“Today, my corona testreport has come and it isnegative. I thank God andexpress my heartfelt grati-tude to all those who wishedfor my recovery,” he tweeted.

He also thanked the doc-tors and paramedical staff ofMedanta Hospital.

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Chief Minister TrivendraSingh Rawat will unfurl

the national flag at the sum-mer capital Gairsain afterhoisting the national flag inDehradun on the occasion ofIndependence Day today.

He is also scheduled tounveil the foundation fordevelopmental works andmake some announcementson the occasion. On the nextday, the CM will trek toDudhatoli where he will alsopay homage at the Samadhi ofVeer Chandra SinghGarhwali.

Greeting the people onthe eve of Independence Day,Rawat said that the conditionson the occasion are very dif-ferent this time. The wholenation is fighting against theCovid-19 pandemic underPrime Minister Narendra

Modi’s leader-ship. The PMhas rolled out aRs 20 lakh crorespecial packageto strengthenthe economyfocusing on theinterests of allsections includ-ing labourers,farmers, thepoor, business-men and industr ial ists .Additionally, a Rs one-lakh-crore agriculture infrastruc-ture fund has also been facil-itated. The Chief Ministersaid that honouring the pub-lic sentiment, Gairsain wasmade the summer capital.

Now the work plan fordevelopment facilities neces-sary for a capital is being pre-pared. He said that in recenttimes, there has been a rise inCovid cases in the State but

the Government is fully pre-pared. The health system hasbeen strengthened. Whilethere were ICUs in only threedistricts in 2017, now everydistrict has one.

Further, to boost theeconomy, various types ofrelaxations have been pro-vided to industries amidstthe pandemic. TheMukhyamantri SwarozgarYojana was also launched tofacilitate self employment for

the youth and those who havereturned to the state duringthe pandemic.

Rawat said, “The impactof the double engine is clear-ly visible in Uttarakhand.The Central Government hasapproved various projectsamounting to about Rs 1 lakhcrore for the State. Work onvarious projects is underwayat a swift pace with the majorprojects being the Rishikesh-Karnprayag rail project, CharDham road project ,Kedarnath reconstruction,Bharatmala project, NamamiGange, Dehradun Smart Cityand others. There has beenconsiderable expansion inroad, rail and air connectivi-ty with special focus havingbeen laid on air connectivity.”

The Chief Minister saidthat the basic mantra of hisGovernment is good governance.

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Page 2: HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY · 2020. 8. 14. · Independence Day today. He is also scheduled to unveil the foundation for developmental works and make some announcements on the occasion

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Bowing to the demand of the pow-erful Rajkeeya Shikshak Sangh

(RSS), the organisation of lecturersand lecturer teachers, the stateadministration has decided to con-sider the posts where the guestteachers are working as vacant for thepromotions of serving Governmentteachers. Earlier the administrationhad decided that the posts where theguest teachers are working would notbe considered for the process of pro-motions.

This order was resented by theRSS after which the administrationtook U turn. The general secretaryof the RSS Sohan Singh Majilathanked the education ministerArvind Pandey, education secre-tary R Meenakshi Sundaram and thedirector education R K Kunwar forthe order.

He said that the process ofcounselling for filling the vacantposts by promotions would soonstart and the guest teachers would bedeployed on the posts left vacantafter the process of promotions iscomplete.

The new order would affect thejob prospects of more than 3000guest teachers working in differentGovernment schools.

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Difficulties being faced inexecution of the Char

Dham all weather road projectshould be resolved on prior-ity basis in a time-boundmanner, said Chief MinisterTrivendra Singh Rawat.

Chairing a meeting to reviewthe project execution, he

said that this project of nation-al and strategic importance isamong the top priorities of theCentral and StateGovernments.

On completion, the 889kilometres long project costingabout Rs 11,700 crore willmake travel more convenienton the Yatra route and to the

border areas. It will also opena new way for development inthe state, said Rawat. Hedirected that all the depart-ments concerned should reg-ularly review the difficultiesbeing faced in road construc-tion. The Government ofIndia is providing full coop-eration and there is no dearthof funds for the project. TheCM directed the powerdepartment to immediatelyshift the power lines coming inthe way of the road construc-tion. The Peyjal Nigam wasalso directed to shift the drink-ing water pipelines. He alsodirected that action be takensoon for approval to cut thetrees coming in the way of

road construction.Arrangement for EnvironmentImpact Assessment should bemade within 15 days for con-struction of road in theBhagirathi eco-sensitive zoneto expedite roadworks in theregion. Rawat also directedofficials to prepare plan for treeplantation along the Yatraroute. Sites should also bemarked for petrol pumps,resting places and eco-parks.

He also said that kiosksfor women self help groupsshould be made on the addi-tional land. Chief secretaryOm Prakash, principal secre-tary Anand Bardhan and otherofficials were also present inthe meeting.

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The wife of Dwarahat MLAMahesh Negi filed a case

against a woman and her fami-ly members with the Nehru

Colony police in Dehradun accusing them of extortion. On theother hand, the woman has accused the MLA of physically exploit-ing her. The woman has also demanded that the DNA test of herdaughter should be conducted to ascertain who the father is. TheMLA’s wife has alleged that the woman is trying to blackmail her

husband and is demanding Rs five crore.On the other hand the woman who is a res-

ident of Dwarahat in Almora district but is cur-rently living in Dehradun, has alleged that she wasbeing forced to have a physical relationship withNegi for two years owing to which she also has adaughter.

The woman further alleged that a false case hadbeen filed against her by Negi's wife on the basisof the allegations that she is blackmailing Negi andasking for Rs five crore. In a short video messagereleased on the social media, she further allegedthat some police personnel came to her Dehradunaddress on Friday morning and took her to NehruColony Chowki after purportedly lying to her thatshe needed to get tested for Covid-19. Thewoman has also written to the Almora districtPanchayat chairperson seeking her help in secur-ing a lawyer to fight the case in court.

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Reporting on an average1000 fresh cases of the

novel coronavirus every day,Punjab’s COVID-19 tally isinching closer to the 30,000mark. On Friday, the statereported 1077 fresh cases and25 deaths, pushing the state’scorona tally to 29,013 anddeath toll to 731.

A total of 30 jail inmatesfrom Bathinda have been test-ed positive besides 17 prison-ers — including nine fromTarn Taran, five fromGurdaspur, three fromKapurthala.

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Page 3: HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY · 2020. 8. 14. · Independence Day today. He is also scheduled to unveil the foundation for developmental works and make some announcements on the occasion

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Convened in themonth of September

amid the pandemic ofnovel Coronavirus(Covid-19), the MonsoonSession of UttarakhandAssembly would be heldunder strict regulations.

The Assembly secre-tariat is planning to cur-tail the list of personsallowed to enter the ses-sion and a special sittingplan would be made forthe members inside thehouse.

The monsoon ses-sion of Uttarakhandassembly would startfrom September 23. Thespeaker of UttarakhandVidhan SabhaPremchand Agarwal con-firmed that the three daysession would be heldunder regulationsenforced to contain thespread of the virus.

Talking to the mediaat Vidhan Sabha premis-es on Friday, the Speakersaid that the sittingarrangement of MLAswould be in accordancewith the social distancingnorms. He added that

the limited number ofpasses would be issuedto the officers and otherguests during the ses-sion. On the day thespeaker laid the founda-tion stone of the 101 feethigh mast at the assem-bly premises. Whencompleted, the Tricolourwould be unfurled onthis mast. The speakeron July 22 this year hadannounced that a 101high national flag wouldbe set up at the assemblypremises.

The flag would be 20feet wide and 30 feetlong. A pole having spe-cial high mast lightswould keep illuminatingthis giant tricolour.Speaking on the occa-sion, the Speaker saidthat the decision toinstall the flag has beentaken to inculcate thespirit of patriotism andrespect towards thenation.

The Raipur MLAUmesh Sharma Kau,Rajpur MLA KhajanDas, Mussoorie MLAGanesh Joshi and otherswere present on theoccasion.

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The number of novelCoronavirus (Covid-19)

patients in Uttarakhand scaled to11, 615 on Friday with the Statehealth department reporting 313fresh cases of the disease.

Deaths of four patients werealso reported on the day whichincreased the death toll to 147 inthe State. The authorities dis-charged 488 patients from differ-ent hospitals after their recoveryon Friday. The state now has a totalof 7502 recovered patients whichputs the recovery percentage at64.59 percent.

The doubling rate of the dis-ease in Uttarakhand is at 24.36days.Two patients of the disease(52 year old males) were report-ed dead at District hospitalPithoragarh while an 86 year oldpatient died at GovernmentMedical College Haldwani onthe day. Similarly a 77 year oldmale was reported dead atGovernment Doon MedicalCollege (GDMC) hospital on theday.

The authorities reported 122patients in Haridwar, 73 inDehradun, 54 in Nainital, 24 inUdham Singh Nagar, 23 in Tehri,six in Uttarkashi, f ive inChampawat, two each inPithoragarh and Bageshwar and

one each in Pauri and Chamolidistrict on Friday. In what can betermed as a good developmentin Covid-19 battered UdhamSingh Nagar district, 217patients were discharged fromhospitals after recovery onFriday.

Similarly 122 patients weredischarged in Haridwar districton the day while 47 patientswere discharged in Dehradun,38 in Pithoragarh, 35 in Nainital,12 in Pauri, seven in Bageshwar,four in Tehri and three each inChampawat and Almora dis-tricts. The State now has 3924active patients of the disease withHaridwar at top of the table ofactive cases with 1253 cases.Udham Singh Nagar is now at sec-ond place with 884 active cases ofthe disease. Nainital is in thirdposition with 621 active caseswhile Dehradun is in fourth posi-tion with 504 active patients ofCovid 19. Uttarkashi has 166,Tehri 145, Champawat 95,Pithoragarh 58,Pauri 54,Chamoli 53,Almora 42,Bageshwar 25a n dRudraprayag 24active cases ofthe disease.

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The people of Uttarakhand are making importantcontributions in development and progress of the

country, said Governor Baby Rani Maurya. Payinghomage to martyrs and freedom fighters in her mes-sage to the public on the eve of Independence Day,Maurya said that people of the State are renderinginvaluable services in various sectors especially in thedefence sector.

The Governor said, “Covid-19 has become a hugechallenge for the world. With the cooperation of theCentral Government and its own resourcesUttarakhand Government has managed the pandemiceffectively. People have shown unprecedented soli-darity during pandemic across country. People inUttarakhand also took initiatives to help each otherwhile displaying social harmony and unity.”

Maurya also appreciated frontline workers, nurs-es, paramedical staff, administrative officers, mediapersons and volunteers providing important services.While the pandemic has presented various challenges,it has provided a chance to improve the health sys-tem, she said. “The State Government has appointed more than 400 doctors considering the pandemic.

Two new medical colleges in Haridwar andPithoragarh apart from the existing five medical col-leges are being set up. All the families are being ben-efited under the Atal Ayushman scheme in the State,”said Maurya.

Referring to Atmanirbhar Bharat mission she saidthat it will also motivate young people to take up selfemployment. Schools and colleges are closed due topandemic and carrying on education is a big challenge.It is encouraging that educational institutes haveadopted technology and innovation so speedily.

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Page 4: HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY · 2020. 8. 14. · Independence Day today. He is also scheduled to unveil the foundation for developmental works and make some announcements on the occasion

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President Ram Nath Kovindon Friday lauded the

efforts of healthcare profes-sionals at the frontline in thecountry’s fight against thecoronavirus pandemic andsaid the nation is “indebted todoctors, nurses and otherhealth workers”. He said thecelebrations this year will berestrained without the cus-tomary pomp and show owingto the pandemic which has“altered the world we live in.”

Addressing the nation onthe eve of the 74thIndependence Day, thePresident termed theGovernment’s response to theCovid-19 challenge as “super-human”.

Lauding the Centre andState Government for takingsteps to contain the transmis-sion of novel coronavirus,Kovind said India’s role indealing with the pandemic isa lesson for the world.

The President also spokeon the Galwan Valley face-offin which 20 Indian soldiers

were kil led fighting theChinese army in June thisyear in eastern Ladakh. “Ourbrave soldiers laid down theirlives defending our borders.Those worthy sons of BharatMata lived and died fornational pride. Their braveryin combat has demonstratedthat while we believe in peace,we are also capable of giving abefitting response to anyattempt of aggression,” he said.

“Even while the world com-munity needs to fight togetheragainst the greatest challengebefore humanity, some in ourneighbourhood tried to carryout their misadventure ofexpansion. Our brave soldierslaid down their lives defendingour borders. Those worthy sonsof Bharat Mata lived and diedfor national pride. The entirenation salutes the martyrs ofGalwan Valley. Every Indianfeels grateful to their familymembers.

“Their bravery in combathas demonstrated that while webelieve in peace, we are alsocapable of giving a befittingresponse to any attempt of

aggression,” said the Presidentwho is also supreme comman-der of the armed forces.

Besides, President Kovindcalled the construction of theRam Temple in Ayodhya a“moment of pride for all” andsaid the National Education

Policy 2020 will “strengthenthe culture of ‘Inclusion’,‘Innovation’ and ‘Institution’ inthe sphere of education.”

“Only ten days ago, con-struction of the temple at ShriRam Janmabhoomi began, inAyodhya. It was indeed a

moment of pride for all. Peopleof the country maintainedrestraint and patience for along time and reposed unflinch-ing trust in the judicial system,”he said.

President said the‘National Education Policy’

spells a long term vision withfar-reaching impact, addingthat “it will strengthen the cul-ture of ‘Inclusion’, ‘Innovation’and ‘Institution’ in the sphereof education”

“Imparting education inthe mother tongue has beengiven emphasis in order tohelp young minds grow spon-taneously... It is a right step inthis direction,” he said.

Kovind said India’sapproach is not a self-centredone but it carries a tradition of

working for well-being of theentire world

“It has been the tradition ofIndia that we do not just live forourselves, but work for thewell-being of the entire world.India’s self-reliance meansbeing self-sufficient withoutalienating or creating distancefrom the world. It implies thatIndia will continue to engagewith the world economy whilemaintaining its identity.”

The President said youthshould feel special pride in

being the citizen of a free nation.“August 15 fills us with the

excitement of unfurling the tri-colour, taking part in celebra-tions and listening to patrioticsongs.

On this day, the youth ofIndia should feel the specialpride of being citizens of a freenation. We gratefully rememberour freedom fighters and mar-tyrs whose sacrifices haveenabled us to live in an inde-pendent nation,” the presidentsaid.

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CRPF AssistantCommandant Naresh

Kumar has scripted historyby receiving his 7th Policemedal for Gallantry in a shortspan of four years for his gal-lant action against the teroristsin Jammu and Kashmir.

“An officer with sharp tac-tical acumen and indomitablecourage, Naresh Kumar has ledthe CRPF Valley QAT (QuickAction Team) in Srinagar whichhas a glorious history of con-tinued success marked withnumerous Gallantry medals thatembellish its valour,” the CRPFsaid in a statement.

Assistant CommandantKumar got his first medal in2017 for an operation which wasconducted in Srinagar in 2016.Here, he neutralised two foreignterrorists whereas in 2018, hewas awarded with two PMGsfor neutralising two HizbulMujahideen commanders in anfierce operation which lasted forthree days.

This year alone, the ValleyQAT has been adorned with

more than 15 Gallantry medals.Furthermore, the erstwhile IGSrinagar, CRPF, Ravideep SinghSahi and the present valley QATCommander, LoukrakpamIbomcha Singh and his teammate Constable Devsant Kumarhave been awarded with PoliceMedal for Gallantry for a coura-geous operation in Srinagar onOctober 3, 2017 where two mil-itants were neutralised by thesecurity forces.

For Loukrakpam IbomchaSingh, this is his 3rd GallantryMedal and second PMG whileConstable Devsant Kumar willbe receiving the PMG for thesecond time.

Yet another story of grit andcourage relates to 208 CoBRAwhere the team of gallant war-riors came under a heavy attackfrom Maoists in jungles ofSukma, Chhattisgarh on March03/04, 2016, the troops retaliat-ed with bravery and forced theMaoists to give up their nefari-ous designs, the CRPF said.

In this long lastingencounter nine Maoists wereneutralised while five wereinjured. Three Bravehearts of

208 CoBRA made supreme sac-rifice serving the nation. Fortheir indomitable gallantry andcourage in the face of dangerduring the operation, 208CoBRA has been awarded witheight PMGs with three beingawarded posthumously.

CRPF –the largest CentralArmed Police Force of the coun-try, has been awarded with asmany as 55 Police Medals forGallantry on the eve ofIndependence Day, which isthe second highest force after theJammu and Kashmir police thatbagged 81 medals.

With this, the total numberof gallantry medals won by thedeserving Force personnel tillnow has reached to 2036, thehighest among all the CAPFs inthe country.

“The narrative behind eachof these Gallantry Medals speaksthe language of courage, dedi-cation to duty, devotion for themotherland and over and abovea steely resolve to deliver, whichis the hallmark of InternalSecurity Warriors,” added theC R P Fstatement.

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As the situation on the Lineof Actual Control(LAC) in

Eastern Ladakh remains tensefor nearly three months now,Defence Minister RajnathSingh on Friday said India hasnever attacked anywhere tocapture land of others.Reiterating this, he also saidIndia believes in winninghearts and not land. “But itdoes not mean we will let ourself-esteem be hurt,” he said.

Making this assertionduring the customary addressto the troops on the eve of theIndependence Day, he, how-ever, cautioned if attackedIndia as always will give abefitting reply. He, however,did not name China.

“Whatever we do innational security, we alwaysdo it for self-defence, not forattacking others. If enemy

country ever attacked us, likeevery time we will give abefitting reply,” he said.

His observations came inthe backdrop of five rounds ofmilitary level and four at thediplomatic level in the pastfew weeks failing to resolvethe stand-offs now on at fourfriction points. Moreover,China has not withdrawn itstroops from these sites despiteagreement thereby leading totension in the area.

In his address, the defenceminister assured that the gov-ernment is doing all that isnecessary to keep our forcesmorale high and fulfill theirall operational requirement.

Later in his tweet mes-sage, he paid tributes to thesoldiers. “On the eve of India’sIndependence Day, I salutethe indomitable courage ofthe brave soldiers of ourArmed Forces who are self-

lessly serving the nation.Their unmatched courageand patriotism has ensuredthat our country is safe,” hesaid.

In another tweet, theminister said theGovernment is leaving nostone unturned to strengthenthe armed forces and ensurethe welfare of their familiesand the ex-servicemen.

Amid the ongoing stand-off, the Defence Ministry hasgiven the armed forces emer-gency financial powers toprocure weapons systems upto Rs 300 crores on an urgentbasis without any furtherclearances to cut short theprocurement cycle.

The Ser vices haveembarked on major procure-ments of ammunition, anti-tank missiles, man portableair defences, unmanned aer-ial vehicles among others.

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Days after banning importof 101 weapon systems to

make the Indian defence indus-try self-reliant, the Governmenton Friday signed four contractsas part of Defence India StartUp challenge in the presence ofDefence Minister RajnathSingh.

On the final day of‘Atmanirbhar Week’ celebrationof the Defence Ministry, he alsolaunched Department ofDefence Production(DDP)portal SRIJAN which is a ‘onestop shop online portal thatprovides access to the vendorsto take up items that can betaken up for indigenisation. Anumber of Expressions of inter-

est/Requests for Proposal werealso issued.

Speaking on the occasion,Rajnath said signing of theseMoUs and contracts will leadus to self-reliance in the tech-nologies related to defencemanufacturing. He called uponthe Indian industry partners toshow complete commitmentand take proactive participationin the pursuit of Indigenisationand self-reliance in the defencesector.

Commending the DDP forcreating SRIJAN portal, theminister said this will helpindustry partners to play activerole in the goal of self-reliance in defence sector.Pursuant to AtmanirbharBharat announcement,Department of Defence

Production has developed anindigenization portal, srijan-defence.gov.in, as “opportuni-ties for Make in India inDefence”, which will give infor-mation on items that can betaken up for indigenisation bythe private sector.

On this portal,DPSUs/OFB/SHQs can displaytheir items which they havebeen importing or are going toimport which the IndianIndustry can design, developand manufacture as per theircapability or through joint ven-ture with OEMs. The IndianIndustry will be able to showtheir interest.

There are over 3,000unique items with a value ofover �10,000 Crore that areavailable through the portal.

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The BJP is expected to giveformer Maharashtra Chief

Minister Devendra Fadnavis akey role in the Bihar election,due later this year.

A move is afoot to appointFadnavis as election-in-chargeof Bihar polls, according tosources.

The former MaharashtraChief Minister’s role assumesimportance in the backdrop ofa raging controversy aroundthe death of Sushant SinghRajput, a young and risingBollywood actor and a native ofBihar.Sushant’s parents havelodged an FIR in the state in thecase.

The BJP has been allegingthat the Mumbai police underthe Shiv Sena-NCP-Congresscoalition was not conducting afair probe in the circumstancesleading to what has initiallybeen termed as “suicide”.

Fadnavis has been in theforefront in attacking ChiefMinister Uddhav Thackerayand his son for the handling ofthe actor’s case and demandinga CBI probe into his death and“justice” for him.

The issue of the 34-year-old actor’s death triggeredcharges and counter-chargesbetween the two States with

Maharashtra Shiv Sena leadersaccusing the BJP-JD (U) coali-tion Government in Bihar ofpoliticising the investigation toserve its political ends whenassembly polls are round thecorner.

The Bihar Government’seagerness to take up the caseof Rajput is seen by many as amove to consolidate “thakurvotes” in the state as also a ges-ture that the Nitish Kumar-ledgovernment was standing by its‘son of the soil’ and his familyin distress.

The reports of the appoint-ment of Fadnavis have beengrowing since he chaired acore committee meeting of theBJP’s Bihar unit party onAugust 13 and BJP President JP Nadda directing leaders inBihar unit to brief formerMaharashtra Chief Ministeron the campaign strategy.

Fadnavis, the first BrahminCM of Maharashtra who losthis second run in the state asCM, has been living in politi-cal shadows in Maharashtraafter the ‘Maha vikas Aghadi’coalition took reins of gover-nance in the State.

The BJP is also expectingto benefit from Fadnavis’Brahmin origins. Brahminsconstitute 5 percent of thepopulation in Bihar.

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With export norms relaxed,India managed to export

23 lakh Personnel ProtectionEquipments to five countriesnamely the USA, the UK, UAE,Senegal and Slovenia in just amonth.

“This has substantiallyaided India to position itself inthe global export market ofPPEs,” said a statement fromthe Union Health Ministry.

PPEs are a crucial medicalresource for frontline workersduring the pandemic thatinclude body coveralls, N-95masks, goggles, face shieldsamong others.

According to the Ministry,the ‘Make in India’ spiritembedded in the‘Atmanirbhar BharatAbhiyaan’ has resulted in pro-viding resilience and self-suf-ficiency” to the country forvarious medical equipmentincluding PPEs.

While the Union

Government is supplying PPEkits, N95 masks, ventilatorsetc., to the State governmentsand union territories admin-istrations, states are alsoprocuring these items direct-ly.

“Between March andAugust 2020, they have pro-cured 1.40 crore indigenousPPE from their own bud-getary resources. During thesame period, the Centre hasdistributed 1.28 crore PPE tostates, UTs and central insti-tutions, free of cost,” said theministry in a statement.

The Centre has been lead-ing the graded, pre-emptive,proactive and collaborativeresponse and management ofCOVID-19, along with thestates union territories.

As part of its continuedefforts towards progressivelyaugmenting and strengthen-ing the medical infrastructureacross the country, variouspolicy decisions have beentaken on a regular basis.

At the start of the pan-demic, there was a globalshortage of all kinds of medicalequipment including N95masks, PPE kits, ventilators etc,the ministry underlined.

Most of the products werenot being manufactured inthe country in the beginning asmany of the necessary com-ponents were to be procuredfrom other countries. The ris-ing global demand due to thepandemic resulted in theirscarce availability in the foreignmarkets, it stated.

Turning the pandemic intoan opportunity to develop itsdomestic market for produc-tion of medical equipment,with the combined efforts ofministries of health, textiles,pharmaceuticals, Departmentfor Promotion of Industry andInternal Trade, DefenceResearch and DevelopmentOrganisation and others, Indiahas hugely ramped up its ownmanufacturing capacity, theministry said.

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The number of deaths due tosmokeless tobacco in India

is on the rise, accounting for 70per cent of deaths in the South-East Asia region followed byPakistan ( seven per cent) andBangladesh which accountsfive per cent of the global dis-ease burden due to smokelesstobacco.

Researchers added thatdeaths due to it globally has

also gone up by a third in sevenyears to an estimated 350,000people.

The research, published inthe journal BMC Medicine,comes at a time when there areconcerns that spitting - abehaviour common amongthose who chew tobacco - islikely to transmit the Covid-19virus.

“The study has come at atime when Covid-19 is affect-ing almost all aspects of ourlives. Chewing tobacco increas-

es saliva production and leadsto compulsive spitting,” saidstudy researcher KamranSiddiqi from the University ofYork in the UK.

There are concerns thatspitting - a behaviour commonamong those who chew tobac-co- is likely to transmit thevirus to others.

“In acknowledgement ofthis, India, for example, hasalready taken a positive step bybanning spitting in publicplaces to reduce the transmis-sion of COVID-19,” Siddiqiadded.

The study estimated that in2017 alone smokeless tobaccoresulted in more than 90,000deaths due to cancers of themouth, pharynx and oesopha-gus and accounted for morethan 258,000 deaths from heartdisease.

Millions more have theirlives shortened by ill-health dueto the effects of chewing tobac-co-based products, the studyreveals.

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Page 5: HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY · 2020. 8. 14. · Independence Day today. He is also scheduled to unveil the foundation for developmental works and make some announcements on the occasion

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Bengaluru: The recent Bengaluru riots occurredat breakneck speed, erupting in less than threehours of the derogatory message being put upon social media, a police official said on Friday.

“Naveen posted the derogatory messagearound 6 p.m. and by 9 pm the riots erupted,”Central Crime Branch (CCB) DeputyCommissioner of Police (DCP) Kuldeep Jain toldIANS. The government machinery was alreadystrained with battling the Coronavirus pan-demic, and the riots caught them unawares.

On Tuesday night, hundreds of people ranamok after Pulikeshinagar's Congress MLAAkhanda Srinivas Murthy's nephew P Naveenposted a derogatory message on social media.

The mob pelted stones, injuring 60 police-

men, and committed acts of vandalism andarson in DJ Halli, KG Halli, Pulikeshinagar andKaval Byrasandra areas. “As soon as the newsreached the police, cops from nearby police sta-tions rushed to the spot,” said Jain.

Police Commissioner Kamal Pant himselfrushed to the riot-affected areas to monitor thesituation.

The police was initially overwhelmed withthe rioters outnumbering them. “By that timewhatever preventive things we could do, we triedit out. All that did not calm down the mob,” hesaid. It was only after the police fired in the airand later at the rioters, leading to the death ofthree people, did the situation come under con-trol. IANS

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Ahead of the Independence Day cele-brations, heavily armed terrorists,

believed to be the cadre of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror outfit onFriday shot dead two policemen andwounded another in “indiscriminate” fir-ing on the outskirts of Srinagar nearNowgam bypass.

The terrorists seem to have donethorough recee of the area before target-ing the patrol party of Jammu & Kashmirpolice.They disappeared in the bylanes ofthe densely populated area even before thesecurity personnel could chase them.

Inspector General of police, Kashmirrange, Vijay Kumar who visited the spottold reporters, “the terrorists emergedfrom Gulshan street on the outskirts ofthe Srinagar city near Nowgam bypassand targeted the policemen by openingindiscriminate firing around 9.30 a.m.” Hesaid three policemen received injuries buttwo among them succumbed to their

injuries. The martyred jawans of Jammu& Kashmir police were identified asConstables Ishfaq Ayoub and FayazAhmad of IRP 20 Bn.

IG Vijay Kumar said, “elaboratesecurity deployment was done on groundzero to ensure incident free Independenceday celebrations in the valley”. He saidafter the terror strike the entire area hasbeen cordoned off to track down the foot-prints of the terrorists behind the attack.He said, preliminary reports suggestedJeM cadre were behind the attack. Hemaintained, the security personnel alsoexercised restraint by not opening indis-criminate firing due to the heavy civilianmovement in the area.

Later in the day, a tribute ceremonywas organised at the police headquarterswhere senior officers including DGPJammu & Kashmir police paid their trib-ute and remembered the supreme sacri-fices of the jawans of the J&K police.Themortal remains were later shifted to theirlocal residences in Srinagar where thou-

sands of residents paid their last tributesand joined the funeral ofpolicemen.Wailing women and closerelatives were seen chanting slogans dur-ing the funeral procession of martyredpolicemen.

Interacting with the media persons,DGP Dilbagh Singh said,” it is the hand-iwork of the Pakistan and its proxies whodon't want to see peace prevailing in theregion. He said, the security situation haslargely improved in Kahsmir valley but inbetween when such incidents occur ourresolve to restore peace gets strengthened.Referring to measures adopted by thesecurity forces ahead of the I-day cele-brations, DGP said, drone cameras andcamera fitting vehicles have been deployedat various places to ensure complete areadomination during the I-Day function.

The security forces were also direct-ed to remain in a state of high alert acrossJammu & Kashmir to prevent freshstrikes on the security convoys and othervital security installations.

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Covid-19 is causing havoc in Kerala as 1,569 newpersons were diagnosed positive for the pan-

demic in the last 24 hours ending Friday 6 pm. Thesituation in the State is so grave that Chief MinisterPinarayi Vijayan and seven of his Cabinet col-leagues have gone under self-quarantine onFriday. The Ministers who have gone underquarantine include K K Shylaja, Health Minister.

Ten persons succumbed to Covid 19 onFriday while 1, 354 out of the new 1,569 cases con-tracted the pandemic through social transmission.86 patients who tested positive on Friday failed topinpoint the source from where they contractedthe pandemic.

Interestingly, Shylaja had said in a release onThursday that Kerala is likely to see the numberof Covid-19 cases going up to 10,000 to 20,000per day in the coming weeks and the number ofcausalities too would go up along with it.

Loknath Behera, State Police Chief too wentunder quarantine on Friday as he had accompa-nied the Chief Minister in the latter’s trip toKozhikode and Munnar recently. The responsibilityof Covid-19 management has been given to thePolice Department by the Chief Minister onWednesday as all measures to fight and control thepandemic has come a cropper in the State. The SPof Malappuram too went under self quarantine asthe district collector too was tested positive onFriday.

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Lord Muruga and LordVinayaka are playing a major

role in uniting the Hindus inTamil Nadu who have beendivided along caste lines. Hindusall over the State had come outprotesting against the humilia-tion meted out to Lord Murugaby Karuppu Koottam (the BlackAlliance), a frontal organisationunder the auspices of theDravidian outfits.

A YouTube channel underKaruppu koottam had aired anobscene song as a parody to theSkanda Shashti Kavacham, aniconic hymn of Muruga devo-tees all over the world andwhich was immortalized bySoolamangalam Sisters, thefamous devotional song propo-nents. The Tamil NadauGovernment was forced to arrestthe Karuppu Koottam manage-

ment only after State-wideprotests by the devotees whichincluded the mass Skanda ShastiKavacham recitation and wor-shipping idols of Lord Muruga.

On Wednesday, Tamil NaduGovernment ordered the ban ofVinayaka Chathurthi proces-sion and festivities citing theCovid-19 situation in the State.Hell has broken loose all over theState with Hindu organisationsincluding the BJP coming out inprotest against the governmentorder banning the processionsand festivities. VinayakaChathurthi processions in TamilNadu have been a major con-cern for the Government as wellas the law and order enforce-ment agencies as Muslimsstrongly object to the carrying ofVinayaka idols along the mainthoroughfares and highwaysacross the State as part of theimmersion ceremony.

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SSunil Kumar, Kerala State ProtocolOfficer reportedly told the sleuths of

the National Investigation Agency(NIA) probing the gold smugglingracket busted by the Customs depart-ment recently that no diplomatic bag-gage has come to the UAE Consulateat Thiruvananthapuram during thelast two years.

The statement has put the CPI(M)led LDF Government in Kerala indilemma as KT Jaleel, the HigherEducation Minister has been claimingthat he had received Ramzaan kits andthousands of copies of Quran sent bythe UAE Consulate atThiruvananthapuram through diplo-matic consignment. Kerala BJP presi-dent K Surendran had alleged onThursday that the baggage containedgold bars instead of Quran and the samewas transported to different parts ofKerala through the official vehicles ofJaleel, a former leader of the outlawedSIMI. But Jaleel denied all allegationsand declared that he was ready to faceprobe by any agencies including theNIA, CBI or the EnforcementDirectorate,

Sunil Kumar reportedly told theNIA officials that he does not have anyinformation about the Ramzaan kitsaddressed to Jaleel’s office from the UAEConsulate in the capital city.

The NIA sleuths has asked SunilKumar to furnish the details of thediplomatic consignments received bythe State Government Departmentsfrom the UAE Consulates and all otherforeign missions operating in the coun-try. All materials addressed to theState Government officials from diplo-matic missions in the country arereceived by the State Protocol Officerbefore handing it over to the concerneddepartments. Sunil Kumar’s explanationto the NIA has come hours before theKerala BJP president Surendran allegedthat Shine Haq, the former StateProtocol Officer was hand in glove withthose involved in gold smuggling.

“Though Haq was transferred outof the Protocol Office, he managed toget back to the office in a senior posi-tion and he continued to meddle withthe affairs of the SPO,” Surendran hadalleged in a press meet on Thursday atKozhikode.

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The wild life lovers and NGO ofAligarh have appealed to the

Prime Minister of India to save theendangered species of Black bucks ofthis region. They said that if suchsteps are not taken by theGovernment on urgent basis theBlack Bucks will become history andbe banished from this region. Oncethis region used to be very rich withthe presence of Black deers but onaccount of the killing of endangeredspecies by rich persons belonging toAligarh city and so called, Nawabs ofthe districts now only 357 blackdeers are believed to be exist in theregion.

Bankebihari Gupta, president ofLATA NGO Said that “ Aligarh wasvery rich with the the presence ofBlack buck .But due to pouching thelife of endangered species are in dan-ger. We have written several letter toDistrict Administration. ButAdministration have turned a blindeye regarding this evil menace. At lastWe have appealed to the PrimeMinister of India to save the endan-gered species of Black deers of this

region”.Sources of wild life department of

U P Government that some 10 yearsago the number of black deers in thedistrict was estimated to be 5347. Theblack bucks were found in the junglesof villages Sunthla Rahim Kot,Surajpur Jaivana Birpura,AlahdadpMur, Gurskien JarkheraLohgarh and Saidman under theareas of Atrauli, Kher and Koil Tehsilsof the district. It is worth mention-ing that this species have their ownhistory as several authors have writ-ten about free movements of Blackdeers in Aligarh district. Accordingto manuscripts on records, SirThomas Row a British who visitedIndia in the beginning of 17thCentury in the region of EmperorJahangir had written that black deersand peacocks were seen moving inalmost whole of the area of Koil(Aligarh). Similarly another touristHawkins has written that in the sur-rounding of Delhi, Agra and Aligarh(Koil) large number of herds of blackbucks were seem, now with the pas-sage of time the number has consid-erably reduced and few left alone arestruggling for their existence.

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MLAs will now speak tocorona patients over

phone daily and will take thefeedback of health servicesfrom them. In case of anyproblem, they will inform thedistrict administration imme-diately. On Thursday, Ministerof State for Medicine Atul Garggave this instruction on thecomplaint of MLA SanjeevRaja during inspection ofCorona Control Room.

During the inspection ofthe control room, Atul Garginquired about the number ofcorona patients, the number ofhospitals, the number ofpatients admitted to them andthe number of fleets relative tothem. He was somewhere sat-isfied with the answers of con-trol room incharge SmritiGautam.

At the same time, cityMLA Sanjeev Raja, whoaccompanied him, also hadsome problems, on the basis ofwhich he directed the admin-istration that a list of covidpatients should be given to theMLAs along with their names,addresses and mobile numbersdaily. MLAs will seek healthservices feedback from patientsat their level.

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In Gonda police station, thecase of the fight between the

BJP MLA Rajkumar Sahayogiof IGLAS and Anuj Saini, theSHO, was overshadowed onsocial media. In this case, for-mer Chief Ministers Mayawati,Akhilesh Yadav, IPS officerAmitabh Thakur have tweetedand demanded action againstthe culprits.

Former Chief Minister andBSP supremo Mayawati said inher tweet that the law and orderin UP is dying. Allegationsmade by the BJP MLA and thepolice in Aligarh are very seri-ous, whoever is guilty, actionshould be taken against them.

What is the differencebetween the SP-BJP govern-ment in terms of crime controland law and order?Government should pay prop-er attention to it.

Former Chief Minister andSP National President AkhileshYadav has targeted the Yogigovernment in this matter.

He said that this is the con-dition of the state under BJPrule, BJP's own legislators arebeing victims of police beat-ings.

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Contesting the speculation that there are twopower centres in Maharashtra, the Shiv

Sena said Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeraywas the only leader who enjoyed all the pow-ers in the MVA Government, while NCP chiefSharad Pawar being an architect of the rulingalliance, he played an important part in it and“we seek his advice”.

Participating in a joint interaction pro-gramme hosted by Marathi television chan-nel “ABP Majha”, Shiv Sena’s Rajya Sabha mem-ber and spokesperson Sanjay Raut dismissedthe allegation in certain quarters that the StateGovernment files were being sent to theYeshwantrao Centre for the NCP chief to lookat them.

“There are no two power centres inMaharashtra. Chief minister UddhavThackeray is the only leader who enjoys all thepowers in the state government. No govern-ment files to the Yeshwantrao Chavan Centre(for Pawar sahib to look at) as is being claimedin certain quarters. Uddhav sahib has the pow-ers with him,” Raut said.

Alluding to Pawar’s role in the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in the state,Raut said: “Pawar saheb played a key role inthe formation of the MVA government in theState. He has a major role to play in our gov-

ernment. He is the most experienced politi-cal leader in the state and has vast adminis-trative experience. No one has as much expe-rience as he has governance matters in thestate”.

“Hence his guidance is valuable for ourgovernment. What is wrong if someone goesto him and seeks advice?. And we need theguidance of Pawar sahib,” Raut said.

Replying to another question, Rautslammed the Opposition BJP for politicisingthe Sushant Singh Rajput suicide cases pur-posely.. “In view of the impending BiharAssembly elections, the Opposition BJP isderiving political mileage out of the SushantSingh Rajput suicide case”

When his attention was drawn to the NCPchief ’s disapproval of his grandnephew RohitPawar’s demand for CBI probe into thealleged Sushant Singh Raput suicide case, Rautsaid: “You should see the whole episode as agrandfather giving his grand nephew. Even lateBal Thackeray used to rebuke the youngsterswhen something went wrong. His familymembers as well all of us used to feel happy.Because, if he got irritated with us, we wouldthink he was keeping a watch on us. Even inRohit’s case, Pawar did not say whatever he saidin an irritating tone. Whatever he said wasover that day. Now it has become a familymatter”.

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Seeking to “expose” the Rs 20lakh crore Covid-19

Economic Assistance Packageannounced by the ModiGovernment in August last year,the Maharashtra Pradesh YouthCongress (MPYC) PresidentSatyajeet Tambe said here onFriday that while “the self-styledPradhan Sevak” insisted �20lakh crore-worth of assistancewas given to farmers, entrepre-neurs and the unemployed, hewanted to who were actually thebeneficiaries from the scheme.

“The self-styled PradhanSevak insists �20 lakh crores-worth of assistance was given tofarmers, entrepreneurs and theunemployed, but MaharashtraYouth Congress has been hardpressed to find a single individ-ual who it has helped. My onlyquestion to the Prime Ministeris, Modi ji, who exactly got the� 20 Lakh Crore?,” Tambeasked.

In a statement issued here,Tambe said: “Our MPYCBearers and activists have beenreaching out to the intendedstakeholders of the �20 LakhCrore COVID-19 Relief Packageand have not been able to trace

any beneficiaries. Meeting withfarmers on the first day of theagitation at the district and talu-ka level, it was revealed by thevideo interviews recorded thatnot a single farmer has receivedthe assistance promised,” Tambesaid.

“The fact-finding teams alsoconsulted local traders, shopsand factories and Micro, Smalland Medium Enterprises, andthe unemployed, who also atteston record that the relief soughtis still expected three monthsafter it was pledged. The Peopleof Maharashtra have participat-ed wholeheartedly in our polland their recorded testimoniesexpress the same disillusionmentacross critical sectors of theeconomy,” he said

Because of the stark vari-ance between the PrimeMinister’s professions and thezero beneficiary reality on theground, we at MaharashtraYouth Congress continue toapply to the CentralGovernment for a breakdown ofthe COVID-19 assistance toMaharashtra. BJP’s silence andthuggery is symptomatic of theelite capture and the cronyismthat is Modi’s Operandi.

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The Andhra Pradesh HighCourt on Friday extended,

till August 27, the status quo onthree capital issue.

A three-judge bench com-prising Justices Rakesh Kumar,A.V. Sesha Sai and M.Satyanarayana Murthy direct-ed the State government tomaintain the status quo for twomore weeks, rejecting its appealto vacate the interim orderpassed on August 4.

The court on Friday tookup hearing of nearly 55 peti-tions filed to challenge theAndhra PradeshDecentralisation and InclusiveDevelopment of All RegionsAct, 2020 and the CapitalRegion Development Authority(CRDA) Repeat Act, 2020.

Counsel for the petitionersargued that the three capitalmove was violation of AndhraPradesh Reorganisation Act,2014 as it talks of only one state

capital.Lawyers of some of the

petitioners expressed theirinability to personally appearbefore the court due to currentCovid-19 situation and plead-ed for extending the statusquo.

The government had onThursday filed a commoncounter-affidavit claiming thatthe related policy decision waswithin its competence and inconsonance with the Centralgovernment's sworn statementon the matter.

The government contend-ed that its decision was notarbitrary, but was taken on thebasis of various studies con-ducted by experts, and that ithad the obligation underArticle 38 of the Constitutionto ensure that there were noinequalities among the peoplein different areas.

The court had ordered thestatus quo on August 4 as thepetitioners feared that the gov-

ernment might start shiftingoffices to Visakhapatnam andKurnool by taking advantage ofthe Bills getting the Governor'sassent.

Governor BiswabhusanHarichandan on July 31approved the two Bills and thesame day, the governmentissued the gazette notification.

Under Andhra PradeshDecentralisation and InclusiveDevelopment of All RegionsBill 2020, the government seeksto shift key capital functionsout of Amaravati.

It proposes to developVisakhapatnam as the execu-tive capital. With the shifting ofthe offices of the ChiefMinister, the Governor, minis-ters and secretaries, the coastalcity for all practical purposeswill become the seat of power.

Kurnool will be developedas the judicial capital by shift-ing the High Court there.

Amaravati, which was orig-

inally planned as the only statecapital and a world-class city,will only be a legislative capi-tal.

The moved by JaganMohan Reddy-led governmenthas led to fresh protests byfarmers in 29 villages inAmaravati.

About 24,000 farmer fam-ilies had given 33,000 acres ofland for development ofAmaravati under land poolingscheme five years ago.

Then Telugu Desam Party(TDP) government headed byChandrababu Naidu hadembarked on the mega plans tobuild Amaravati on the banksof Krishna river as the dreamcapital and a world-class city.Naidu had got its design wasprepared by Singapore gov-ernment.

Several farmers had alreadychallenged the three capitalsmove. They also filed petitionschallenging the two Billsapproved by the Governor.

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With a cure for coronavirus stillnot known, more and more

people are turning to Ayurvedic'Kadha' prescriptions to keep thevirus at bay.

In a new start-up, kiosks sellingKadhas have sprung in at severalplaces, especially those frequented bymorning walkers.

“We used to sell juices of bottlegourd, bitter gourd here, but now wehave added Kadha and the majori-ty of our customers prefer a glass ofthis Ayurvedic concoction,” saidRamesh Sharma who sets up a stallnear a park in Indira Nagar localityevery morning.

Ramesh claims that his wife andmother prepare the Kadha by boil-ing various species, including car-damom, ginger, nutmeg, pepper-corns, basil leaves, cinnamon, honeyand turmeric. However, he admittedthat he was not aware of the quan-tity of spices that should go into themaking of the decoction.

He sells a small glass of the con-coction for Rs 40 and many cus-tomers even get it packed for home.

Swadesh Sharma, a septuage-narian, said, “I drink one cup andtake home three cups. My wife andI drink this Kadha twice a day.”

Ravindra Kumar, another morn-

ing walker and a regular Kadha cus-tomer, said that preparing the decoc-tion at home was a cumbersometask.

“My wife and I go to work andwe barely get time to cook a meal.Preparing the Kadha takes a lot oftime so we drink a cup here,” he said.

Almost all the morning walkerswho flock to the Kadha stalls, saidthat they had learnt about the ben-efits of this from TV and newspa-pers.

Apart from this, packets ofready-to-brew Kadha are now avail-able in the market.

“This is in a powder form andyou simply have to boil it in water.The spices are in measured quanti-ties and there is no need to evenstrain the decoction,” said MohanLal, who sells packets of the Kadhapowder in his grocery store inMahanagar area.

Meanwhile, doctor Raj Kumar,a medical practitioner, said thatover-consumption of Kadha wasproving harmful for many.

“Excessive use of spices likenutmeg, cinnamon in this weathercan lead to other problems. Peopleare going overboard in drinkingKadha because they believe that thiswill keep corona away, but the sideeffects are now showing up,” heexplained.

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Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane on Friday warned of acrackdown on housing societies and colonies discriminat-

ing against asymptomatic Covid-19 patients who have opted forhome isolation.

Rane said that his Ministry has been receiving complaintsabout various housing societies and other residential complex-es stigmatising asymptomatic Covid-19 patients, includingrestricting supply of food to those in home isolation.

“You cannot stigmatise patients who are opting for home iso-lation, otherwise government will come down heavily and takeaction against these housing societies and colonies. I have receivedcomplaints that committees are not allowing access to those whoare in home isolation in different societies,” Rane said.

“Supply of food is being stopped at the gates, as a result it iscreating problems for patients who are asymptomatic and undermonitoring of the Indian Medical Association and Health ser-vices. These people should not be stigmatised,” Rane said.

The Health Minister said that Covid-19 could affect anyone.“Covid does not recognise caste, status is society. Anybody

can become Covid positive. There should not be any kind of stig-matisation. Home isolation decision has to be respected. No society or colony can take these decisions on its own,” Ranesaid.

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G and hinagar :Guajarat onFriday reported1,087 new Covid-19 case, , takingthe State's totaltally to 76,569,while 15 newfatalities pushedthe death toll to2,748, health offi-cials said.

As many as 1,083 patients were discharged in thelast 24 hours, taking the total number of recoveries to59,522.

Hotspot Surat continued to lead the state's tallywith 232 cases, followed by Ahmedabad (161),Vadodara (107), Rajkot (99), Jamnagar (56),Panchmahals (40), Junagadh (39), Gandhinagar (36),Bhavnagar Gir-Somnath and Mahesana (24 each),Bharuch and Dahod with (23 each), Kutch (22), Morbi(21), Banaskantha (15), Patan and Surendranagar (13each), Anand (12), Navsari (10), Valsad (9),Sabarkantha (8), Kheda and Narmada (7 each),Botad and Chhota Udepur (6 each), Tapi (5),Mahisagar and Porbandar (4 each), and Aravalli andDevbhumi Dwarka (3 each).

Gujarat's mortality rate has come down to 3.58 percent, but it is still one of the highest in the country.

Till now the health authorities have conducted12,11,047 RT-PCR tests in Gujarat, out of which11,34,478 have returned negative.

There are 14,299 active cases in the state at pre-sent, out of which the condition of 14,228 is stable,while 71 critical patients are still on ventilator support.Right now, there are over 4.9 lakh people quarantinedin the state, out of which 4,92,647 are under homequarantine and 989 in government facilities. IANS

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Page 6: HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY · 2020. 8. 14. · Independence Day today. He is also scheduled to unveil the foundation for developmental works and make some announcements on the occasion

On August 15, 1947,India and its citizensgained independencewith the British rulecoming to an end.

Loudly and proudly, we pro-nounced to the world that we, too,were ready to step out from thedarkness of colonial rule to a newdawn, ripe with uncertainty butalso hope. It is this hope that for-mer Prime Minister JawaharlalNehru so eloquently captured inhis address to the nation on theeve of India’s independence. Heopened his speech with, “Longyears ago, we made a tryst withdestiny...” His immortal wordsstill send a chill down my spine.But too often, we focus only on thefirst few words. If we read hisspeech further, Nehruji talkedabout a pledge that we haverenewed by obtaining freedom. Apledge “of dedication to the serviceof India and her people and to thestill larger cause of humanity.”

Few exemplified this pledgeand dedication to the service ofIndia more than Mohd Usman,also known as Naushera ka sher(the Lion of Naushera). At the timeof India’s independence, MohdUsman was offered a high positionin the Pakistan Army but herefused to join. Instead, he choseto help build a “new India” that hadawakened on the fateful night ofAugust 15. Usman bravely defend-ed Naushera, causing a heavy tollon the Pakistani side but wasmartyred in July 1948 while fight-ing for his motherland. He wasposthumously awarded the MahaVir Chakra but more important-ly, he remained a shining symbolof hope for a secular India. On hisdeath, Khwaja Ahmad Abbaswrote, “...a precious life of imagi-nation and unswerving patriotismhas fallen a victim to communalfanaticism. Brigadier Usman’sbrave example will be an abidingsource of inspiration for freeIndia.”

Such an example was neces-sary at a time when tension, fearand suspicion were writ largeowing to the spectre of Partition.Not only did Usman dedicate hislife to the service of India but alsohis death. Just as significant andpoetic is the fact that six monthsbefore Usman was killed in a bat-tle, another famous son of India,Jadunath Singh Rathore, who wasunder Usman’s command, protect-ed a nine-man forward sectionpost, displaying unmatched brav-

ery against thousands of enemyforces. His bravery led to himbeing posthumously awardedthe second-ever Param VirChakra. This sacrifice by two ofIndia’s brave sons — both werefrom different faiths but laiddown their lives for the Indiandream — in all likelihood ter-rorised Pakistan more thanany weapon could and stilldoes.

So where does India standtoday? Seventy two years afterthe death of these bravehearts,it seems that the fear and sus-picion, that loomed large then,looms larger now. We are cur-rently living in times where dif-ferent sections of society areasked to prove their national-ity. Proving one’s nationality hasbeen reduced to the idea ofbeing subservient to a rulingclass and not creating too muchnoise. This test is not limited toindividuals of different faiths orpeople who come from differ-ent castes; it applies to anyonewho does not agree with theview of the Government inpower.

There are a number ofinstances where dissent againstthe Government and its actionsare not only treated with thereckless exercise of power butalso through an indiscriminateattack on the individual’s patri-otism. There are numerousexamples that are in the pub-lic domain but one does not

even need to go that far. Theauthor himself has been sub-jected to vile abuse and wasbranded “un-Indian” merelybecause he had written/spokenin favour of what he believedwas right for the beloved coun-try. This despite the fact that heserved as a public servant andwas awarded a medal for brav-ery by the Government itself. Ican only imagine how aneveryday citizen is treated whenhe/she dares to dissent.

A part of the reason whywe are in this unfortunateposition is that we have forgot-ten that India’s strength lies inunity and not conformity. Weare steadily moving towards atime where dissent in a non-violent form and the free flowof ideas is stymied by author-itarian force or by the loudestvoice. We have forgotten thatour enemies as Indians are notour countrymen, who may fol-low different faiths or eat dif-ferent foods, but illiteracy,hunger and corruption.

In his speech, Nehru recog-nised this when he said, “Theservice of India means the ser-vice of the millions who suffer.It means the ending of pover-ty and ignorance and diseaseand inequality of opportunity.”His words hold just as truetoday as it did then. True ser-vice to India is not fightingwars that our political mastersor news channels manipulate

us into. Instead, it is the fightagainst poverty, illiteracy anddisease that plague millions ofIndians.

This is one of the main rea-sons why I am proud of thework done by the Aam AadmiParty (AAP). The party’s goal isto remain true to the national-istic spirit through its work. Thisis why the Delhi model of gov-ernance has received such wide-spread credit in areas of health,education and transparency.All of this has been achieved bypeople of all faiths, gender andcaste. By treating service toone another as the truest formof patriotism, we are united bypurpose and enriched by ournon-conformity.

Therefore, as we celebratethe 74th independence day, Iwould like to urge the citizensto remember the sacrifices ofUsman and Jadunath SinghRathore, who were killed beforethey could get a chance to seetheir beloved country turn twoand laid down their lives for theIndian dream. A dream wherepeople, divided for centuries bya foreign ruler, could find com-mon meaning and purpose bypledging to live in service toone another and, therefore, inservice to the country. A pledgerenewed in 1947 demandsrenewal even more so in 2020.

(The writer is a former IPSofficer, a former MP and cur-rently a member of the AAP)

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Sir — An expert group onCOVID-19 vaccine adminis-tration has advised against Statesprocuring the Russian vaccine.The directive has reportedlycome in response to some Statesshowing keen interest in gettingthe consignment to arrest thepandemic. Any procurementhas to be done centrally, so thatsupplies can be allocated toStates in proportion to theirneeds. Without a data-drivenand honest assessment, thiscould set off needless politick-ing.

In the case of lockdowns,too, a uniform policy shouldhave been adopted for all Statesto follow. Had every State fol-lowed the same guidelines, thedetection of cases and deaths inall the States in terms of per-centage would have been moreor less the same.

KV SeetharamaiahHassan

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Sir — Politics is a different ballgame altogether. For three years,US President Donald Trump

crafted his re-election narrativearound his “winning” approach,based mainly on an economythat was booming when heassumed power. Today, his pop-ularity has come down consid-

erably. According to the latestGallup poll, Trump’s populari-ty fell below the 40 per centmark in June, with voters giv-ing him low marks on theCoronavirus pandemic and,

notably, the economy. To addsalt to his wounds, the selectionof Kamala Harris as Joe Biden’srunning mate has stressed theTrump campaign. Harris is aheartbeat away from the White

House for the moment and sheis likely to be a trumpcard in aclose contest. She is expected towean away the Black votes andthe Indian diaspora in a bid totrounce Trump.

CK SubramaniamVia email

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Sir — This refers to the editor-ial, “Will the truce hold?”(August 14). It is no secret thatthe coup in Rajasthan wasorchestrated by the BJP. It wasjust waiting to destabilise theGovernment. But Sachin Pilot’srevolt fizzled out as the Congresstook an unusually tough stand.By now Pilot would have alsorealised the selfishness of the saf-fron party, who tried to use himas a pawn and played its cardsvery carefully. As for theCongress, it is time it nominatesa president, who can lead theparty and act as a bulwarkagainst a rampaging BJP. Mostimportantly, accommodate theyoung Turks.

Tharci S FernandoChennai

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Page 7: HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY · 2020. 8. 14. · Independence Day today. He is also scheduled to unveil the foundation for developmental works and make some announcements on the occasion

Alot of water has flowed under the bridge since1947. The 200 million plus population ofIndian Muslims was the one, that at the call

of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad from the steps of oldDelhi’s Jama Masjid, put down its luggage meant forthe next Lahore train from the Old Delhi RailwayStation. In all probability, theirs was the right deci-sion, in spite of the fact that many of their relativeshad decided to leave for their El Dorado — the newlycreated Pakistan. Even today most of the IndianMuslims living in Old Delhi have their relatives inthe country across the border. Religious frenzy hasnever augured well for any community in India andthe world. In the words of eminent Muslim thinker,AG Noorani, the “two-nation theory” was, ineffect, an offshoot of the constant friction and con-frontation stirred up between the two communitiesand it was under exceptional circumstances thatJinnah’s concept gained popularity among theMuslims. Indeed, the whole country responded tothe “two-nation theory.” The greatest religion for bothcommunities became Hindu-Muslim hatred. Thismephitic form of politics saw its culmination in 1947when a wall of hatred rose between the two com-munities.

Partition horrors: Elders would describe thegory sight of trains full of mauled, murdered, muti-lated and dead Hindus chugging into the stationsfrom Pakistan and similar trains from India, full ofdead and mutilated Muslims pulling into Pakistan.These were called “blood trains” and all too oftenthey crossed the border in funereal silence. Huts,houses, bungalows and mansions were burnt androbbed on both sides. Women were raped and mur-dered, children were killed in front of their parents,some women on both sides of the border jumpedinto wells and rivers while men also killed their wivesand daughters to save them from dishonour.

Jinnah and Nehru both responsible: Jinnah onthe Muslim front and Nehru in opposition to Jinnah,both barristers full of intellectual rivalry to be oneup against the other, instead of preserving the sov-ereignty of India, started dreaming of being the newkings of the nascent kingdoms. Azad was blatantlyignored and sidelined by the Congress because heconsidered both Nehru and Jinnah as the main vil-lains of the vivisection. He could read well intoNehru’s flagrant opportunism and ambition to bethe first Prime Minister of the new nation.

Azad was quite aggravated about the Partitionand had accused Nehru of being lured into thePartition by Lady Edwina Mountbatten. Even in theplay Maulana Azad, by noted playwright andscriptwriter, Dr Saeed Alam, Tom Alter, playing theprotagonist, was heard stating in chaste Urdu, “Logkehtey hain, aur theek hi kehtey honge, ke JawaharLal ko batwaare pe raazi karney mein us charminglady ka bahut bada haath tha. (People say, and theymust be right, that the charming lady played a bigrole in getting Jawahar Lal to accept the Partition.)”Today’s Muslim leadership, bereft of thinkers likeMaulana Azad and Dr Zakir Hussain, has lost bothits voice and utility. During every election, it has beenseen that all leaders are power-brokers indulging inpernicious vote-bank manipulation, acquiring Statepatronage themselves and leaving ordinary Muslimsto the mercy of God.

Muslims misled: Despite that, Muslims won’tfully trust Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who haddeclared in a meeting with eminent clerics and intel-ligentsia at his residence on June 6, 2015, that hewanted to see in each Muslim’s hands the holy Quranand a computer. When Home Minister Amit Shahsaid, “Muslims are like our children. We want to treat

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them equally on a par with others”, hard-ly any member of the community hailedit. This opposing mindset is creating amajor problem in better integration withthe mainstream. Battered by the populistrhetoric and provocative militancy of itsmyopic ill-educated clerics and shallowyouth, the nation’s cultured and highpotential minority stands at the crossroads.Owing to their obscurantist approach, theyare leading the community back to thedark ages of ignorance, like the ones inArab countries before the advent of Islam.More often than not, they are interestedin feathering their own nests and areindulging in petty-mindedness charac-terised by an extremely narrow and irre-sponsible outlook completely out of tunewith the existing reality. Such leaders arenot seriously interested in dealing with themain problems of the community. Muslimleaders and petty politicians are becom-ing richer day-by-day while the people theyrepresent are languishing in ghettos.

In this ghettoised situation emergedthe churlish political middlemen as inter-locutors for communities, picking onsensational issues that would only appar-ently tighten their stranglehold on thegullible and divert attention from the realbread and butter and educational issues.Shah Bano, Jamia Millia, the AMU’sminority character, Taslima Nasreen,Salman Rushdie and so on became issues.However, none of them had any bearingon the real problems of the Muslims.Educational backwardness, women’s edu-cation, social stagnation, communalisationof the police force and absence from themainstream were never addressed by theself-appointed interlocutors with the sameemphasis as the Babri Masjid issue. It isthanks mainly to this leadership thatMuslims remain stranded in a wastelandof missed opportunities even 73 years afterIndependence.

Muslims’ ghetto mindset, the mainproblem: Indian Muslims, who now callthemselves “Muslim Indians” deliberate-ly, do agree that Pakistan today has

become hell on Earth. Yet they fail to thanktheir God and stars that they are far bet-ter in India as compared to those inPakistan in terms of safety and security oflife. My Karachi-based cousin has told methat after dusk, all city roads becomedeserted. I have a few questions to ask myIndian co-religionists. How is it going tobenefit them when they abuse theRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), theBJP and Modi? Will constantly howling forreservations based on religion not discred-it them?

Why do the so-called intellectuals andclerics instead of coolly convincing, heck-le opponents in TV debates? All this hascreated a negative perception of Muslimsin the country. My concern is that if thesequestions are not satisfactorily answered,relations between Hindus and Muslimswill worsen. So far at least the answers thathave come from educated Muslims havebeen deeply unsatisfactory or incom-plete. The community should be represent-ed by some liberally-balanced Muslims,who know history and at the same timeare rooted in their faith.

However, the situation with the ghet-to mindset of the Muslim communitytoday is rather grim as they remain criti-cal of the system in general and try to runa parallel governance via the AIMPLB (All-India Muslim Personal Law Board), theSharia courts and the so-called rabble-rousing leaders like the Owaisi brothers,Azam Khan and a horde of perennial apol-ogists seen in TV debates. Rather thanserving the community and the nation,their vitriolic remarks create a perceptionof the community that all the Muslims aresimilar, which is not true. As per my assess-ment, more than 50 per cent IndianMuslims are with a progressive idea ofIndia. However, they are tight-lipped anddon’t want to come out openly in supportof the present Government for fear of beingsocially boycotted or stigmatised as RSSstooges and BJP sycophants.

Prophet’s teachings forgotten: Theproblem with today’s Muslims is that they

don’t follow the teachings of ProphetMuhammad (PBUH) in letter and spirit.This actually distances them from Islamas well, because, Islam possesses sufficientelasticity to enable it to adapt itself to thesocial and political revolution going onaround it. The Mohammedan CommonLaw (today AIMPLB), or Shariah, is by nomeans unchangeable or unalterable. Apractical example of it is the ban of tripletalaq, a part of Sharia but not mentionedin the holy Quran and absolutely abhorredby the Prophet. The only law unalterablein Islam is essentially the Quran and thetraditions of the Prophet. The team ofModi, Shah and Ravi Shankar Prasad, theLaw Minister, have banned the draconianSharia law besides settling the eons oldmandir-masjid imbroglio.

But across India, despite the manyproblems, the community is forgingahead. Large numbers are doing exceed-ingly well. The 1992 Babri mosque razingled to major churnings. The dominantconsensus was that it was important toconcentrate on education. That processcontinues. On November 9, 2019, the issuegot amicably settled and none of theMuslims, except the AIMPLB or Owaisibrothers, protested.

Light at the end of the tunnel: Moreand more Muslim women, even in small-er towns, are acquiring an education.Although a Muslim political party hascome up in Assam, another one inTelangana and two have been formed inUttar Pradesh, most Muslims swear by sec-ular national parties. It is time thatMuslims realise that the RSS is a reality andModi is a Prime Minister who has pledged“Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas(Compassion for all, Progress for all, Trustfor all).” It is the responsibility of Muslimsto hold him to account and ensure that heremains committed to India’s pluralisticleitmotif.

(The author is the chancellor ofMaulana Azad National Urdu University,Hyderabad and the grandnephew of BharatRatna Maulana Azad)

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Micro, Small and MediumEnterprises (MSMEs) are theflavour of the season.

Promoting inclusive growth by provid-ing employment opportunities in ruralareas to women and people belonging tomarginalised sections of society, they arethe new engines of India’s growth story.

Contributing about 29 per cent toIndia’s GDP, the vision is to increase thiscontribution to about 50 per cent.Collectively employing over 120 millionpeople, second only to the mammothagriculture sector, the MSME sector con-tributes over 45 per cent to India’s over-all exports.

A net gain is also reduction ofregional imbalances and a more equitabledistribution of national income and

wealth. MSMEs by design have high flex-ibility and strong ties to customers andsuppliers.

The focus on customer needs,detailed knowledge and experience ismany times difficult to replicate. Lowoverheads often aid lower fluctuations intheir business cycle. With a very posi-tive climate in the thinking on MSMEs,where policy, polity and production seemto have come together in fitting measure,all seems to be well in this rapidlyupcoming 63 million-sector. It is primedto help move the economy towards the$5 trillion mark.

Some chinks below the surface,however, need attention and merit earlycorrection. The MSME sector operatesprimarily on a cash basis and has lessaccess to formal sources of credit. Thefinancial stress of operation, which hasbeen curtailed due to the lockdown andthe continuing overhead expenses, how-ever small, has created a burden on manyof these companies, which are strugglingand are on the brink of shutting downor have already shut down.

With the overall slowdown in theeconomy and the prospect of a tepid

growth in future demand, this sector willbe hard hit. For the MSME sector not tobecome a “me too” sector, asking forcomplete Government support and theGovernment in turn nudging the unwill-ing banking sector to provide credit ina high default risk scenario, the optionsavailable are seemingly limited. Anenhanced working capital limit andguarantee on loans to small businessesseem to be the way ahead.

The biggest need for working cap-ital — MSME bank loans — is contest-ed by the banks. Processes are lengthyand loan queues are long. The MSMEscan’t get loans and hence don’t grow andbecause they don’t grow, they don’t getloans. It is a classic “catch-22” situation.Ironically, large lending to big corpora-tions continues despite the risk of thembecoming insolvent.

The credit gap for MSMEs as esti-mated by the International FinanceCorporation (IFC) and Intellecap standsat �16.7 lakh crore. Loan approvals, logis-tics support, technology access andmarket access work against the MSMEgrowth ambition. Unlike large compa-nies, they do not have the support of a

strong network of people, resources andmarketing channels, most of whichbecome easily accessible with scale.

MSMEs are often seen competingwith large corporations and this shouldbe avoided through policy measures.Certain products and categories shouldbe prioritised for MSMEs along with pre-defined quality standards. What affectsthe MSMEs further is that they don’thave the experience of learnings frommanagement education to have anappropriate appreciation of the grammarof business. Theirs is a hit and trialgrowth.

The future of MSMEs depends sig-nificantly on big corporations buyingfrom them. They thus link up with bigbusinesses through disadvantaged nego-tiations of prices and payment terms,forcing them to borrow more and more.Add to that scenario, the difficulties ofdelayed income tax and Goods andServices Tax (GST) refunds which fur-ther prevent growth. Thus, in the pay-ment hierarchy, where MSMEs are lastand have little bargaining power, they areforced to continue the relationshipwhich is contingent on them remaining

small. Equally, the MSMEs are unableto apply pressure to reduce dues as theyare made to feel that their future busi-ness is at stake. Due to the lack of skilledand professional manpower, they areunable to create the required pressure.

Their access to grievance redressalis either not available or has very low res-olution levels. Many don’t know how toleverage the redressal system. They fearthat seeking such remedy would jeop-ardise their future business as ultimate-ly they have to fall back on the same busi-ness houses for repeat business and thesame service providers. For the MSMEs,a nose above the water is as good as itgets.

The creation of a favourable eco-sys-tem for MSMEs would thus remain con-tingent on regulators assisting in clear-ance of their bills. Pay or be dealt withswiftly or pay up the interest which theMSMEs are paying for no fault of theirs.Investing in a mechanism to buildresilience and strengthen the longevitymuscle of MSMEs would help break bar-riers and capture global markets.

(The writer is Co-founder, HandygoBehtar Zindagi)

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Page 8: HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY · 2020. 8. 14. · Independence Day today. He is also scheduled to unveil the foundation for developmental works and make some announcements on the occasion

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Kathmandu: The ruling NepalCommunist Party on Fridayformed a six-member task forceto resolve the intra-party rift asPrime Minister KP Sharma Oliand the party’s executive chair-man Pushpa Kamal Dahal‘Prachanda’ resumed their talksafter a hiatus of over a week.

The taskforce, led byGeneral Secretary BishnuPoudel, will recommend ways tosort out the differences in theparty after Prachanda andsenior leader Madhav KumarNepal demanded PrimeMinister Oli’s resignation.

The task force also hasStanding Committee membersShankar Pokhrel, JanardanSharma, Bhim Rawal, SurendraPandey and Pampha Bhusal,according to party sources.

The decision to form thetask force was taken after ameeting between Oli andPrachanda on Friday.

The two leaders resumedtheir talks on Thursday and helda one-on-one meeting at the

Prime Minister’s residence atBaluwatar in Kathmandu tosort out their differences andresolve the intra-party rift. Thiswas their first meeting after overa week.

Oli during a television inter-view on Wednesday said thatthe ongoing intra-party tusslewill be settled within five days.

Oli and Prachanda haveheld several meetings to sort outthe differences between them.But, as the Prime Minister didnot accept the condition of aone-man-one-post, the talksfailed. Oli has refused to give uphis post as prime minister aswell as a co-chairman of theNCP.

A bitter internal feud hasbeen brewing in the rulingNCP after top party leaders,including Prachanda, demand-ed Oli’s resignation, saying hisrecent anti-India remarks were“neither politically correct nordiplomatically appropriate.”They are also against Oli’s auto-cratic style of functioning. PTI

Palm Beach: President DonaldTrump has requested a mail-inballot for Florida’s Tuesday pri-mary elecTion, despite weeks ofcriticizing the practice.

Ballots were mailed onWednesday to both the presi-dent and First lady MelaniaTrump at the Mar-a-Lago resort,which Trump lists as his legaladdress, according to onlinePalm Beach County electionsrecords. Both previously votedby mail for the presidentialpreference primary in March,according to records.

Following multiple claimsthat mail-in voting was unsafeand vulnerable to fraud, Trumpchanged his mind about thepractice last week, at least inFlorida. “Whether you call itVote by Mail or AbsenteeVoting, in Florida the electionsystem is Safe and Secure, Triedand True,” Trump tweeted lastTuesday. AP

Beijing: China accused theUnited States on Friday of try-ing to “demonise and stigma-tise” relations between the twocountries, in a scathing attackon the Trump administration’sdesignation of Chinese-fundedlanguage and culture pro-grammes in the US as foreignmissions of the ChineseCommunist Party.

Foreign ministryspokesperson Zhao Lijian saidbranches of the ConfuciusInstitute US Centre operatingat US schools and colleges area “bridge and link to help peo-

ple from all over the worldlearn Chinese, understandChina, and strengthen educa-tional and cultural exchangesand cooperation betweenChina and other countries.”

Zhao said the accusationsagainst the institutes were with-out basis and were motivatedby “ideological prejudice andself-interest.” “The relevant USapproach is to demonise andstigmatise the normal opera-tion of China-US cooperationprojects. We strongly deploreand oppose it,” Zhao said at adaily briefing. AP

Minsk: Belarusian authoritieshave released about 1,000 peo-ple detained amid demonstra-tions contesting the results ofthe presidential election, in anattempt to assuage public angeragainst a brutal crackdown onpeaceful protests.

Around midnight, scoresof detainees were seen walkingout of one of Minsk’s jails. Inthe early morning, volunteersalso saw at least 119 detaineesbeing released in the city ofZhodino just northeast of theBelarusian capital. AP

Kathmandu: Powerful land-slides triggered by torrentialrains hit central Nepal’sSindhupalchowk district onFriday, killing at least 11 peo-ple and leaving 27 others miss-ing, an official said.

The landslides hit JugalRural Municipality ofSindhupalchowk district, 130kilometers east of Kathmanduon Friday morning.

Five people who sustainedserious injuries have been air-lifted by the Nepal Army in ahelicopter and brought to thedistrict headquarters wherethey are undergoing treatment,the official said. PTI

Kabul: Afghanistan hasreleased the first 80 of a final400 Taliban prisoners, pavingthe way for negotiationsbetween the warring sides inAfghanistan’s protracted con-flict, the government saidFriday.

Javid Faisal, spokesman forthe National Security Council’soffice, made the announce-ment.

Taliban officials, speakingon condition of anonymitybecause they are not authorisedto speak to the media, said 86prisoners were freed. It wasn’timmediately known when theremaining prisoners would befreed.

Prisoner releases on bothsides are part of an agreementsigned in February between theUS and Taliban. It calls for the

release of 5,000 Taliban held bythe government and 1,000 gov-ernment and military person-nel held by the insurgent groupas a good will gesture ahead ofintra-Afghan negotiations.

Talks are expected to beheld in Qatar where the Talibanmaintain a political office.Several Afghan leaders toldThe Associated Press talkscould begin by August 20.

These negotiations are tolay out a framework for a post-war Afghanistan.

Washington’s peace envoyZalmay Khalilzad spent a year-and-a-half negotiating thepeace deal aimed at allowingAmerican troops to returnhome and end America’slongest military engagement.

US troops have alreadybegun leaving and by

November less than 5,000troops are expected to still bein Afghanistan down fromnearly 13,000 when the agree-ment was signed Feb. 29.

American and NATOtroop withdrawal is contingenton the Taliban keeping theircommitment not to allow mil-itant groups to use Afghanistanagainst the United States or itsallies. The withdrawal is nottied to successful talks betweenthe warring sides.

Last weekend, AfghanPresident Ashraf Ghani held atraditional council meetingknown as loya jirga to get aconsensus on the release of afinal 400 Taliban he said wereaccused of serious crimes, say-ing without explanation that hecould not unilaterally decide torelease them. AP

Washington: President DonaldTrump has said that the USwould collapse and become theworld’s laughing stock if theDemocratic Party’s presumptivenominee Joe Biden wins theNovember 3 presidential elec-tions.

Trump said Biden’s pro-posed policies were not good forthe country.

“Today, we saw Joe Bidencontinue to politicise a pan-demic and to show his appallinglack of respect for the Americanpeople. That’s what it is. At everyturn, Biden has been wrongabout the virus, ignoring the sci-entific evidence and puttingleft-wing politics before factsand evidence,” Trump toldreporters on Thursday at theWhite House.

“The world will be laughingand taking full advantage of theUnited States if Joe Biden everbecame President. Our Countrywould COLLAPSE!” Trumpsaid in a tweet.

Trump’s tweet included aFox News video clipping inwhich its news anchor was crit-

ical of Indian-AmericanCongresswoman PramilaJayapal for praising Biden. TheFox News anchor describedJayapal as socialist and a genuineradical.

“Sleepy Joe opposed boththe China and the Europe trav-el bans. You know that. Heopposed the China travel banthat I instituted very early andthe Europe travel ban that Iinstituted quite early. If I listenedto his advice, hundreds of thou-sands more people would havedied. This is according to manypeople,” the president said.

Trump alleged Biden wantsto fling open American borders,allowing the pandemic to infil-trate every American commu-nity. “He wants to have ridicu-lous open borders. I’ve beensaying from the first day I start-ed campaigning for this greatoffice that if you have open bor-ders, you don’t have a country.You don’t have a country, withopen borders. So he wants openborders. The Democrats wantopen borders,” he said.

While Biden will allow riot-

ers, looters and millions of ille-gal aliens to roam free in ourcountry, he also wants the fed-eral government to issue asweeping new mandate to law-abiding citizens, Trump alleged.

“He wants the President ofthe United States, with the merestroke of a pen, to order over300 million American citizensto wear a mask for a minimumof three straight months. Hethinks it’s good politics.Different states are different,both in terms of the atmosphereand also in terms of the coron-avirus problem,” he said.

“If the President has the uni-lateral power to order every sin-gle citizen to cover their face innearly all instances, what otherpowers does he have,” Trumpasked. The president allegedthat Biden rejects the scientificapproach in favour of locking allAmericans in their basementsfor months on end.

“We’ve been dealing pret-ty strongly over the last num-ber of weeks. But he wantsthem in the basement formonths on end,” he said. PTI

Miami (US): The Trumpadministration has seized thecargo of four tankers it was tar-geting for transporting Iranianfuel to Venezuela, U.S. Officialssaid Thursday, as it steps up itscampaign of maximum pres-sure against the two heavilysanctioned allies.

Last month, federal prose-cutors in Washington filed acivil forfeiture complaint alleg-ing that the sale was arrangedby a businessman, MahmoudMadanipour, with ties to Iran’sRevolutionary Guard Corps, aU.S.-designated foreign terror-ist organization.

At the time, sanctionsexperts thought it would be

impossible to enforce the U.S.Court order in internationalwaters.

A senior U.S. Official toldThe Associated Press that nomilitary force was used in theseizures and that the shipsweren’t physically confiscated.

Rather, US Officials threat-ened ship owners, insurers andcaptains with sanction to forcethem to hand over their cargo,which now becomes USProperty, the official said.Prosecutors alleged the 4 shipswere transporting to Venezuela1.1 million barrels of gasoline.But the tankers never arrived atthe South American countryand then went missing. AP

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Vienna: US Secretary of StateMike Pompeo on Friday urgedan extension to a UN armsembargo on Iran, saying itwould be “nuts” to let it expire.

Opposition from UNSecurity Council veto powersChina and Russia is expected toblock a resolution to extend theblockade beyond October.

Pompeo reiterated during avisit to Vienna that Iran shouldnot be allowed to buy and sellweapons, calling the IslamicRepublic “the world’s largeststate sponsor of terrorism”.

“I mean that’s just nuts...We’re urging the whole world to

join us” to extend the armsembargo, he said.

As things stand arms sanc-tions are set to be eased gradu-ally from October, under aSecurity Council resolutionblessing a 2015 deal Iran signedwith world powers to limit itsability to develop a nuclearbomb -- in exchange for easingtrade barriers.

The landmark deal hascome under strain since the USpulled out of it in 2018.

As Washington has re-imposed crippling sanctions,Tehran has in turn stepped upits nuclear activities again since

last year.Pompeo urged Tehran to

provide “full, transparent andimmediate cooperation” withthe International Atomic EnergyAgency (IAEA), which moni-tors Iran’s compliance with thenuclear deal.

Stepping up enrichmentAfter meeting Pompeo on

Friday, IAEA Director GeneralRafael Grossi told reportersthat Iran had still not grantedthe agency access to two siteswhere it has requested access inorder to clarify questions aboutpossible undeclared nuclearactivity in the early 2000s. AFP

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London: Former EcuadorianConsul in London Fidel Narvaeztold Sputnik ahead of Friday’sadministrative hearing inWikileaks founder JulianAssange’s extradition case thatthe whistleblower will never geta fair trial either in the UK or inthe United States.

“There is plenty of evidenceshowing that Assange is a victimof a judicial persecution and thathe is not getting a fair extradi-tion trial here in the UK, andcertainly will not have a fair trialin the US,” the former diplomattold Sputnik in a phone inter-view.

According to Narvaez, thejudicial persecution against theAustralian journalist began evenbefore he was arrested on April11, 2019, at the Ecuadorianembassy in London, where heenjoyed political asylum for

seven years to avoid being sentto Sweden until Ecuador’s cur-rent government handed himinto the UK police last year. AFP

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Tehran: Iran and Turkeylashed out at their regionalrival the United Arab Emirateson Friday over its decision tonormalise diplomatic rela-tions with Israel in a US-bro-kered deal, accusing it ofbetraying the Palestiniancause.

Iran’s Foreign Ministrycalled the deal a “dagger thatwas unjustly struck by the

UAE in the backs of thePalestinian people and allMuslims.”

Turkey said the peoples ofthe region “will never forgetand will never forgive thishypocritical behaviour” bythe UAE.

The UAE, which hasnever fought Israel and hasquietly been improving ties foryears, said the agreement put

a hold on Israel’s plans to uni-laterally annex parts of theoccupied West Bank, whichthe Palestinians view as theheartland of their future state.

But the Turkish ForeignMinistry said the UAE had noauthority to negotiate withIsrael on behalf of thePalestinians or “to make con-cessions on matters vital toPalestine.” AP

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The wholesale price-based inflation

stood at (-)0.58 pc inJuly, remaining in thenegative zone for thefourth straight montheven as vegetables andother food itemsturned costlier. WPIinflation in June was (-) 1.81 per cent, whilefor the month of Mayand April it was (-)3.37 per cent and (-)1.57 per cent respec-tively.

“The annual rateof inflation, based onmonthly WPI(Wholesale PriceIndex), stood at (- 0.58per cent) (provisional)for the month of July,2020 as compared to1.17 per cent duringthe corresponding month ofthe previous year,” the com-merce and industry ministrysaid in a statement.

Inflation in food articleswas at a four-month high levelof 4.08 per cent in July, main-ly due to sharp rise in vegetableprices. Inflation in vegetables

stood at 8.20 per cent, against(-) 9.21 per cent in June.

Pulses saw inflation of 10.24per cent, while for potato it was69.07 per cent in July. Proteinrich items like egg, meat and fishsaw hardening of prices withinflation at 5.27 per cent.

However, onion prices soft-

ened and inflation fell25.56 per cent, whilein fruits it was (-) 3.03per cent. Inflation infuel and power basketfell 9.84 per cent inJuly, compared to13.60 per cent drop inthe previous month.Manufactured prod-ucts, however, wit-nessed inflation of0.51 per cent in July,against 0.08 per centin June.

ICRA PrincipalEconomist AditiNayar said the con-siderable narrowingin the WPI disinfla-tion in July 2020 rela-tive to the previousmonth, was alongexpected lines, with acorrection in theindex levels for crudeoil and mineral oils,

further narrowing of the coredisinflation and a rise in foodinflation. “The surge in toma-to prices and moderate rise inpotato prices pushed up thevegetable inflation in July 2020,contributing to the uptick inthe inflation for primary foodarticles to a four-month high.

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The Reserve Bank of Indiaboard on Friday approved

a dividend payout of Rs 57,128crore to the government, amove in line with the Budgetexpectation but may not helpplug a huge revenue hole cre-ated by the pandemic andslowing economy.

The surplus transfer of Rs57,128 crore for the accountingyear 2019-20 compared with Rs1.76 lakh crore transferred lastyear, which included Rs 1.23 lakhcrore as dividend and Rs 52,637crore excess provisions identified

as per the revised EconomicCapital Framework (ECF).

In a statement, the RBIsaid its central board headed byGovernor Shaktikanta Das“reviewed the current econom-ic situation, continued globaland domestic challenges and themonetary, regulatory, and othermeasures taken by RBI to mit-igate the economic impact ofCOVID-19 pandemic”.

“The Board also approvedthe transfer of Rs 57,128 croreas surplus to the CentralGovernment for the accountingyear 2019-20, while deciding tomaintain the Contingency Risk

Buffer at 5.5 per cent,” it said.Finance Minister Nirmala

Sitharaman in the budget for2020-21 had provisioned receiptof Rs 60,000 crore in dividendfrom the RBI and other banks tobridge the fiscal deficit. But, gov-ernment officials had expectedmore from the Reserve Bank ofIndia (RBI).

The government is facinga larger-than-expected shortfallin revenue as the economyheads for its first full-year con-traction since 1979. With theCOVID-19 pandemic disrupt-ing businesses, it is widelyspeculated that tax collections

will miss the target.At the same time, the gov-

ernment is being forced tospend more to cushion theblow from the pandemic,straining the budget deficit.

The central bank largelyearns profit through its tradingof currencies and governmentbonds as well as printing ofnotes and coins.

Part of these earnings is setaside by the RBI for its opera-tional and contingency needs,while the rest is transferred tothe government in the form ofdividend.

RBI’’s financial year runs

from July-June at present andis scheduled to be harmonisedwith the government’’s April-March fiscal starting FY22. Inthe current year, the RBI willhave a nine-month financialyear, ending in March.

The central bank’’s payoutto the government last year wasmore due to a one-time trans-fer on account of the adoptionof a new economic capitalframework that calls for main-taining the level of the contingency risk buffer, orrealised equity, at between 5.5and 6.5 per cent of RBI’’s bal-ance sheet.

New Delhi: For charitableorganisations and personalcauses during the Covid pan-demic, Milaap is introducing afree fundraising platform forthe upcoming festive seasonfrom the Independence Day.

“We made Milaap free forall relief related fundraisers asa token of gratitude. Therefore,it made perfect sense forextending this 0% fee to allfundraisers,” said MayukhChoudhury, co-founder andCEO of Milaap.

Kolkata: Metro Railway has undertaken a spe-cial cleanliness drive in order to observeCleanliness Week from 10th August to 16thAugust, 2020. Metro officers and staff have beenparticipating in this drive in order to make Metropremises more beautiful and clean and augmentits aesthetics.

On Friday for the fifth consecutive day,cleanliness drives were organised at North-Southand East-West Metro stations in which Metrostaff participated in numbers maintaining allCOVID-19 protocols.

During this week, special focus is given oncollection and disposal of plastic wastes in andaround Metro premises.

Greater Noida: On the occasion ofIndependence Day, the Greater NoidaAuthority is bringing an open-endedscheme of residential buildings from date,GNIDA CEO Narendra Bhooshan said.Under which you can decorate thedream of dwelling by not applying for therequest. It is a special occasion for themthat if they are living on rent or are con-fused with the breathtaking plans of thebuilders, then the authority is providingthem a lot of opportunity to choose thebuilding of their choice in this scheme.

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States can make e-way bill mandatoryfor transportation of gold within the

respective states but implementing it forinter-state movement across India willnot be feasible, a state-ministerial panelsuggested on Friday.

The group of ministers (GoM),comprising finance ministers of Kerala,Bihar, Gujarat, Punjab, Karnataka andWest Bengal, set up to examine feasibilityof implementation of e-way bill formovement of gold and precious stonesmet via video conferencing.

“It was decided that if any state wantsto implement e-way bill for gold, theycan do so for intra- or within the statetransportation,” Bihar Deputy ChiefMinister Sushil Modi told PTI.

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Bank credit and deposits grew 5.51per cent and 11.11 per cent to Rs

102.65 lakh crore and Rs 141.61 lakhcrore, respectively, in the fortnightended July 31, according to the latestdata from the RBI.

In the fortnight ended August 2,2019, bank credit and deposits were atRs 97.29 lakh crore and Rs 127.44 lakhcrore, respectively.

On a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis,non-food bank credit growth was at 6.7 per cent in June 2020, nearly the same as in May 2020 butlower than the growth of 11.1 per centin June 2019.

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Equity indices nursed losses for thethird straight session on Friday as

investors pruned exposure to banking,financial and consumption stocks amidnegative global cues.

Weak macroeconomic data and adepreciating rupee further curbed riskappetite, traders said.

Tanking 663 points from the day’shigh, the 30-share BSE Sensex settled433.15 points or 1.13 per cent lower at37,877.34.

The broader NSE Nifty slumped122.05 points or 1.08 per cent to closeat 11,178.40.

Axis Bank was the top laggard in theSensex pack, slipping 2.81 per cent, fol-lowed by SBI, M&M, Bajaj Finance,ITC, HDFC Bank, HCL Tech andIndusInd Bank.

Only five index constituents endedin the green — Sun Pharma, NTPC,Tata Steel, Titan and Infosys, rising upto 2.04 per cent. During the week, theSensex declined 163.23 points or 0.42per cent, while the Nifty fell 35.65 pointsor 0.31 per cent.

“Indian markets tracked weak glob-al cues in the latter part of the tradingday to end with losses. The uncertain-ty was with regards to the US-Chinatrade meet this weekend and a lack ofwholesome pickup in economic activ-ity in many countries, including China.

“The Indian retail inflation num-bers that came in above the MPCs’’ tar-get also put doubt on expected rate cutsby the RBI, which the market was look-ing forward to. Weak results especiallyin the Auto sector also contributed tothe losses,” said Vinod Nair, Head ofResearch at Geojit Financial Services.

Retail inflation rose to 6.93 per centin July, mainly driven by rising pricesof food items like vegetables, pulses,

meat and fish, official data released postmarket hours on Thursday showed.

BSE auto, bankex, finance, oil andgas, FMCG and telecom indices fell upto 2.50 per cent in Friday’’s session,while metal, healthcare and consumerdurables closed higher.

Broader BSE mid-cap and small-capindices fell up to 1.02 per cent.

Global equities were under pressurefollowing lacklustre industrial produc-tion and retail sales data in China.

Bourses in Hong Kong and Seoulended in the red, while Shanghai andTokyo settled with gains.

Stock exchanges in Paris, Frankfurtand London plunged up to 2 per centin early deals, dragged by travel stocks,after the UK added more Europeancountries to its quarantine list.

Global oil benchmark Brent crudewas trading 0.65 per cent lower at USD44.67 per barrel. In the forex market, therupee settled 6 paise lower at 74.90against US dollar.

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Mumbai: The rupee on Friday slid 6paise to end at 74.90 against US dollaras data showing slow economic recov-ery and higher inflation dampened forexmarket sentiment.

At the interbank forex market, thelocal unit opened at 74.85 and then lostfurther ground to settle at 74.90, regis-tering a decline of 6 paise over its pre-vious close of 74.84 to the US dollar.

During the session, the rupee wit-nessed an intra-day high of 74.74 anda low of 74.93 against the greenback.

On weekly basis, the rupee inchedup 3 paise against the US dollar. PTI

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