Page 102 - Social Issues
Make this election about real issues: Priyanka to voters
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Tuesday described her party's manifesto as "fantastic" and appealed to the people to make the Lok Sabha election about real issues. Her remarks came after the Congress released its manifesto, making a slew of promises, including giving Rs 72,000 each to five crore poor families under the 'Nyay' scheme, filling up 22 lakh government vacancies, bringing a separate budget for farmers and fixing a single moderate Goods and Services Tax rate. "I think it is a fantastic manifesto. Everybody should read it, especially first time voters and young people because this election must be about real issues that matter to people," she told reporters. Later, Priyanka Gandhi tweeted: "I urge everyone, especially young people and 1st time voters- Please read our manifesto. Make this election about real issues.
Mizoram NGOs call for poll boycott over refugees' vote
An apex body of NGOs in Mizoram on Tuesday called an indefinite shutdown in the state from April 8 and a boycott of the Lok Sabha election to protest the Election Commission's decision to set up special polling stations for voters among the Reang tribal refugees.
Gates Foundation panel discusses how philanthropy can contribute to India's progress
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation recently hosted a panel discussion on 'role of philanthropy in India's human, social and economic progress'. The discussion saw participation from experts and leaders from the government, private sector and civil society.The panel included Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, Vidya Shah, CEO, EdelGive Foundation; Ashish Dhawan, Chairman, Central Square Foundation and Rodger Voorhies, President, BMGF.The discussion highlighted various themes around philanthropy and the role it plays in enabling and supporting a country's social development. The panelists also shed light on the means to create synergy between the government and the private sector, as effective partners working towards a common cause. The conversation also brought up the subject of how private philanthropy can be leveraged as an effective instrument to help solve some key developmental challenges."Philanthropy has a key role to play in the development of our country. Indian ...
Mizoram CEO urges civil societies to reconsider poll boycott
Mizoram Chief Electoral Officer Ashish Kundra Tuesday appealed to a conglomerate of civil societies and student bodies to reconsider its decision to boycott the April 11 Lok Sabha elections in the state and observe indefinite bandh from April 8. The NGO Coordination Committee (NGOCC) Monday said it would boycott polls to the lone Mizoram Parliamentary seat if special polling booths are established in the state for Bru refugees staying in neighbouring Tripura. The Election Commission is setting up 15 exclusive polling booths in the Mizoram-Tripura border Kanhmun village for 12,081 Bru refugees, who are voters of Mizoram and now housed in six camps in Tripura. The step had been taken in the November 2018 state assembly polls too. Kundra urged the civil societies not to deprive the people of their democratic rights and to ensure that people of Mizoram has representation in Parliament. "At a meeting held before the assembly election last year, it was decided that Bru voters .
Mamata's stand on Balakot to aid BJP at polls: Sinha (IANS interview)
There has been a resurgence of nationalism and patriotism across Bengal after the Pulwama attack and India's bold response through air strikes in Balakot, says a senior BJP leader, prophesying a reflection of the people's discontent during vote over the way Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee raised questions about the soldiers' intent.
AIMIM contests polls on basis of performance; not demographics: Owaisi
Slamming the Congress and the BJP, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi Tuesday said his party contests polls on the basis of its performance and not demographic composition of a constituency. The AIMIM president was alluding to the debate about the demographic composition in Wayanad in Kerala from where Congress president Rahul Gandhi is contesting the Lok Sabha polls. "It (AIMIM) ensured construction of schools, colleges & basthi dawakhanas. Majlis stood by our Hindu sisters who are victim to the cruel social evil of abandonment without divorce," Owaisi said in a tweet. "Majlis contests its elections on its record of five years, not the demographics of Varanasi or Wayanad," said Owaisi, who is seeking re-election from Hyderabad. Varanasi is the Lok Sabha constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Addressing a rally in Wardha, Maharashtra, on Monday, the prime minister said the Congress was scared to field its leaders from constituencies where the majority dominates in terms of ...
UN chief warns against rising anti-Muslim hatred
UN chief Antonio Guterres warned Tuesday against growing hatred of Muslims, less than a month after a deadly attack on mosques in New Zealand killed at least 50 people. His remarks came during a speech at Egypt's Al-Azhar, the Sunni Muslim world's foremost religious institution, where he met Grand Imam Ahmed al-Tayeb. "Around the world, we are seeing ever-rising anti-Muslim hatred, anti-Semitism, racism and xenophobia," the UN secretary general said. He cited the March 15 New Zealand mosque attacks by a white supremacist as well as a 2018 synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh that killed 11 people and is believed to be the deadliest against Jews in US history. Guterres warned of a surge in hate speech he said was "entering the mainstream, spreading like wildfire through social media". "We see it spreading in liberal democracies and as well as in authoritarian states." Guterres is on a two-day trip to Egypt, Following his visit to Al-Azhar, he was scheduled to meet President Abdel Fattah ...
Women's rights activists to hold marches across the country
In a bid to sensitize women across the country to use their vote to reject the "current environment of hate and violence", several women's rights activists and civil society groups will organise marches in 143 districts across 20 states on April 4. The marches will held in villages, blocks, 'talukas', cities, colleges and markets under the banner of "Women March 4 Change". In Delhi, the march will start from Mandi House at 11 am and will culminate at Jantar Mantar. Social activist Shabnam Hashmi said that the purpose of the march is to ignite women all over the country to use their vote to reject the current environment of hate and violence and to claim their constitutional rights as citizens of a democratic republic. "The present government has led a war against its own citizens mob lynching, hate speeches, invoking draconian laws against peaceful protests, arresting people and calling them 'seditious', 'anti-national' and 'urban naxal'," Hashmi said. The social activist said ...
AP sources: Trump considers adding ''immigration czar''
As he threatens to shut down the southern border, President Donald Trump is considering bringing on a "border" or "immigration czar" to coordinate immigration policy across various federal agencies, according to four people familiar with the discussions. Trump is weighing at least two potential candidates for the post: former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach and former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, according to the people, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the conversations publicly. Kobach and Cuccinelli are far-right conservatives with strong views on immigration. Cuccinelli was seen at the White House on Monday. The planning comes as Trump is threatening anew to close the U.S.-Mexico border as soon as this week if Mexico does not completely halt illegal immigration into the U.S. And it serves as the latest sign that the president plans to continue to hammer his hardline immigration rhetoric and ..
No special plan to restrain migrant caravans, says Mexico
Notwithstanding the US threat to shut down the shared border, Mexico on Monday (local time) claimed to have no special plans to restrict migrant caravans from crossing over to the United States through its territory.However, Mexican Interior Secretary Olga Sanchez Cordero has said that the authorities plan to regulate the process. "No, we are planning to regulate and maintain security," said Cordero, according to Sputnik.This comes amidst US President Donald Trump threatening to close the US-Mexico border "next week" if Mexico fails to stop "illegals" from entering the United States through it."Mexico has for many years made a fortune off of the US, far greater than Border Costs. If Mexico doesn't immediately stop ALL illegal immigration coming into the United States through our Southern Border, I will be CLOSING the Border, or large sections of the Border, next week," Trump tweeted last week.The US President had previously voiced his disdain for the influx of illegal immigrants from .
African great Toure blasts football chiefs over racism
Four-time African footballer of the year Yaya Toure says football authorities should be more proactive when it comes to racism. The 35-year-old former Ivory Coast great -- who also starred for Barcelona and Manchester City -- said football's governing bodies only reacted once incidents had already occurred, as in the case of the racist chanting during England's Euro 2020 qualifier in Montenegro last week. The Montenegro fans directed their chants at several England players including defender Danny Rose and striker Raheem Sterling. "They (the football authorities) sit and they have their coffee, their wine," Toure told the Daily Mirror. "Then they hear a case like Raheem happening and they jump on the phone saying: 'We have to have a meeting! We have to do something! "It shouldn't work that way. We have to be proactive. Something that is seen. "We have to be working before that kind of situation with Raheem is happening." Toure, who was speaking on Sunday after receiving an award from .
About 1,700 Jan Dhan bank accounts in UP under scanner for suspicious deposits ahead of polls
About 1,700 Jan Dhan bank accounts in Uttar Pradesh's Moradabad district have come under the scanner of the Election Commission-deployed surveillance teams for receiving suspicious deposits during the poll season, officials said. They said about Rs 10,000 each, totalling about Rs 1.7 crore, have been deposited in these accounts over the past few days and the instances have come under the scanner of investigative and intelligence agencies for possible abuse by political candidates as bribe to voters. The Income Tax department has launched an investigation into the issue, along with other agencies deployed to check black money and illegal inducements to voters during the ongoing polls in the country. The EC has sought a report from the agencies and they have informed it that the bank concerned in Moradabad district of Uttar Pradesh has been asked for a report and preliminary inputs suggest the money was deposited by banking correspondents, they said. The next level of probe is on, the ..
Philanthropy in India is becoming more strategic and intervening in various sectors: Voorhies
Philanthropy in India is becoming more strategic and intervening in many sectors like education and health to help catalyse system level changes, a top official of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Tuesday said. President of global growth and opportunities, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Rodger Voorhies said philanthropists nowadays are thinking about societal platforms that enable collective impact and value for the ecosystem and not just one entity, so that solutions are sustainable and scalable. Voorhies, who recently attended a panel discussion on the 'Role of Philanthropy in India's Human, Social and Economic Progress' told PTI that Indians have always been generous and are now building on from global examples. "Philanthropy in India is really getting strategic, and it is intervening in many sectors like education and health. Philanthropy can also help countries to learn from each other in a peer to peer way. "Through data, through upstream research, through advocacy, and .
Sri Lanka destroys 769 kg of cocaine
Sri Lankan authorities have publicly destroyed 769 kg of cocaine which the police seized in nationwide raids carried out during the past few years, the media reported on Tuesday.
Autism awareness must be created among people: Mamata
Urging people to create awareness on autism, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said Tuesday that West Bengal will soon have a world-class township near Kolkata, where people suffering from the disorder will receive training, treatment and boarding facilities. The centre, a first of its kind in India, is expected to have housing facilities for 350 residents and daycare centre for over 200 children, adolescents and adults, according to a state government official. "Today is #WorldAutismAwarenessDay. We must create more awareness about autism among the people. You will be happy to know that a world-class autism township is coming up near #Kolkata, where autistic children and adults will receive training, treatment and boarding facilities," the CM tweeted. World Autism Awareness Day is observed every year on April 2 to generate awareness on the developmental disorder. The theme for this year is Assistive Technologies, Active Participation.
Over 200 writers urge Indians to vote out 'hate politics' in 2019 polls
Ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, over 200 writers from across the country have appealed to Indian citizens to caste their votes in favour of a "diverse and equal India", and help eliminate the politics of hate. In an open letter published on the Indian Cultural Forum, writers including Girish Karnad, Arundhati Roy, Amitav Ghosh, Nayantara Sahgal, and Romila Thapar said hate politics was being used to divide the country, create fear and increasingly exclude more number of people from living as "full-fledged citizens". "Writers, artists, filmmakers, musicians and other cultural practitioners have been hounded, intimidated, and censored. "Anyone who questions the powers-that-be is in danger of being harassed or arrested on false and ridiculous charges. All of us want this to change ... The first step, the one we can take soon, is to vote out hate politics ... and this is why we appeal to all citizens to vote for a diverse and equal India," the statement read. According to the ..
Social engineering drawing board of Bihar's caste politics (IANS Exclusive)
Caste dynamics has been the bedrock of Bihar's politics and this time the two opposing forces - the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the opposition Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) - have gone back to social engineering drawing boards to select candidates.
Pollachi abuse: TN transfers 3 cops for botching probe
Under pressure to act against officers who divulged the identity of the girl who registered the complaint in the Pollachi sexual abuse-cum-blackmail case, the Tamil Nadu government has transferred three policemen.
PM Modi should apologise for hurting sentiments of Wayanad people: Congress
Congress on Monday demanded an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his "condemnable and divisive" statement that hurt the sentiments of people in Wayanad in Kerala.In a press statement, Congress General Secretary K C Venugopal said, "by alleging that Rahul Gandhi is contesting Wayanad seat on account of there being residents of a particular religion living there, is a disgrace to the high office of Prime Minister is holding."This comes in the wake of Modi's statement at a rally in Maharashtra where he said that the Congress party was forced to run away from a majority seat to a minority constituency, in a veiled reference to Congress party's recent announcement that Rahul Gandhi contesting from Kerala's Wayanad constituency in addition to UP's Amethi seat."Without understanding the cultural legacy and demography of Wayanad, the PM was making a communal and divisive statement," said Venugopal who added that demographically Wayanad reflects the composite culture of India. " It
Gurgaon family, who was attacked by mob, threatens mass suicide over police 'inaction'
A family, who was attacked by a mob here, threatened of mass suicide on Monday, alleging that it was being pressured to withdraw the FIR and police were not taking action under "influence" of local politicians. A mob of over 40 persons pelted stones at the house of Mhd Akhtar in Bhup Singh Nagar area here and beat up members of his family, in an attack triggered by a game of cricket on Holi. The attack was captured on a cellphone by one of the victims and the video had gone viral on internet. The clip showed women of the family pleading for mercy while a man was being thrashed, police had said. "The matter is now in public domain as the video of the assault went viral on internet. Still the police has failed to arrest over 35 goons. If the Gurgaon Police and the district administration do not help us, we have no option but to commit mass suicide," Akhtar said. The family also submitted a memorandum to sub-divisional magistrate of Sohna, urging speedy investigation in the case and said