Page 196 - Social Issues
Congress workers scuffle with police
Congress workers scuffled with the police in Alipore area of the city on Tuesday after the cops stopped them from marching to the office of the District Magistrate South 24 Parganas, officials said. The West Bengal Congress had organised law violation programmes across the state against the alleged "misrule" of TMC in Bengal. Congress workers led by former Union minister Deepa Dasmunsi organised a rally in Alipore area outside the district magistrate's. When the Congress workers tried to break the cordon they were stopped by the police leading to scuffle followed by mild baton charge by the police to disperse the crowd, officials said. Several Congress workers including Dasmunsi were arrested by the police and later released. The state Congress unit has decided to organise black day across the state on January 24 against the attack on its party activists.
CCS approves contributory health scheme for Assam Rifles pensioners
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) has approved grant of Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) membership to Assam Rifles pensioners and their dependents residing in India and Nepal subject to certain specific conditions, official sources said here on Tuesday.
Maha cabinet approves Rs 25 crore for Divyangs
In a move that will benefit around 650 Divyang (differently-abled) people in the state, the Maharashtra cabinet Tuesday gave its approval to provide Rs 25 crore aid to them as part of a scheme, officials said. Each Divyang person will get a financial help of Rs 3.75 lakh to purchase eco-friendly vehicles and start mobile vehicle shops, an official said. "During its meeting held today, the cabinet approved funds to the tune of Rs 25 crore for the financial year for this purpose and around 650 persons with disabilities are set to benefit from the scheme," they said. The decision is aimed at making the differently-abled persons financially independent, they said. An official of the Social Justice Department said in order to avail the benefits of the scheme, a person should have a disability of more than 40 per cent. A committee would be formed under the chairmanship of the managing director of Maharashtra State Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation. The committee ..
2 more people die due to swine flu in Rajasthan, death toll rises to 54
Two more people died due to swine flu in Rajasthan on Tuesday, taking the death toll to 54, an official spokesperson of the state Health Department said. The two deaths were reported from Bikaner and Karauli. As many as 54 people have died due to swine flu in the state from January 1 to till date. The spokesperson said 1,414 people tested positive for the H1N1 virus. Looking at the situation, the medial and health department Monday launched a three-day screening drive for swine flu and it has now been extended to three more days. On Monday and Tuesday, more than 55 lakh people were screened in nearly 20 lakh houses across the state, Dr V K Mathur, Director (public health) of the medical and health department said. He informed that 846 people were found with symptoms of swine flu and they were given the medicine. Nearly 20,000 people were found suffering with fever and samples were collected, Mathur said.
HC notice to MP govt on stopping MISA detainees' pension
The Gwalior bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court on Tuesday served a notice to the state government for suspending the monthly pension of those detained under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) during the Emergency. A single-judge bench of Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari issued the notice on a petition moved by Loktantrik Senani Sangh (LSS), an organisation of MISA detainees. It sought the government's response in two weeks. In its plea, the LSS claimed that the pension, given to MISA detainees as per a law passed by the state assembly, was stopped out of malice. Additional Advocate General Ankur Modi submitted that the pension hadn't been stopped but had been put on hold to investigate if it was being given to eligible persons. Modi said the government's move came after it received complaints that several ineligible persons were receiving the pension. On December 29 last year, a Madhya Pradesh government order directed officials to carry out physical verification of ..
Bihar court orders FIR against Gujarat Chief Minister Rupani and state Congress MLA Thakore
A Bihar court on Tuesday ordered filing of an FIR against Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and state's Congress MLA Alpesh Thakore for the violence against migrant workers from Bihar in Gujarat.
World Sindhi Congress holds events to mark GM Syed's 115th birth anniversary
The World Sindhi Congress, which has been at the forefront of holding protests against Pakistan over enforced disappearances of activists and exploitation of the Sindh region, organized events in the US, UK and Canada to mark the 115th birth anniversary of GM Syed, one of the founding fathers of modern Sindhi nationalism.Ghulam Murtaza Syed was born to the Sadat family of Sindh in the town of Sann on 17 January 1904.People of all ages actively participated in the events. Children too paid tribute to the activist who prepared the ideological groundwork for a separate Sindhi identity and laid the foundations of the Sindhudesh movement.Amid temperatures plummeting to -32 degrees Celsius in Canada, a large number of Sindhi people attended the event.World Sindhi Congress, one of the most prominent human rights education and advocacy organizations for Sindh and Sindhis, continually holds protests and demonstrations against Pakistan for its acts of terror and exploitation in Sindh.The World .
CCS approves ECHS membership to Assam Rifles pensioners, dependents
Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on Tuesday approved ECHS (Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme) membership to Assam Rifles pensioners and their dependents residing in India and Nepal, subject to certain specific conditions.The CCS approval will benefit more than 3 lakh beneficiaries.As per MHA records, there are over 92,000 Assam Rifles pensioners including about 27,000 residing in Nepal.
Centre seeks to assuage NE fears
The Centre on Tuesday said that under the new Citizenship amendment law nobody will get Indian citizenship without the consent of the respective state governments, an assurance that seeks to allay fears in the northeast over the proposed law that has stoked a huge controversy in Assam and other neighbouring states.
CCS approves ECHS benefits to Assam Rifles pensioners
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) has approved Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) membership to Assam Rifles pensioners, a move that will benefit over three lakhs beneficiaries in India and Nepal, a Defence Ministry official said Tuesday. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) records, there are over 92,000 Assam Rifles pensioners, including about 27,000 residing in Nepal, the official said. "The CCS has approved granting of ECHS membership to Assam Rifles pensioners and their dependents residing in India and Nepal subject to certain specific conditions. A total beneficiaries, including dependents, would be more than three lakhs," he said. The Assam Rifles, one of the oldest para-military forces in the country with a region-specific force with its operational role in the Northeast, is headed and manned by officers and jawans of the Army, but is under the operational control of the MHA.
Turkey set for international probe into Khashoggi death
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says Turkey is preparing to take steps to launch an international investigation into the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. In comments carried by state-run Anadolu Agency late Monday, Cavusoglu said Turkey had prepared the groundwork and would soon take the "necessary steps." He did not elaborate. The Washington Post columnist, who wrote critically about the Saudi crown prince, was killed inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in October. The kingdom has indicted 11 people, including some from the prince's entourage, over the killing and is seeking the death penalty against five of them. Turkey has complained of a lack of cooperation by Riyadh to ensure that all those responsible are held to account and has said it could seek an international probe.
Cong to hold protests against CAB on Jan 24 in Arunachal
The Congress in Arunachal Pradesh will hold demonstrations across the state and a protest rally here on January 24 against the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, senior state party leader said Tuesday. Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee president Takam Sanjoy called the Bill, which was initiated by the NDA government at the Centre and passed in Lok Sabha on January 8, "discriminatory, communal, undemocratic, arbitrary and draconian". The state, he claimed, is facing refugee problem and would be the worst hit when the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill is enacted. The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, seeks to provide Indian citizenship to non-Muslims from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan after six years of residence in India instead of 12 years, which is the norm currently, even if they do not possess any document. Congress workers, he said, would march through the main thoroughfare of the state capital which would culminate in front of the civil ...
False picture given on Citizenship Bill, rights of indigenous people will be protected: Sonowal
Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Tuesday said a "false picture" has been given out that the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill is anti-Assam and assured the indigenous people that their rights will be protected and there will be no threat to their language and culture. Protests against the Bill which seeks to provide Indian citizenship to non-Muslims from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan have been continuing in the northeast for nearly four weeks. Sonowal told representatives of Asam Sahitya Sabha and literary bodies of other indigenous communities of the state here that the government "is committed to safeguard the interests and rights of the indigenous people with the proper implementation of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord". "It is a national policy that the people belonging to six religions seeking domicile in India from the neighbouring countries due to religious persecution would be shared by the whole country. "But misinformation and rumours have been spread by various agencies .
Hearing on review petition on Sabarimala verdict likely in Feb
The Supreme Court is likely to hear in February a batch of petitions seeking the recall of its order permitting women of all ages to enter the Sabarimala shrine as one of the judges on the constitution bench is on medical leave till January 30.
Former VP highlights need for informed& discerning electorate
: Former Vice President Hamid Ansari Tuesday highlighted the need of an informed and discerning electorate that is not swayed by majoritarian impulses imposing a single cultural denominator to homogenise a pluralistic society. Speaking at a Karnataka government sponsored seminar, titled 'Conversations of the Constitution,' he said that the Constitution is a substantivesafeguard for democracy and must be nurtured for the efficient functioning of the federal structure of a country withdiversity and complex structure. "There would require continuing adjustment and accommodation, as also an informed and discerning electorate that can distinguish betweenlocal/regional and national issues and is not swayed byperiodic unitary and majoritarian impulses, be it in politicsor in imposing a single cultural denominator to homogenise aplural society since both can upset the balance of our societyand subvert the very idea of India," he said. Ansari also delved on the issues of sharing
Himanta shown black flag as protests against Citizenship Bill
Protests against the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill continued Tuesday with black flags shown to Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in Barpeta district. Twenty agitators of the AASU, the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) and the AJYCP were picked up for trying to block roads and showing black flags to Sarma, who had gone for a meeting with BJP workers, police said. Student protesters held a two-hour 'Gana Hartaal' against the Bill in Sivasagar and stripped themselves partially, while all shops were closed and vehicles were off the road during that period. In Nazira town of Sibsagar, the main road was blocked for some time by burning tyres demanding withdrawal of the Bill. Members of the Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) took out a procession in the oil town of Digboi and later burnt the effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on the national highway at Tingrai point. The student community also held
Rajasthan transport corporation incurred loss of Rs 3,160 cr in last 5 yrs
Transport Minister Pratap Singh Khachariywas Tuesday said Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation incurred a loss of Rs 3,160 crore in last five years. The minister also alleged there had been corruption in the department during the stint of previous BJP government. Replying to a question by BJP legislator Nirmal Kumawat in assembly, Khachariyawas said a joint committee of RSRTC employees and officers has been set up to find out actual reasons of losses incurred by the corporation. Stating that the release of 1,133 permits for public transport service amounted to a multi-crore scam, he said all decisions taken by the previous government during last six months of its tenure were being reviewed and permit issued have been cancelled. Corruption perpetrated in the department will be probed. It will also be investigated why the fleet of buses was not increased, pension was not provided and no new routes were introduced in five years, Khachariyawas said. The minister told the House that .
SC directs states to give feedback on Centre's draft law on custodial torture
The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed chief secretaries of all state governments to give within three weeks their feedback on the Centre's draft law to prevent custodial torture and inhuman treatment as India was a signatory to the United Nations' convention on torture. A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi was informed by Attorney General K K Venugopal that the central government has circulated the draft bill to all the states for their feedback. He told the bench, also comprising Justices L Nageswara Rao and Sanjiv Khanna, that so far only seven states have given the feedback to the Law Ministry and other state governments are yet to respond. "Having heard the Attorney General on behalf of Union of India, we direct the chief secretaries of all state governments to send their feedbacks within three weeks from today," the bench said, adding that in the event of failure, the chief secretaries will have to appear in person before it on February 13. Former Law Minister Ashwini ...
Centre attempts damage control on Citizenship Bill
In an apparent bid to assuage fears in the northeast over the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, the Centre on Tuesday said that under the proposed law nobody will get Indian citizenship without the consent of the respective state governments.
Jharkhand BJP legislator suspended for a day from House
Jharkhand Assembly Speaker Dinesh Oraon suspended ruling BJP legislator Dhullu Mahto for a day on Tuesday.
