Tag: Ladakh News

Dalit outfits demand CBI probe into human excreta in TN water tank

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Chennai: The Vengaivayal incident in which human excreta was found in an overhead water tank supplying drinking water to a Dalit colony in Vengaivayal, Pudukottai district has become a blot on the Tamil Nadu government.
Even after the incident was reported on December 21, the culprits have not been brought to book. The Dalit outfits including the Dalit political party, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) have taken out several protest marches against this act.
The Tamil Nadu police interrogated several people, but the Dalit outfits said that the police was acting in a partisan manner and that some people belonging to the Dalit communities were asked to own up to the act.
M. Ilamurugu, president of Ambedkar Makkal Iyyagam, a Dalit outfit, had visited the Vengavayil Dalit colony along with S. Subbiah, a retired IAS officer, and interacted with all the 32 Dalit families in the colony.
After the interaction, Illamurugu called for a CBI inquiry into the issue and said that they have lost hope in the state government’s agencies.
The VCK has demanded the demolition of the overhead water tank in which human excreta was found. VCK leader and Member of Parliament, Thol Thirumavalavan has in a statement said that the overhead tank was a symbol of insult to the Dalits and it should be demolished.
In several rural areas of Tamil Nadu, there is even a two tumbler system where Dalits are given tea and coffee in separate tumblers.

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#Dalit #outfits #demand #CBI #probe #human #excreta #water #tank
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 2, 2023
Mayawati, Badals meet in Delhi, discuss Lok Sabha polls

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New Delhi: Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Thursday met Shiromani Akali Dal president Parkash Singh Badal and MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal here, and discussed the upcoming Lok Sabha polls with them.
A statement from the BSP said the leaders met at Mayawati’s residence in New Delhi, and discussed strengthening ties and strategies for the 2024 general elections. Both sides agreed that the two parties shall maintain their unity for the polls.
According to the statement, Mayawati said she has “full confidence” that the SAD will be able to transfer its votes to the BSP.
The SAD and the BSP had forged an alliance in the recent Punjab Assembly polls. While SAD contested on 97 seats, BSP candidates fought on 20 seats. The SAD won three seats while BSP bagged just one seat in the polls that were swept by the Aam Aadmi Party.
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#Mayawati #Badals #meet #Delhi #discuss #Lok #Sabha #polls
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 2, 2023
LG should not stop teachers from going abroad by misusing powers: Sisodia

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New Delhi: Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Thursday said that Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena should not stop Delhi government school teachers from going to Finland on a training programme by unconstitutionally misusing the law.
Sisodia said that on the one side there is the government of Punjab which can send its teachers abroad for training but under the same constitution, there is the government of Delhi that wants to send its teachers abroad for training but the LG is stopping them from doing it. This is happening because he is misusing the powers given to him by the unconstitutionally amended GNCTD Act, alleged Sisodia.
“Because of the unconstitutional power given to the LG by the central government of BJP, the Delhi government is not able to send its teachers for training abroad. If the teachers have to be sent abroad for training, then the consent of the LG is not required, but due to the unconstitutional amendments made in GNCTD Act by the Central Government, the LG is stalling everything,” Sisodia told in a Press briefing.
Sisodia further said that to provide excellent education to the children of Punjab, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann had promised the people of Punjab that their children will get a quality education if AAP comes to power in the state. Simultaneously, learning from Delhi’s experience, the Punjab government has started sending teachers on international training in its very first year itself.
“But the file to send Delhi teachers to Finland for training has been in circulation since October. According to the constitution, the governments of all the states of the country have full right to work on education. The Delhi government should have as much freedom as the government of Punjab or any other state to send its teachers to foreign countries for training. But it is unfortunate that the LG in Delhi is misusing the law to stop teachers from getting global exposure,” Sosodia added.
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#stop #teachers #misusing #powers #Sisodia

( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 2, 2023
Hyderabad: Minorities welfare dept inspects works at Mecca Masjid

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Hyderabad: The officials of the State Minorities Welfare Department along with the local public representatives visited the Mecca Masjid and inspected the renovation and conservation works on Thursday.
B Shafiullah, Director Minorities Welfare along with the Charminar MLA Mumtaz Ahmed Khan and other officials reviewed the progress of the work and directed the officials to complete it at the earliest.
They also reviewed the preparatory works for the month of Ramadan.
District Minority Welfare Officer Hyderabad Mohammed Ilyas and other officials of Archaeological and Minorities Welfare Department were present during the visit.
Shafiullah informed that modern machinery will be used to save time. He took stock of various restoration works being taken up and instructed the officials to come up with an action plan and complete the restoration work, illumination and electrical works.
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#Hyderabad #Minorities #welfare #dept #inspects #works #Mecca #Masjid

( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 2, 2023
Adani imbroglio: MVA, locals worry over fate of mega Dharavi revamp project

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Mumbai: As the Adani Group battles its current crisis on multiple fronts, the Maharashtra Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and residents of Dharavi on Thursday raised questions over the fate of the ambitious redevelopment project for Asia’s biggest slum.
In end-November 2022, the state government had finalised Adani Properties Ltd.’s bid to invest Rs 5,069 crore in the Dharavi redevelopment mega project.
At that time, the Metropolitan Commissioner of Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), S.V.R. Srinivas, had said that the proposal would be sent for the state government’s approval, a special purpose vehicle would be formed, and if all goes well, “the project shall kick-start by February 2023”.
When his reactions were sought again on Thursday, Srinivas said that he would not like to comment on the matter right now, “maybe after 2-3 days”.
However, state Congress General Secretary Sachin Sawant feels that all is not well considering the nosediving of Adani Group shares and its probable cascading effect on the Indian economy.
“The Maharashtra government must clarify its stand on the Dharavi redevelopment project. Will it allow the fate of lakhs of people to be connected to a company whose fate itself seems to be in jeopardy,” Sawant asked.
Shiv Sena (UBT) national spokesperson Kishore Tiwari claimed that the erstwhile Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government was ‘deliberately toppled’ (in June 2022) so that the Adani Group could be given various big projects.
“Why just Dharavi? What about the future of the Navi Mumbai International Airport and other major projects which have been given to the Adani Group? The Centre and the Maharashtra government must immediately clarify and cancel the allotments,” Tiwari demanded.

The Dharavi Rehabilitation Committee (DRC) representing the local residents is virtually panicking over the fast-paced developments in the financial sector which are grabbing gloomy headlines daily.
“The Adani Group’s reliability and credibility is now in serious doubt… We feel that they may not be able to take up and complete this project on time. So, we are asking the Maharashtra government to re-tender it and give it to another party,” DRC President Raju Korde told IANS.
A meeting of the DRC shall be held later on Thursday night to finalise the strategy, besides writing to the state government to call for re-bids and award the project to a financially sound investor or consortium, he added.
In fact, in mid-January, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had brought the Dharavi revamp proposal to the global centre-stage in Davos, where he extolled it as “the largest public-private-partnership (PPP) real estate programme for slum redevelopment”.
Terming it as an “environment-friendly project”, Shinde had said that around 56,000 families would be rehabilitated there with free homes of 300 sq ft to each slum-dweller there”, wowing an influential audience at the World Economic Forum held in the ski-resort in Switzerland.
With an estimated timeline of around 15 years, the project – bedeviled by many problems and failed attempts for a makeover for over 15 years – will see construction of over 10 million sq ft, giving a total face-lift to the 520-acre locality.
Dharavi – literally meaning ‘quicksand’ – is notorious as the dirty underbelly of Mumbai, housing over 10 lakh people crammed into a 2.1 sq km corner. But it is supposed to transform itself from an ugly duckling to a glittering district with swank buildings, wide roads, residential and commercial areas, schools, hospitals, gardens, playgrounds etc. planned there.
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#Adani #imbroglio #MVA #locals #worry #fate #mega #Dharavi #revamp #project
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 2, 2023
No decision as of now on implementation of uniform civil code: Rijiju in Rajya Sabha

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New Delhi: There has been no decision “as of now” on the implementation of a uniform civil code in the country, the government informed Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
In a written reply, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government had requested the 21st Law Commission to undertake examination of various issues relating to uniform civil code and to make recommendations.
“The term of the 21st Law Commission ended on August 31, 2018. As per the information received from the Law Commission, the matter related to uniform civil code may be taken up by the 22nd Law Commission for its consideration,” he said.
“Therefore, no decision on implementation of uniform civil code has been taken as of now,” he said.
The term of the present law panel ends later this month. Government sources have indicated that the panel’s three-year term could be extended.
The current law panel was constituted on February 21, 2020, but its chairperson and members were appointed in November last year, months before the end of the panel’s term.
The 21st Law Commission undertook the examination of various issues relating to uniform civil code and uploaded a consultation paper, titled “Reform of Family Law”, on its website for wider discussions.
The implementation of a uniform civil code was a poll promise made by the ruling BJP in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

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#decision #implementation #uniform #civil #code #Rijiju #Rajya #Sabha
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 2, 2023
Nobody taking action against hate speeches despite our orders, laments SC

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday lamented that nobody was taking action against hate speeches despite its orders, and observed that the top court will be left “embarrassed again and again” if it is asked to give further directions to curb such statements.
The court’s strong observations were made by a bench comprising Justice K M Joseph, Justice Aniruddha Bose and Justice Hrishikesh Roy when a plea seeking to prohibit an event scheduled to be held on February 5 by the Hindu Jan Akrosh Morcha in Mumbai was mentioned for an urgent hearing.
The bench agreed to hear the plea on Friday subject to instructions and approval from Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud on the administrative side.
“We are with you on this, but understand that the Supreme Court cannot be triggered every time there is a rally notified. We have already passed an order which is clear enough. Just imagine rallies happening all across the country. Every time there will be an application before the Supreme Court. How can that be feasible?
“You ask us to be embarrassed again and again by getting an order. We have passed so many orders yet nobody is taking action. The Supreme Court should not be asked to pass an order on an event to event basis,” it observed.
The observation came after a lawyer mentioned the matter, saying the issue needs urgent hearing against holding of the Mumbai rally.
She submitted that a similar rally was organised a few days ago in which 10,000 people participated and allegedly gave a call to boycott Muslim communities economically and socially.
On continuous persistence of the lawyer, the court asked her to serve a copy of the application to the counsel for Maharashtra.

“Serve a copy on the State, we will list it tomorrow subject to orders of the CJI. Only this case, not the entire batch,” the bench said.
Holding that the Constitution of India envisages a secular nation, the top court on October 21 last year directed the Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments to come down hard on hate speeches, promptly registering criminal cases against the culprits without waiting for a complaint to be filed.
It had also warned that any delay on the part of the administration in taking action on this “very serious issue” would invite the court’s contempt.
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#action #hate #speeches #orders #laments
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 2, 2023
Saudi Arabia’s King Faisal Specialist Hospital ranks 1st in Middle East, 20th globally
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Riyadh: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center has been ranked first in the Middle East and 20th globally, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
This is according to the Brand Finance’s 2023 ranking of the best healthcare institutions in the world.
Six more hospitals in the Kingdom also ranked in the list of the 250 best centers in the world.
Other ranked Saudi hospitals are
King Abdullah Medical City
National Guard Health Affairs
King Fahd University Hospital
King Khalid University Hospital
More than 500 hospitals around the world. Based on more than 30 performance indicators, it examines health care, research and education centers, and its results emerged after surveying thousands of health practitioners in more than 40 countries.
The ranking of King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center (KFSHRC) is a result of the health sector transformation program in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – one of the initiatives of Vision 2030 – the quality of services provided in the Kingdom, as well as the support provided by King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the health sector.
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#Saudi #Arabias #King #Faisal #Specialist #Hospital #ranks #1st #Middle #East #20th #globally

( With inputs from www.siasat.com )
February 2, 2023
SC rejects plea seeking to bar candidates from contesting polls from more than one seat

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a plea seeking to bar persons from contesting elections from more than one seat, saying it is ultimately the Parliament’s will as to whether the political democracy in the country is furthered by granting a choice.
A bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud observed that candidates may contest polls from more than one constituency due to a variety of reasons.
The bench, also comprising justices PS Narasimha and J B Pardiwala, was dealing with a petition filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, who had sought to declare as invalid and ultra vires to the Constitution section 33(7) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which allows a person to contest a general election or a group of bypolls or biennial elections from two constituencies.
“Permitting a candidate to contest from more than one seat…is a matter of legislative policy since it is ultimately the Parliament’s will as to whether the political democracy in the country is furthered by granting such a choice,” it said.
The top court observed that in the absence of any manifest arbitrariness in section 33(7) of the 1951 Act, it would not be possible for it to strike down the provision.
During the arguments, senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, who appeared on behalf of Upadhyay, submitted that if a candidate contests an election from two seats and gets elected from both, he or she has to vacate one seat, which will lead to a by-poll that will be an additional financial burden on the exchequer.
He said prior to a 1996 amendment, there was no bar on the number of seats a candidate could contest in an election. The amendment restricted that number to two.
The bench observed that it is for Parliament to decide whether a candidate can contest an election from more than one seat.

“When you contest from two seats, you do not know from where you will get elected. What is wrong about it? This is part of electoral democracy,” it said.
The bench said Parliament can certainly step in, as it did in 1996, and say it is limiting it to one constituency.
“At the relevant time, if Parliament thinks necessary, it can do it. There is no question of inaction.
“There is another way of looking at it. Some political leader might say I want to establish my pan-India image by contesting an election…like from the north-east and north or south,” the bench said, adding there have been instances in the country’s political history which depict that there have been leaders of that stature.
The top court noted that one of the basis of the petition is that in July 2004, the then chief election commissioner had urged the then prime minister to amend section 33(7) of the 1951 Act in so far as it permits a person to contest an election from more than one seat.
It said the petitioner has also referred to the 255th report of the Law Commission, which had agreed with the Election Commission (EC) that the 1951 Act should be amended to provide that a person be not allowed to contest an election from more than one seat.
In his plea, Upadhyay had sought a direction to the Centre and the EC to take appropriate steps to restrict people from contesting an election for the same office from more than one constituency simultaneously.
“One person-one vote and one candidate-one constituency is the dictum of democracy. However, as per the law, as it stands today, a person can contest the election for the same office from two constituencies simultaneously.”
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#rejects #plea #seeking #bar #candidates #contesting #polls #seat
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 2, 2023
Budget 2023: Grant for IIMs reduced by half

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New Delhi: The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), which are counted among the noted business schools in the country, have faced a budget cut this year with the Centre reducing their grant by half.
The top institutes, however, believe that the move might hurt new IIMs but not the second or first generation IIMs.
There are 20 IIMs across the country.
In the budget for 2023-24 announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday, the funding for IIMs has been brought down to Rs 300 crore from the previous fiscal year’s Revised Estimate (RE) of Rs 608.23 crore, a 50.67 per cent drop, even when the net budget for the fiscal year 2023-24 rose by 8 per cent amounting to Rs 44,094 crores for the higher education sector.
According to the Budget Estimates (BE) for 2022-23, the IIMs were allocated an amount of Rs 653.92 crores.
According to IIM Udaipur Director Ashok Banerjee, the government might be sending signals to IIMs to be more innovative in funding their growth plans.
“The cut in budget allocation for the IIMs may hurt the newer IIMs, the latest IIM is about seven years old though,” Banerjee told PTI.
However, through this cut, the government perhaps is sending signals to the leadership of individual IIMs to be more innovative in funding their growth plans like promoting use of PPP model and also to the industry to support academic institutions of national importance through CSR initiatives and other donations,” he said.

The major cut in the budget for IIMs has been under the support from Gross Budgetary Support (GBS) head.
The allocation for the purpose was Rs 296.81 crore according to the RE for 2022-23 while the BE allocation was Rs 323.50 crore. For the new financial year (2023-24), the allocation under the head has been reduced to Rs 15.17 crore.
“IIM Rohtak has never hung on to any government grant. We generate our total revenue from various training programmes remote and on campus and tuition fees. Though we are a second generation IIM, this halving of funds will not affect us. New generation IIMs might have to depend on government grants,” said Dheeraj Sharma, Director, IIM Rohtak.
Ajit Parulekar, Director of Goa Institute of Management (GIM), said there might not be anything specific for B-school education in India, but the finance minister talking about a National Data Governance framework was one of the highlights of the budget.
“This framework will allow us to get access to a lot of non-personal, anonymous data. Research-intensive institutions will benefit greatly from this because one of the biggest hurdles one needs to overcome during the conducting of research is the lack of data,” he said.
“The only disappointment is that even though there is an increase in the budget for education, it is marginal. It is very low for a country that aims to grow fast. We are underspending on healthcare and education by a very large margin,” he added.
Ashutosh Dash, Associate Professor, Accounting and Finance, Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurugram said, “Though the provisions made in the budget will improve the education infrastructure in the country as a whole, the reduction of gross budgetary support from 323.5 crores in 2022-23 to 15.17 crores in 2023-24 might have a huge impact on the growth and development of newly established IIMs.”
“To implement the NEP 2020 in the true spirit, the best institutions and universities of the country have been given an additional Rs 4,235.74 crore but how much can the share of IIMs be is unknown yet,” he said.
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#Budget #Grant #IIMs #reduced
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 2, 2023