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Congress president RahulGandhi on Wednesdaymade his resignation
publicthrough an emotional four-page letter that he put out
ontweeter in which he took moralresponsibility for the party’srout
in the Lok Sabha pollsasserting that accountability iscritical for
the future growth ofthe party.
“As president of theCongress party, I am respon-sible for the
loss of the 2019election. Accountability is crit-ical for the
future growth ofour party. It is for this reasonthat I have
resigned asCongress president. Rebuildingthe party requires hard
deci-sions and numerous peoplewill have to be made account-able for
the failure of 2019. Itwould be unjust to hold othersaccountable
but ignore myown responsibility as presidentof the party,” he said
in the let-ter shared on his Twitteraccount.
Signing off his letter, hesaid, “Thank you to the thou-sands of
Indians, both at homeand abroad, who have sent meletters and
messages of sup-port. I will, of course, contin-ue to fight for the
ideals of theCongress party with all mystrength. I am available to
theparty whenever they requiremy services, input or advice. Tothose
who support theCongress ideology, especiallyour dedicated and
belovedkaryakarta, I have absolute
faith in our future and theutmost love for you.”
While Rahul will official-ly continue to be the presidentof the
party till his resignationis accepted by CongressWorking Committee
(CWC),there was speculation that vet-eran Moti Lal Vohra may
begiven interim charge till theprocess of electing a new
partypresident is completed. Vora,90, is currently Congress
gen-eral secretary in-charge ofadministration.
According to the Congressconstitution, the party’s senior-
most general secretary willtake over as its interim chief incase
of a resignation by theincumbent.
In his letter, Rahul said ithad been an honour to servethe party
whose values andideals have served as thelifeblood of this
beautifulnation.
“It is an honour for me toserve the Congress party,whose values
and ideals haveserved as the lifeblood of ourbeautiful nation. I
owe thecountry and my organisation adebt of tremendous
gratitude
and love. As president of theCongress, I am responsiblefor the
loss of the 2019 election.Accountability is critical for thefuture
growth of our party. Itis for this reason that I haveresigned as
Congress presi-dent,” Rahul stated.
Rahul said the Congressdidn’t fight a political party inthe 2019
election, rather itfought the entire machinery ofthe Indian state,
every institu-tion of which was marshalledagainst the
Opposition.
Leading the grand oldparty in two general elections,
Rahul noted that he personal-ly fought Prime MinisterNarendra
Modi, the RSS andthe institutions they have cap-tured. He further
said thiscapture of power will result in“unimaginable levels of
vio-lence and pain for India,” whilealleging that the PM’s windoes
not negate the “breadth ofcorruption allegations againsthim”.
Asserting that it was nowcrystal clear that India’s
oncecherished institutional neu-trality no longer existed, hesaid,
“The stated objectives ofthe RSS, the capture of ourcountry’s
institutional struc-ture, is now complete. Ourdemocracy has been
funda-mentally weakened. There is areal danger that from now
on,elections will go from being adeterminant of India’s future toa
mere ritual.
“This capture of powerwill result in unimaginablelevels of
violence and pain forIndia. Farmers, unemployedyoungsters, women,
tribals,Dalits and minorities are goingto suffer the most. The
impacton our economy and nation’sreputation will be devastating.The
Prime Minister’s win doesnot negate the breadth of cor-ruption
allegations againsthim; no amount of moneyand propaganda can ever
hidethe light of the truth.”
Rahul urged the CWC toentrust a group of people withthe task of
finding a new pres-ident as it would not be prop-er for him to do
so.
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Wait for many DelhiUniversity aspirants wasover on Wednesday
evening asthe university declared thesecond cut-off list with a
mar-ginal dip in marks required foradmission in
undergraduatecourses. However, the major-ity of North Campus
collegesclosed admissions for PoliticalScience for the
unreservedcategory students.
A few colleges also closedadmission for courses likePsychology
and English (hon-ours) for the category.
The cut-off for BCom(Hons) in SRCC is 98 per centfor general
category.
Jesus and Marry Collegehas announced no second cut-off list for
BCom (Hons),BCom, Economic (Hons), BScMaths (Hons), Political
Science(Hons), Psychology (Hons).
In Gargi college, admissionin BA (Hons) AppliedPsychology has
been shut forgeneral category while the cutoff percentage for OBC,
SC ,ST and EWS category for thecourse is 94, 91,91 and 96 percent
respectively.
Kashmiri migrants still
have chance with requiredpercentage 88 per cent to getadmission
in the course.Various colleges have shutdown the admissions for
themuch-sought after courses, forinstance admission in BAEconomics
(Hons) in SRCCfor general category is closed.
For BA (Hons) PoliticalScience, chances are still highfor
general category with cut-off percentage 95.50 per cent.For BA
(Hons) English,required percentage is 95.75per cent while Gargi has
set96.50 per cent for BA (Hns)Economics. Commerce aspi-rants can
apply in Gargi withrequired percentage 95.25 percent for BCom.
According to the secondcut-off, required percentageto get
admission into BSc(Botany) course in Gargi col-lege is 91 per cent
while per-centage required to get admis-sion in Bsc (Hons)
Chemistryis 95.66 per cent, for BSc(Hons) Physics cut-off is 96
per
cent while for BSc in LifeSciences, required percentageaccording
to the second cut-offis 90.33 per cent.
Notably, Gargi has closedthe admission for English andPsychology
(combination) forall categories.
In Deshbandu college,admissions for BA(Philosophy) and
BA(Political Science), BA pro-gramme in Histor y andPolitical
Science) have beenclosed. College has closedadmission in a few
courses forgeneral category, requiredcut-off percentage for
BA(Hons) Economics and BSc(Hons) Physics is 94.5 and 94per cent
respectively.
In Ramanujan, admissionsin Bcom, Political Science(Hons) and BA
(Hons)Economics have been closed.
In Kalindi college, thehighest cut-off is in BAJournalism with
94 per cent,followed by Bcom (Hns) with93 per cent.
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In its bid to give a major boostto farmers across the coun-try
impacted by the delayedonset of the southwest mon-soon and scanty
rainfall, theModi Government has raisedthe minimum support
price(MSP) of paddy, a key kharifcrop, by 3.7 per cent from�1,750
to �1,815 per quintal forthe 2019-20 crop season.
The MSP for paddy (gradeA) saw an increase of �65 perquintal.
Paddy is the mainkharif crop, the sowing ofwhich begins with the
onset ofsouthwest monsoon. Despite abelow-normal monsoon lastyear,
there was a record riceoutput of 115.63 million tonnedue to
increased support price.This year too, the rice output islikely to
be on the higher side.
Due to delayed rains, thetotal area sown to kharif cropswas down
at 146.61 lakhhectares till last week as againstlast year’s 162.07
lakh hectare,as per Agriculture Ministrydata.
The MSP of tur (arhar),moong and urad pulses also
have been raised by �125, �75and �100, respectively, for
the2019-20 crop season. The MSPof arhar increased from �5,675to
�5,800 per quintal; moongfrom �6,975 to 7,050 per quin-tal and urad
from �5,600 to�5,700 per quintal.
The decision was taken atthe Cabinet Committee onEconomic
Affairs (CCEA)chaired by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on
Wednesdaywhich approved the hikes inMSP. The move will lead
toincreased investment and pro-duction through assured
remu-nerative prices to the farmers.
The increase in MSP forkharif crops is in line with theprinciple
of fixing the MSPs ata level of at least 1.5 times of theall India
weighted average costof production which wasannounced in the
UnionBudget for 2018-19.
After the CCEA meeting,Union Agriculture and FarmersWelfare
Minister NarendraSingh Tomar said the monsoonhas been delayed this
year andit is worrisome for the farmersas well as the
Government.“But according to the weather
department’s forecast, the situ-ation would improve and
themonsoon would be normal,”Tomar said.
As per Cabinet decision,the minimum support price,which the
Centre guarantees topay to farmers, has also beenraised in case of
groundnut by�200 a quintal and soyabean by
�311. In addition, mediumcotton MSP has been raised by�105
quintal and long cottonMSP by �100 a quintal. Thehighest percentage
return tofarmers over their cost of pro-duction is for bajra (85
percent) followed by urad (64 percent) and tur (60 per cent).
The MSP for jowar has
been increased by �120 perquintal from �2,430 to �2,550,and ragi
by �253 per quintalfrom �2,897 and �3,150. Themove comes against
the back-drop of the need to promotecultivation and consumption
ofnutri-cereals. Besides, Indiacelebrated 2018 as the NationalYear
of Millets and the Food
and Agriculture Organisation(FAO) Council has approvedIndia’s
proposal to observe anInternational Year of Millets in2023.
As many as 26 out of thetotal 36 subdivisions of thecountry are
facing deficientrainfall, with the overall mon-soon deficit
standing at 28 percent. Rains have been belownormal in West Uttar
Pradeshand Haryana, where the deficitis more than 60 per cent.
The country has so farreceived 138 mm rainfallagainst the normal
of 191.6mm. As on July 3, the monsoonis yet to cover Punjab,
Haryana,and parts of Uttar Pradesh.
Tomar said the Centre hasincreased the MSP of kharifcrops for
2019-20 in line withthe principle of fixing MSPs ata level which is
at least 1.5 timesthe cost of production, whichwas announced last
year.
The MSP mechanism pro-vides a price guarantee to thefarmers for
their produce. Thisis implemented across thecountry as nearly 86
per centfarmers are in small and mar-ginal category.
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As many as 23 persons werefeared dead onWednesday, after Tiware
dambreached in Chipulan taluka ofRatnagiri district in
coastalKonkan region and led to aflood-like situation in at
leastseven downstream villages.
Till evening, bodies of 11persons were recovered fromthe bed of
the dam by theNational Disaster ResponseForce (NDRF)
personnel,while one person was foundalive from a downstream
loca-tion three kilometres awayfrom the breached dam.
The NDRF teams aresearching for 11 more personswho were among
who hadgone missing after the dambreached around 9.30 pm, an hour
after it started over-flowing. Following the breachof the dam that
took place onTuesday night, seven down-stream villages —
Daadar,Akle, Riktoli, Ovali, Kalkavne,
Nandivase — were inundated. Built in 2004, 308 metres
long, 28 metres wide and 28metres tall bridge had a stor-age
capacity of 20 lakh cubicmeters. The water from thedam was being
used for bothdrinking water and irrigationpurposes.
Relatives of the victimssaid they had asked
districtadministration to repair thedam as they had spotted
cracksin November last year. Therewas an issue over the
jurisdic-tion of which tehsil Tiwaredam falls in, as Chiplun
andDapoli tehsil offices had
ignored the plea of the vil-lagers, said a family member ofone
of the dead.
“It is only because of theirnegligence that we have seenthis
day,” he said. “My parents,wife and child of one and a halfyear is
missing,” he added.
Nearly two dozen vehiclesbelonging mostly to the vil-lagers were
washed away in theswollen waters.
Maharashtra ChiefMinister Devendra Fadnavisordered an enquiry
into thecause and circumstances lead-ing the breach. “We will
fixresponsibility for the incidentand take action against theerring
persons,” Fadnavis said.
Maharashtra WaterResources Minister GirishMahajan who visited
thetragedy site, assured the affect-ed people that the state
gov-ernment would rebuild theaffected downstream villagers.“Homes
of the villagers washedaway will be constructed at safeplaces,” he
said.
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ADelhi court on Wednesdayacquitted MLA and
gang-ster-turned-politician MukhtarAnsari and six others accusedin
the 2005 murder case of BJPleader Krishnanand Rai as allthe
eyewitnesses and materialwitnesses turned hostile.
“The case in hand isanother example of the prose-cution failing
due to hostilewitnesses. If the witnesses inthis case had the
benefit of theWitness Protection Scheme,2018 during the trial, the
resultmay have been different,”Special Judge Arun Bhardwajsaid
while exonerating all theaccused.
Further, the court heldthat the CBI investigators failedto prove
the charges by notbringing enough evidenceagainst the accused
personswho were allegedly responsiblefor the gruesome killing
ofseven persons, including Rai.
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Delhi Police CommissionerAmulya Patnaik was sum-moned by Home
MinisterAmit Shah on Wednesday todiscuss Walled City
communalincident in which a temple wasvandalised after a fight
brokeout over parking of a two-wheeler at Lal Kuan area underHauz
Qazi police station onSunday night.
After the meeting was over,Patnaik told reporters, “It wasa
general briefing about theHauz Qazi incident and howthe situation
is. The situation iswell under control now.”
He said four people havebeen arrested and action wouldbe taken
against all involved.“We have the CCTV footage.These are a group of
criminals...we are analysing the footageand all those involved will
faceaction,” he said.
A minor is among thosearrested over the violence.
Security has been stepped up inthe locality to avoid any
unto-ward incident.
Late in the evening peoplefrom the two communities, inpresence
of police, held dis-cussions on ways to defuse thetension. Jamshed
Siddiqui, whowas present in the meeting,said, “We have spoken to
eachother on the issue and decid-ed that the ‘aman committee’(peace
committee) would bearthe expenses to renovate thevandalised
temple.”
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Environmental degradationby illegal and unregulatedcoal mining
has taken place inMeghalaya, the Supreme Courtheld on Wednesday and
direct-ed the State to deposit �100crore with the CentralPollution
Control Board(CPCB) for restoration work.
It said however thatMeghalaya has very limitedsources of revenue
and allowedit to transfer �100 crore fromthe Environment
Protectionand Restoration Fund.
A Bench of Justices AshokBhushan and KM Joseph saidthe CPCB, as
directed by theNational Green Tribunal(NGT), will utilise the
amountof �100 crore only for restora-tion of the environment.
“The allegations of envi-ronmental degradation by ille-gal and
unregulated coal min-
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report of theexperts, report of theMeghalaya State PollutionControl
Board, the report offormer High Court Judge BPKatakey committee,
which allproved environmental degra-dation of water, air and
sur-face,” the Bench said.
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The Punjab State WomenCommission has soughtaction against rapper
Yo YoHoney Singh for allegedly usingvulgar lyrics against women ina
recent song.
Taking suo motu cog-nizance, chairperson of thewomen panel
Manisha Gulatihas written to the state homesecretary, Punjab
DirectorGeneral of Police and InspectorGeneral of Police (Crime),
rec-ommending appropriate actionagainst the singer.
"We have asked the policeto register an FIR against thesinger
for using vulgar lyricsagainst women in his song'Makhna'," Gulati
said. Thewomen panel has asked thepolice to submit a status
reportin the matter by July 12, shesaid.
Gulati said the song withthe objectionable lyrics againstwomen
should be banned inthe State.
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The National GreenTribunal has sought a jointreport from the
Centre and theHaryana forest department ona plea against the
constructionof a police lines in the forestland of Aravalli.
A bench headed by NGTChairperson Justice AdarshKumar Goel
directed theRegional Office of the Ministryof Environment and
Forests inChandigarh and the PrincipalChief Conservator of Forests
tosubmit a report.
"Let a factual and actiontaken report in the matter befurnished
jointly by thePrincipal Chief Conservator ofForests, Haryana and
theRegional Office of Ministry of
Environment, Forest andClimate Change at Chandigarhwithin one
month by e-mail [email protected]. The nodalagency will be the
PCCF,Haryana for coordination andcompliance," the bench said.
The NGT directed theapplicant to furnish a completeset of papers
to the PCCF,Haryana and the RegionalOffice of MoEF&CC
atChandigarh and file an affi-davit of service within a week.
The matter has now beenposted for hearing onSeptember 13.
The tribunal was hearing aplea filed by Haryana-residentRam
Avatar Yadav allegingthat Haryana Police atGurgaon is raising
construc-tions in the forest land of
Aravalli in Manesar village inGurugram.
The land in question isrecorded as 'Gair MumkinPahar' (land
unfit for cultiva-tion). The construction is notpermissible without
priorapproval of the CentralGovernment under the provi-sions of the
Forest(Conservation) Act, 1980, theplea said.
The applicant has reliedupon the information underthe RTI Act,
2005 that the landhas been allotted to the PoliceDepartment of
Haryana forconstruction of Police Lineswithin the Aravalli
PlantationForest which is a deemed for-est. The applicant has
reliedupon the judgment of theSupreme Court.
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��������&����)����(����������Chandigarh:Haryana
ForestsMinister Rao Narbir Singh onWednesday appealed to thepublic
to plant trees to cele-brate their marriage anniver-saries and make
social occa-sions and festivals memorable.In a statement issued
here, RaoNarbir Singh said that thestate-level program of
thisyear's Van Mahotsav will beorganized in Gurugram andduring the
Mahotsav, peoplewill be encouraged to plant
‘triveni’ of Neem, Banyan andPeepal.
He appealed to the publicto cooperate and activelyinvolved in
the plantation cam-paign run by the Departmentduring the 69th Van
Mahotsavcelebrated in July and thatevery person must plant at
leasttwo plants. The Minister saidthat last year, school
studentswere also encouraged to par-ticipate in the Van
Mahotsav,and more than 30 lakh plants
were planted in educationalinstitutions. It was a
greatachievement of theDepartment. During this year'sVan Mahotsav,
a target hasbeen set to plant one croresaplings, he added.
The change in climate dueto global warming is a matterof great
concern.
Ecological balance couldonly be maintained by planti-ng trees
and developing forests,he said. PNS
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Almost 25 years after hisassassination, IndiaInternational
Centre namedafter the former Punjab ChiefMinister Beant Singh
wouldcome up in Chandigarh soon.
Punjab Chief MinisterCapt Amarinder Singh andGovernor and
Chandigarh UTadministrator VP SinghBadnore gave
in-principleapproval for the establishmentof an India
InternationalCentre (IIC) at the existing siteof the Beant Singh
memorialand the Chandigarh Centre ofPerforming and Visual Arts
inSec 42, Chandigarh.
Capt Amarinder said thathis government and the fami-ly of former
Punjab ChiefMinister Beant Singh, who hadbeen martyred in a car
bomb-ing in 1995, had no objectionto the proposed centre as longas
the sanctity of the memori-al was maintained at all costs.
The proposed centre, to bedeveloped on the lines ofDelhi’s IIC,
will be christenedas Sardar Beant Singh IndiaInternational Centre.
The costof the project would be equal-ly shared by the Punjab
gov-ernment and the ChandigarhAdministration.
The decision was takenduring a meeting of the BeantSingh
Memorial Society andthe Chandigarh Centre forPerforming and Visual
Arts,
which the Governor and theChief Minister attended alongwith
other representatives fromboth Punjab and Chandigarh.
The governor suggestedthat the proposed centre will
beindependent of the govern-ment/administration of bothPunjab and
Chandigarh, andsaid that a membership drivewould soon be started
for thesame.
The Chandigarh IndiaInternational Centre, proposedto be
developed adjacent to theBeant Singh memorial, willencompass the
Media Centre,whose structure is ready, andthe existing library and
theconference halls. The MediaCentre building will berenamed and
will house a
restaurant and cafeteria besidesa convention centre, as part
ofthe proposed memorial cuminternational centre.
The decision to set up a livememorial was taken way backin 1996,
just months after theassassination of Beant Singh. Itwas decided
then to developand raise a memorial in thememory of Late Beant
Singh,and keeping Le Corbusier'spolicy of not installing any
stat-ues of important personalitiesin public areas of Chandigarh,it
was decided to have a livingmemorial.
At the same time therewere plans of making aChandigarh Centre
forPerforming and Visual Arts asthere was a requirement of such
a cultural hub for the city ofChandigarh.
A meeting of the steeringcommittee of the Beant SinghMemorial
and the ChandigarhCentre for the Performing andVisuaL Arts was held
on12.10.1996 under theChairmanship of the thenAdviser to the
Administrator,Chandigarh. In the meeting itwas decided that instead
ofhaving two societies (one forthe Beant Singh Memorial andother
for Chandigarh Centrefor the Performing and VisualArts), only one
society may beformed as Sardar Beant Singhwas a great patron of
perform-ing and visual Arts.
Accordingly, a societynamed Sardar Beant SinghMemorial and
ChandigarhCentre for Performing andVisual Arts society was
regis-tered on 26.11.1996.
An amount of Rs. 18.55crores has been spent on thefirst phase of
the project so far.The total contribution of thePunjab Government
so far hasbeen about Rs. 8.00 crores,while the
ChandigarhAdministration has made atotal contribution of Rs.
12.69crores.
The meeting was attendedby late chief minister, BeantSingh’s
family members,including MP Ludhiana,Ravneet Bittu, MLA
Khanna,Gurkirat Singh Kotli and TejParkash, amongst others.
����� �������
Haryana Chief MinisterManohar Lal onWednesday hailed the
decisionof Cabinet Committee onEconomic Affairs to increasethe
minimum support price ofkharif crops of 2019-20 andsaid that it
shows that the gov-ernment is pro farmers andtheir interest is one
of its toppriorities.
The decision was taken inthe Cabinet Committee meet-ing on
Economic Affairs heldunder the chairmanship ofPrime Minister,
NarendraModi in New Delhi.
Reacting to the decision ofthe Cabinet Committee, theChief
Minister said that thisdecision would fulfill the goalof Prime
Minister Narendra Modi todouble the income of the farm-ers by the
year 2022.
He said that it would ben-efit farmers of Haryana who cultivate
bajra,cotton, paddy, sunflower, maizeand arhar crops, which are
themain kharif crops in the state.
The Minimum SupportPrice of bajra would beincreased by Rs 50 per
quintal,paddy by Rs 65 per quintal, cot-ton by Rs 100 to Rs 105
perquintal, sunflower by Rs 262per quintal, maize by Rs 60
perquintal, arhar by Rs 125 perquintal and moong by Rs 75per
quintal, the Chief Ministeradded.
Following the decision, theMSP of Bajra has been
increased from 1950 to Rs2000 per quintal, Paddy(Common) from Rs
1750 to Rs1815 per quintal, Paddy GradeA from Rs 1770 to Rs. 1835
perquintal, Cotton (Medium)from Rs 5150 to Rs 5255 perquintal,
Cotton (Long Staple)from Rs 5450 to Rs 5550 perquintal.
Similarly, MSP of
Surajmukhi (Sunflower) hasbeen increased from Rs 5388 toRs 5650
per quintal, Maizefrom Rs 1700 to Rs 1760 perquintal, Arhar from Rs
5675 toRs 5800 per quintal.
Apart from this the MSP ofJowar, Ragi, Moong, Urad,Groundnut,
Soyabean,Sesamum and Nigerseed hasalso been increased.
Meanwhile, HaryanaAgriculture and Farmers’Welfare Minister OP
Dhankarhas expressed his gratitude to Prime MinisterNarendra Modi
and UnionMinister of Agriculture andFarmers’ Welfare
NarendraTomar.
Dhankar said that PrimeMinisteri has implemented theformula of
increasing the cropprices by 1.5 times every year.This would ensure
a definiteincrease in the farmer’s income,he added.
He said that last year also,MSP of Kharif crops wereannounced
and the farmers inHaryana celebrated this as afestival.
To express their gratitudeto the government, the farmershad
organized Bajra KisanRally in Mahendergarh,Surajmukhi Kisan Rally
inShahbad and Kapas Kisan Rallyin Barwala.
Dhankar said that thoughamong the 17 Kharif crops,Paddy, Cotton
and Bajra are themajor crops of Haryana but thefarmers have now
started grow-ing other crops also like Maize,Arhar and Surajmukhi
(sun-flower).
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To prevent potential murderincidents involving pastenmity in the
State, HaryanaPolice has begun mapping ofall such cases in the
State.
“Police will connect infor-mation within police reportsand
develop a strategy to pre-vent such unfortunate inci-dents.
This exercise will contin-ue upto July 15,” HaryanaAdditional
Director General ofPolice, (Law and Order)Navdeep Singh Virk said
onWednesday.
He said that under thisdrive, Police would systemat-ically study
the police recordsand also, collect information orintelligence
regarding suchpotential cases where there isa possibility of
killings orattacks due to continuing pastenmity.
Virk said that DirectorGeneral of Police ManojYadava had
directed allCommissioners of Police anddistrict Superintendents
ofPolice to work on a strategy toidentify and analyze the
caseswhere there is a possibility ofsuch enmity developing into
aserious dispute.
They have been asked to
depute a special team of ded-icated Police officers undertheir
direct supervision tostudy the issue and compile adatabase of such
potentialcases.
After compiling the infor-mation, all concerned offi-cers
through SHO or Crimeteams would carry out sus-tained efforts to
prevent suchcases. We hope for more pos-itive results in the days
tocome, he said.
The ADGP also said thatsuch incidents come underunpreventable
category wherea trivial issue suddenly takesan ugly shape.
Analysis of recent cases ofmurders in the past few weeksin
several districts shows thatthe basic reason is past enmi-ty that
is carried on for yearsand leads to several murderson both sides
over time.
Even there have beeninstances where gangs havetargeted family
members oftheir rival gang or witnesses,he said.
This is an area of graveconcern and we are workingon this.
Getting prior infor-mation about such cases willhelp to prevent
crime anddetect criminal incidents with-out delays, Virk added.
����� �������
To tackle the growing men-ace of stray dogs in Punjab,the Chief
Minister CaptAmarinder Singh onWednesday constituted a work-ing
group under the chair-manship of Additional ChiefSecretary (Health)
SatishChandra.
Capt Amarinder, presidingover a high level meeting to dis-cuss
the growing incidents ofdog bites in the state, directedthe Chief
Secretary KaranAvtar Singh to explore possi-bility to take support
from theCentral Government to eradi-cate the problem.
At the same time, he askedthe Chief Secretary to regular-ly
monitor the progress ofimplementation and achieve-ment of the
specific targetsunder the action plan given toall the Deputy
Commissionersin this regard.
The Working Group, set upto suggest ways to address theproblem,
has been asked tosubmit its report within twoweeks. It has been
mandatedwith the task of finalizing theaction plan to check the
straydogs menace in a result-ori-ented manner, with a time-bound
strategy to control their
population.Principal Secretary (Rural
Development and Panchayats)DK Tiwari are members of theGroup,
which has PrincipalSecretary (Animal Husbandry)Raj Kamal Chaudhary
as itsconvenor besides Guru AngadDev Veterinary and AnimalSciences
University (GADVA-SU) Vice Chancellor Dr ASNanda to provide
technicalsupport.
Expressing concern overthe growing problem, whichhad assumed
alarming pro-portions, the Chief Ministeralso asked the
PrincipalSecretaries of the Departmentsof Animal Husbandry andRural
Development andPanchayats to work out a jointstrategy to install
state-of-the-art rendering plants in place ofthe dead animals
disposal yards
(hadda roris), which attractstray dogs in large numbers.
The Chief Minister askedboth these officers to set uprendering
plants in MunicipalCorporations as well as VillagePanchayats for
proper dispos-
al of the remains of the deadcattle in a scientific manner.
The Chief Minister alsoasked the Principal SecretaryAnimal
Husbandry to expeditethe programme to sterilisestray dogs.
� During the meeting, the state Principal Secretary(Animal
Husbandry) said that as many as 1,12,431 casesof dog bites were
reported in 2017 and 1,13,637 in 2018across the state, of which
13,185 and 15,324, respectively,were reported in Ludhiana district
alone.
�Out of 4.70 lakh total canine population in the state, 3.05lakh
comprised population of stray dogs.
� It was also informed in the meeting that 1.20 lakh unitsof
anti-rabies vaccine were issued in 2017, and 1,98,780in 2018, and
195 anti-rabies centres had been establishedfor treatment of dog
bites.
� Highlighting the activities of the Local Governmentdepartment
to check the stray dog menace, the LocalGovernment director Karnesh
Sharma said that out oftotal 167 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), 100
ULBs had gotresolution passed for sterilization to be started
beforeSeptember 30, 2019.
� In nine ULBs of Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Patiala,Mohali,
Hoshiarpur, Pathankot, Zirakpur and MandiGobindgarh, the ABC
(Animal Birth Control) dogs pro-gramme was going on in full
swing.
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Almost a month after he wasstripped of key portfoliosin a Punjab
cabinet reshuffle, asulking Navjot Singh Sidhu isyet to take charge
of his newassignment, as a stalemate withChief Minister Capt
AmarinderSingh continues.
On June 6, CaptAmarinder had divested Sidhuof the Local
Government andTourism and Cultural Affairs Departments and
allot-ted him the power and new and renewable energyportfolio.
In an apparent snub, Sidhuwas also left out of the consul-tative
groups formed by thechief minister on June 8, twodays after the
cabinet reshuffle,to accelerate the implementa-tion of the
government's flag-ship programmes.
Congress veteran AhmedPatel was entrusted with thetask of
resolving the issuesbetween the two. CaptAmarinder had met Patel
dur-ing his visit to Delhi last month,but the party
reportedlydescribed the meeting as a"courtesy call".
Ever since the portfolioreshuffle exercise, the Punjabminister
and his wife Navjot
Kaur have been maintainingdistance from the media. TheSidhu
couple is currently inAmritsar and meeting people.
Sidhu had evenapproached Congress presi-dent Rahul Gandhi last
monthand had "apprised him of thesituation" besides handing overa
letter to him.
He had also shared a pic-ture with Rahul Gandhi, partygeneral
secretary PriyankaGandhi and senior Congressleader Ahmed Patel on
hisTwitter handle and Facebookpage on June 10.
Since then, he has notshared anything on Twitterand
Facebook.
Sidhu, a former BJP leaderwho had joined the Congressjust ahead
of the 2017 Punjabassembly polls, has been at log-gerheads with
Capt Amarinderfor sometime now.
The tension between theChief Minister and his cabinetcolleague
had come out in theopen last month when CaptAmarinder blamed Sidhu
forthe "inept handling" of theLocal GovernmentDepartment, claiming
that itresulted in the "poor perfor-mance" of the Congress inurban
areas in the Lok Sabhapolls.
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The College students inHaryana will now learnvaluable life
lessons from icon-ic Hollywood and Bollywoodmovies. For, the
StateGovernment is set to introduce“movie watching”,
“journalwriting”, “developing entrepre-neurial models” among
otheractivities in the College cur-riculum from this
academicyear.
Moving away from the tra-ditional methods of teaching,the
Department of HigherEducation, Haryana has devel-oped a foundation
booklet–RISE (Reflect, Innovate, Strive, Excel) whichwill be
introduced for the firsttime in the Colleges, to inspireand empower
students.
Several interesting activi-ties have been chalked out inthe
72-page booklet that will bedistributed to the first year stu-dents
(academic year 2019-20) in Government Colleges ofExcellence in the
first phase ofan ambitious learning project.
Activities like watchingBollywood movies namely‘Dangal’,
‘Lakshya’, ‘Chak De’,‘Iqbal’, ‘Lagaan’, ‘Munna Bhai’,
‘ABCD (Anybody can dance)’,‘Secret Superstar’ andHollywood
movies namely‘Kung Fu Panda’, ‘Up’ havebeen included in the booklet
todeliver a strong message andteach a lesson or two to theyoung
minds.
American biographicaldrama ‘Hidden Figures’ andBollywood’s
‘Swades’ moviehave been recommended to celebrate crit-ical thinking
and decision mak-ing while Americanscience fiction
action-adven-
ture film ‘Tron’ and biograph-ical drama ‘The Pirates ofSilicon
Valley’ has been rec-ommended to teach the stu-dents about the
power andmisuse of technology.
Apart from the movies,the booklet mentions ‘words ofwisdom’ from
MahatmaGandhi, Swami Vivekananda,Sant Kabir, Gautama Buddha
toinspire the students.
A separate column ‘Prideof our land’ has been includedto tell
inspiring stories ofrenowned
personalities from Haryananamely Olympic medallistSakshi Malik,
Paralympicsmedallist Deepa Malik,Commonwealth and Asian
Games medallist VineshPhogar, author and philan-thropist Navin
Gulia and PoetSurya Kavi Dada LakhmiChand.
Inspiring stories and inter-esting snippets have been usedto
demonstrate the power ofself belief and self motivationin various
chapters of the book-let.
To encourage the studentsto become successful entre-preneurs, a
separate chapter hasbeen included highlightingIndia’s richest
self-madewoman Kiran Mazumdar Shaw and a refer-ence to ‘Band Baaja
Baaraat’movie, in which the lead-duoare wedding planners.
The campaigns like ‘savethe girl child’ and ‘say no todowry’
also finds a mention inthe booklet to teach the studentnot to
buckle under socialpressure.
Encouraging the studentsto become guardians of theworld by
planting trees, reuseand recycling, a chapter hasbeen included
giving exampleof Rock Garden created out ofwaste material by late
NekChand.
“The foundation booklethas been specially designed todevelop
positive psychology,
life and job skills in the Collegestudents. We have released
thefirst version of this bookletwhich will be distributed to
thefirst year students,” said a seniorofficial of Department of
HigherEducation, Haryana while talk-ing to The Pioneer.
Giving more details, hesaid that the booklet is divid-ed into
four sections with a sec-tion on chapter plan and prac-tice.
Each of 20 chapters hassome words of wisdom,instances of rising
above chal-lenges and achievements ofour people who have brought
glory to our state,he said.
Initially, this booklet will beused in mentorship groupsand
copies will be distributedto students and teachers in
9colleges.
The book content preparedby the professors ofGovernment
Colleges, has beenaugmented with interestingand useful internet
resources,especially with videos in Hindiwhich many be accessed by
thestudent for self building, headded.
In Haryana, around 1.5lakh students take admission incolleges
every year.
����� �������
Expressing disappointmentover Rahul Gandhi’s resig-nation as
Congress’ nationalpresident, Punjab ChiefMinister Capt
AmarinderSingh on Wednesday said thatRahul should have continuedto
lead the party with the samedynamism and fighting spiritwith which
he had steered theelection campaign.
Reiterating that the onus ofthe party’s defeat in the recentLok
Sabha polls did not lie onRahul’s shoulders alone butwas the
collective responsibil-ity of all the Congress leaders,Capt
Amarinder said that oneelectoral defeat could not betaken to define
the sum total ofthe leadership of Rahul. “It isnot fair for Rahul
to hold him-self accountable for a collectivedefeat,” he said.
Pointing out that Rahulhad successfully led the partyto
scintillating victories in threestates during Assembly pollsjust a
few months before the
Lok Sabha elections, the ChiefMinister said that it was clear-ly
a multitude of factors thatcaused the downfall of theparty in the
parliamentaryelections.
“The BJP swept the polls atthe back of their nationalist
dia-tribe, which overshadowed thepositive electioneering of
theCongress led by Rahul,” headded.
Victory and defeat are partof any political party’s for-tunes in
an electoral politylike ours, said Capt Amarinder,adding that every
defeat formsthe platform for the party torise again. “Under
Rahul’smature and dynamic leadership, theCongress would definitely
haverisen again, like the Phoenix, toemerge stronger and
morepowerful,” he added.
“This is what I and otherCongress chief ministers hadconveyed to
Rahul when wemet him on Monday in NewDelhi,” he said lamenting that
they hadfailed to persuade Rahul toreconsider his decision to
quit,but hoping that Rahul willreturn to the helm of the
partysoon.
“It is a difficult time for theparty, but together, we will
getthrough it, to come outstronger and bigger, withRahul’s vision
continuing toguide us,” he added.
����� �������
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)and the Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP) on
Wednesdaylambasted the Congress-ledPunjab Government for failingto
provide its much-hypedhealth cover to the peopleafter refusing to
implement theCentrally-sponsored healthinsurance scheme,
Pradhan Mantri JanArogya Yojna (PMJAY), on thepretext of
providing an equal-ly beneficial scheme to thestate, the so-called
SarbatSehat Bima Yojna.
Union Food ProcessingIndustries Minister and SADMP from Bathinda
HarsimratKaur Badal said that PunjabHealth Minister should
apol-ogize to Punjabis for deceivingthem with fake assurances
ofimplementing the State healthinsurance scheme from July 1,2019.
“Making fake promisesand reneging on them hasbecome a trademark of
theCapt Amarinder Singh gov-ernment. They never walktheir talk.
Punjabis shouldnot trust Congress ministersanymore,” she said.
She pointed that when thecentrally-sponsored healthinsurance
scheme, PMJAY,also known as AyushmanBharat was implementedacross
India, the CongressGovernment had refused to itimplement in Punjab
con-tending that it would imple-ment a much wider health
insurance scheme of its own asit had promised insurance forall
under the universal healthscheme in its manifesto.
She said that the CongressGovernment’s coffers turn drywhen it
comes to implement-ing the welfare schemes forunderprivileged and
poor ofthe state. “It has stopped allschemes, be it Atta Dal,Shagun
or old age pensionscheme over the excuse ofshortage of funds,” she
saidadding that the CongressGovernment had refused toshare the
burden of the centralgovernment sponsoredscheme, for which it
needed toshell out Rs 65 crore only, andinstead, it chose to go
with itsown insurance scheme costingit around Rs 220 crore.
Meanwhile, BJP’s seniorleader and former MinisterManoranjan
Kalia lashed outat the Congress Governmentasking when the State
Cabinet,headed by Chief Minister Capt
Amarinder, had already decid-ed eight months ago,
that is on October 3, 2018,to adopt and implementAyushman Bharat
Scheme toprovide health insurance coverup to five to 42 lakh
familiesin the State, “what authorityhas the Finance Department
tothrow spanner in its imple-mentation. Does it mean thatFinance
Minister is showinghis superiority over the ChiefMinister?”“If it
is a question ofpaucity of funds, the FinanceDepartment should have
madeprior arrangement during theperiod of eight months beforethe
launching date,” he said.
Kalia said that sinceAyushman Bharat (UniversalHealth Insurance
Scheme) hasbeen started in 2018 byNarendra Modi Government,it is
due to the dilly-dallyingattitude of the Capt AmarinderGovernment
that the people ofPunjab stood bereft of its ben-efits.
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Shimla: The meteorologicaldepartment here issued a 'yel-low
weather warning' for heavyrainfall in Himachal Pradeshon the coming
weekend.
The Shimla Met centre hasforecast rain in plains, low andmiddle
hills of the state fromJuly 4 to 9 and has issued thewarning for
July 6 and 7.
The weather office issuescolour-coded warnings to alertpeople
ahead of severe or haz-ardous weather that has thepotential to
cause damage,widespread disruption or dan-ger to life.
Yellow, the least dangerousof all the weather warnings,indicates
the possibility ofsevere weather. Light to mod-erate rainfall was
recorded atisolated places in the state onWednesday.
Kasauli received 23 mm ofrainfall, followed by 3 mm atKufri, 2
mm at Shimla, 1 mmat Solan and 0.2 mm inSundernagar till
Wednesday,they said. Una was the hottestplace in the state on
Wednesday with the maxi-mum temperature of 42degrees Celsius,
the Met officesaid. The maximum tempera-ture in Chamba was
38.5degrees Celsius, followed by37.2 degrees Celsius in Mandi,37
degrees Celsius in Kangra,36 degrees Celsius in Bilaspur,35.6
degrees Celsius inHamirpur, 34.4 degrees Celsiusin Sundernagar,
32.2 degreesCelsius in Palampur and 30degrees Celsius in Solan,
theweatherman said.
Manali recorded a maxi-mum temperature of 29.8degrees Celsius,
while Shimlaregistered a high of 24.1degrees Celsius, Dalhousie
andKufri recorded 24.5 and 16.2degrees Celsius, respectively,they
said.
The lowest temperaturewas recorded at 10 degreesCelsius in
tribal district Lahauland Spiti's administrative cen-tre Keylong,
the weather officesaid. PNS
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Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) onWednesday urged PunjabGovernor VP
Singh Badnore torecall the pardon granted to fourcops, who abducted
and mur-dered a 22-year-old Sikh youthin a fake encounter in
1993.Besides, the party urged theGovernor to order a thoroughprobe
to expose the conspiracybehind the illegal and
illogicalrecommendation.
SAD president SukhbirBadal, who led the party dele-gation, met
the Governor alongwith the father and sister of HarjitSingh, who
was “murdered” bythe four cops. At the same time,he lashed out at
the Congress ledPunjab Government for recom-mending the pardon.
Briefingthe Governor, the SAD presidentsaid that the four cops
wereawarded life imprisonment inDecember 2014 by the CBISpecial
Judge 18 years after thePunjab and Haryana High Courtreferred the
case to the CBI forinvestigation. “It is noteworthythat the
convicts had appealedagainst the judgment of the CBISpecial Judge
which is pendingbefore the Punjab and HaryanaHigh Court...Pardon
cannot begranted in such cases where anappeal in pending,”
pointedSukhbir saying that the “ChiefMinister Capt Amarinder
Singhis totally unjustified in recom-mending the pardon and it
amounts to misleading theGovernor”.
Pointing out various facetsof the case, Sukhbir said that
thePunjab Government had notdone its constitutional duty andnot
briefed the Governor appro-priately about the case. “TheState
Government failed to takemandatory permission of theUnion Home
Ministry which isa must in all serious criminalcases investigated
by the CBI.This was also advised by theAdditional Chief Secretary,”
hesaid.
Saying that the CongressGovernment also failed to takenote of
the struggle waged by thevictim family to get justice in thecase,
Sukhbir said that the veryfact that the State moved the par-don
plea of the four cops afterthey had served only two
yearsimprisonment is indicative of itshurry to let the killer cops
off thehook.
The delegation also urgedthe Governor to order a thor-ough probe
into the mattersince gross illegalities were com-mitted in making
the recom-mendation so that the entireconspiracy could be
exposed.
Sukhbir, while talking tonewsmen along with the affect-ed
family, including the fatherMahinder Singh and sister HarjitKaur,
said that the party wouldexplore all options, includingapproaching
the judiciary, toensure justice for Harjit.
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The Modi Government onWednesday accused theOpposition of
adopting doublestandards on the issue ofEVMs, saying leaders
fromtheir parties had become ChiefMinisters and Prime
Ministersthrough the same votingprocess.
"If people of this countryelect Narendra Modi, thenEVM is
faulty. What is thislogic?" Law Minister RaviShankar Prasad asked
theopposition members, whilereplying to the debate on elec-toral
reforms in Rajya Sabha.
"This hypocracy and dou-ble standards impinge upon thepolity of
the country," Prasadadded. He also pitched for'one nation one poll'
and urgedthe Opposition to consider theproposal with an open
mind.
The minister said the gov-ernment will write to theElection
Commission to havea single voter list for assembly,panchayat and
general electionsin the country. Prasad said thatthe government has
taken var-ious measures to improve the
electoral funding system andthat it was ready to considerany
other suggestions.
Replying to a short dura-tion debate on electoralreforms, Prasad
counteredopposition charges related tomisuse of media, social
mediaand electoral bonds during therecently concluded
generalelections. "Time has come forone nation one poll. We
shouldconsider this proposal with anopen mind," he said, and
hopedthat some conclusion couldbe achieved after discussion.
On aspersions related toEVMs and demand for return-ing to ballot
papers, the min-ister said that post 1999, asmany as four general
electionsand 122 assembly electionshave been held using EVMs.He
said Manmohan Singhbecame the prime ministertwice based on
elections heldwith EVMs. Similarly, manyopposition leaders
likeAkhilesh Yadav, Mayawati andMamta Banerjee became CMsunder
EVMs.
The minister said theCongress recently won threeassembly polls
in Madhya
Pradesh, Rajasthan andChhattisgarh. He asserted nota single
complaint has beenreceived regarding vote beingcast to a particular
candidatethrough the EVM and it gettingtransferred to some other
can-didate.
On opposition charge ofcrediting itself with achieve-ments of
defence forces duringelection campaign, the minis-ter said "Why
national securi-ty should not become a plankfor election
discourse?"Regarding allegations of man-aging media and social
media,Prasad said: "Stop insultingthe voters of this country andtry
to acknowledge yourdefeat."
The minister said the gov-ernment would not allow themisuse of
data by foreign pow-ers and said legislation in thisregard has been
in the works.He also highlighted that BJP-led NDA has returned to
poweron various schemes and pro-grammes for the welfare of
thepoor.
On electoral funding,Prasad said the government hastaken many
steps in the past
three years to improve the sys-tem and the corporates havebeen
asked to give donationonly through cheques.
Earlier, participating in thedebate, Derek O'Brien (AITC)said
the time has come to formlaws for electoral reforms in thecountry
while pointing out tovarious issues like "misuse" ofdata by
political parties in theelections. Bhupender Yadav(BJP) said the
time has come tohold Parliament and assemblyelections
simultaenously andurged members of all parties toconsider it.
Senior Congress memberKapil Sibal charged that BJPincurred huge
expenditure onpublicity and misused socialmedia during the recent
gen-eral elections. Ram GopalYadav of SP demanded that "weshould go
back to ballot paper"as people do not have faith onEVMs. He sought
one voter listfor panchayat, assembly andgeneral elections.
Satish Chandra Misra ofthe BSP said his party oppos-es use of
EVMs to conduct elec-tions as they can be manipu-lated.
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Union Law Minister RaviShankar Prasad onWednesday said that
anElection Commission (EC)proposal to put a ceiling onexpenditure
incurred by polit-ical parties during polls on thelines of
candidates is underexamination of theGovernment. A candidate
canspend between �50 lakh and�70 lakh, depending on theState he/she
is contesting theLok Sabha election from. For allStates, except
ArunachalPradesh, Goa and Sikkim, acandidate can spend a maxi-mum
of �70 lakh on cam-paigning.
In a written response to LokSabha, Prasad said the poll
watchdog has proposed thatthere should be a ceiling onparty's
expenditure in all elec-tions on the lines of a cap onexpenditure
for candidates. "Theproposal is under examinationof the
Government," he said.
Based on a March 2015consultation on political financeand a Law
Commission reporton electoral reforms, theElection Commission had
inApril 2015 issued an outcome
paper which had recommend-ed that like individual candi-dates,
there should be a ceilingon expenditure made by polit-ical
parties.
The EC had told the gov-ernment that there was a 'gen-eral
agreement' among partici-pants who were part of the con-sultation
on electoral reforms.
At present, while there is aceiling on campaigning fund
forindividual candidates in elec-toral fray, there is no such capon
the money political partiescan spend for electioneering.
"The ceiling on expendituremust include the period beforethe
announcement of elections,when political parties engage
inwidespread mobilisation andelectioneering," the EC paperhad
said.
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Inclusive education (IE),wherein children with dis-abilities go
to mainstreamschools rather than specialschools, under the
Centre'sSarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA)continues to remain a
distantdream with a UNESCO reportpointing out that three-fourthsof
such kids in the age of fiveyears and one-fourth between 5and 19
years do not go to anyeducational institution.
Indicating prevalent genderdiscrimination in education,the 2019
"State of the EducationReport for India: Children withDisabilities"
report pointed outthat the number of girls withdisabilities in
schools was"fewer" than boys. The reportwhich has been prepared
byTata Institute of Social Sciences(TISS) and commissioned
byUNESCO, talks in detail aboutchallenges such as
inadequateallocations, delays in releasingfunds and
under-utilisation ofallocation.
Data from the 2011 censushave been studied, according towhich
there are 78,64,636 chil-dren with disability in Indiaconstituting
1.7 per cent of thetotal child population.
"The number of childrenenrolled in school drops signif-icantly
with each successivelevel of schooling. There arefewer girls with
disabilities inschools than boys with disabil-ities in schools.
"Significant gaps thereforeremain, even though
successiveGovernment schemes and pro-grams have brought large
num-bers of children with disabilitiesinto schools," the report
said.
It said only 61 per cent ofCWDs aged between 5 and 19were
attending an educationalinstitution compared to theoverall figure
of 71 per centwhen all children are considered.
"Around 12 per cent ofCWDs dropped out of school,which is
comparable with theoverall percentage of dropoutsamong all
children. 27 per centof CWDs never attended any
educational institution, asopposed to the overall figure of17
per cent when the entirechild population is taken intoaccount," it
added.
It said a large number ofchildren with disabilities donot go to
regular schools but areenrolled at the National Instituteof Open
Schooling (NIOS).
"The biggest group ofCWDs enrolling with NIOSover the years has
been thosewith learning disabilities. Whilethere has been a drop in
enrol-ment of students with locomo-tor and visual impairments,there
has been a rise in thosewith multiple disabilities.
"The percentage of childrenattending schools is the lowestamong
those with multiple dis-abilities, mental illnesses andmental
retardation," the reportsaid as it acknowledged thatinclusive
education is complexto implement and requires a fineunderstanding
of diverse needsof children and their familiesacross different
contexts.
"India has made consider-
able progress in terms of puttingin place a robust legal
frame-work and a range of pro-grammes and schemes thathave improved
enrolment ratesof children with disabilities inschools.
"However, further measuresare needed to ensure qualityeducation
for every child toachieve the goals and targets ofagenda 2030 and
more specifi-cally Sustainable DevelopmentGoal 4," it said.
According to the UNESCOreport, the attitude of parentsand
teachers towards includingCWDs into mainstream educa-tion is also
crucial to accomplishthe goal of inclusive educationbesides
accessibility to physicalinfrastructure, processes in theschool,
assistive and ICT tech-nology and devices being essen-tial
resources. It recommendedamending the Right ToEducation (RTE) Act
to betteralign with the Right of Personswith Disabilities (RPWD)
Actby including specific concernsof education of such children.
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The Union Cabinet onWednesday gave its approvalto the proposals
for leasing outthree major airports —Ahmedabad, Lucknow
andMangaluru — of the AirportsAuthority of India (AAI)through
public-private partner-ship (PPP) with Adani Group.Earlier this
year, the Adani grouphad won the bids to operate thethree airports
for a period of 50years. Gautam Adani led grouphad also won the
bids to oper-ate the Jaipur, Guwahati andThiruvananthapuram
airports,owned by the AAI.
The AAI had chosen thewinner on the basis of the "per-passenger
fee" offered by the bid-ders. Principal Spokesperson ofthe
Government of IndiaSitanshu Kar said on Twitter,"Cabinet approves
proposal forleasing out of three airports viz.#Ahmedabad, Lucknow
and
Mangaluru of AirportsAuthority of India throughPublic Private
Partnership.
Cabinet meeting chaired byPrime Minister Narendra Modialso
approved the long standingdemand of paramilitary officersfor
upgrading their cadre.Cabinet "approved the propos-al for Grant of
Organised Group'A' Service (OGAS) to Group 'A'Executive Cadre
Officers ofCentral Armed Police Forces(CAPFs) and extension of
ben-efit of Non-Functional FinancialUpgradation (NFFU) and
Non-Functional Selection Grade(NFSG)," said Government
instatement.
Several writ petitions werefiled in Delhi High Court byGroup 'A'
Executive CadreOfficers of CAPF for grant ofOGAS status and
consequentialbenefits of NFFU and NFSG.
The Cabinet also approveda bill that bars commercial sur-rogacy
and allows only close rel-
atives to act as surrogates toneedy infertile couples for
"altru-istic" reasons. The Surrogacy(Regulation) Bill, 2019
propos-es to regulate surrogacy in Indiaby establishing a
NationalSurrogacy Board at the centrallevel and State Surrogacy
Boardsand appropriate authorities inthe state and Union
Territories,official sources said.
"The proposed legislationwill ensure effective regulationof
surrogacy, prohibit com-mercial surrogacy and allowethical
surrogacy to the needyinfertile Indian couples. "Whilecommercial
surrogacy will beprohibited, including sale andpurchase of human
embryoand gametes, ethical surrogacyto the needy infertile
coupleswill be allowed on fulfillmentof stipulated conditions. It
willalso prohibit exploitation ofsurrogate mothers and childrenborn
through surrogacy," anofficial said.
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-
China has managed to tame the wildTibetan yaks, according to
Xinhua.“Under the touch of the petite scien-tist Yan Ping, the tall
and powerful black yak,weighing over 400 kg, is as obedient as a
lamb,”a report said. The news agency added,“Unlike other yaks, this
one has no horns.”Yan, who works for the Lanzhou Institute
ofHusbandry and Pharmaceutical Sciences,explained, “The Ashidan yak
has no hornsand has a mild temperament, easy to keep andfeed.” How
metaphorical this is.
Beijing seems to have developed someexpertise in taming humans
and nations, too.The Taiwan News reported how “Manila kow-tows to
Beijing, cedes Exclusive EconomicZone (EEZ) in South China Sea.”
The once-wild President of the Philippines, RodrigoDuterte, is said
to have ceded “ground in theSouth China Sea through an ‘informal’
and‘undocumented’ [agreement] with PresidentXi Jinping.” The
Taiwanese newspaper notedthat many citizens of the Philippines
were“already concerned over the Government’sunwillingness to
safeguard the territory of thecountry’s EEZ.” The article concluded
that thismakes the Duterte Government appear evenweaker in
protecting the nation’s maritime ter-ritory. But it is not only the
Philippines, whichhas been tamed and has accepted Beijing’s
dik-tats. India’s northern neighbour, Nepal,seems to have fallen in
the trap, too.
Newsgram, an independent media agency,recently pointed out that
it is the NepalGovernment in Kathmandu, which forceslocal
journalists to avoid critical reporting onChina, the largest
investor of the Himalayanland-locked nation. Anil Giri, the
foreignaffairs correspondent for The KathmanduPost, told Voice of
America that “journalistsare discouraged from covering Tibetan
affairsto mollify China and that Government offi-cials shy away
from commenting on China-related issues. China sponsors junkets
forNepalese journalists and that’s why probablywe don’t see a lot
of criticism about China’sgrowing investment in Nepal, Chinese
doingbusiness in Nepal and China’s growing polit-ical clout in
Nepal.”
The lamb-lamb attitude in Kathmanduwas clear in an incident that
took place recent-ly at the Tribhuvan International Airport
inKathmandu. The Himalayan Times reported:“Man labelled Dalai
Lama’s agent, deportedto the US.” Apparently, the Nepal
immigra-tion mistook a Tibetan called Penpa Tsering,holding a US
passport and arriving fromAmerica with his homonym as former
rep-resentative to the Dalai Lama in the US. Nepaliofficials argued
that the man was “on China’smost-wanted list.” In Dharamsala, the
formerTibetan representative observed: “It clearlyshows that the
Chinese Government’s pres-sure on Nepal is working.”
Nepalese Home Minister Ram BahadurThapa affirmed that the
deportation was onlyan act “of honouring the ‘One-China’ policy.”A
few weeks earlier, two members of Nepal’sParliament, Ekwal Miyan
and Pradip Yadav,
had to apologise for havingattended the Seventh
WorldParliamentarians’ Conventionon Tibet, which was held
inLatvia’s capital Riga betweenMay 7 and 10, after Beijing
pres-surised Kathmandu.
In a joint Press statement, thetwo MPs declared that
they“happened to inadvertentlyattend the conference …due towrong
information …when theywere on a private visit to Turkey,Switzerland
and Latvia.” Theyhad even given their speeches bymistake! This
shows how Chinacan today dictate terms to “small”countries like
Nepal.
At the same time, Xinhuaproudly reminded its readersthat in the
summer of 1921, “adozen of Communist Party ofChina (CPC) members
wereforced to leave a small buildingin the French concession area
ofShanghai and boarded a boat onthe Nanhu Lake in Jiaxing,Zhejiang
Province, concludingthe first National Congress of theCPC. …Since
then, the [commu-nist] party has managed to leada vulnerable
country to movecloser towards the world’s centrestage.”
The news agency asserted:“The Chinese nation has stoodup, grown
rich and is becomingstrong. …Socialism with Chinesecharacteristics
have maintainedstability and vitality in the tide ofglobal
changes.”
The Tibetans, who havebeen tamed more than 60 yearsago, are an
easy prey. A couple of
weeks ago, a Tibetan Minister inthe Central
TibetanAdministration (CTA) inDharamsala was denied visa toattend a
conference in Mongolia.Karma Gelek Yuthok, Minister ofReligion and
Culture, was toattend the Asian BuddhistConference in the
Mongoliancapital, Ulaanbaatar. The Ministercould only say that it
was “theclearest sign yet of China’s aggres-sive campaign of
underminingcore democratic freedoms acrossthe world.”
On the Roof of the World,China has now all the cards inhand to
nominate its own 15thDalai Lama. Gyaltsen Norbu,the Panchen Lama,
selectedand groomed by Beijing, hasbeen elected as the president
ofthe Tibetan branch of theBuddhist Association of China.Gyaltsen
Norbu recently visitedThailand. On his return toBeijing, he
affirmed: “We arefortunate to be in the era of thedevelopment and
the rise ofNew China and thank theCommunist Party of China
forleading the Chinese people inachieving the tremendous
trans-formation of standing up, grow-ing rich and becoming
strong.”
In other continents, too,nations have to kowtow, thoughthey are
slowly waking up to thefact that all is not rosy. The exam-ples of
Sri Lanka and theMaldives are often cited, but thereare some in
Africa too.
The Ethiopian BusinessReview recently had a cover-
story: “Africa falling into debt-trap” while The African
Exponent,an online outlet for Africannews, dared to write:
“HorrorAwaits African Leaders as ChinaWithdraws Debt Funding.”
Itexplained: “After an impressiverun of a good relationship
withChina, scooping up at least $9.8billion between 2006 and
2017,making it Africa’s third-largestrecipient of Chinese loans,
thegood ‘friendship’ between the twocountries seems to have come
toa snag.” The reporter noted thatin September, China
promisedanother $60 billion in aid andloans to the continent: “Xi
Jinpingpromised the money wouldcome with no political
stringsattached.”
But all good things have anend. When Uhuru Kenyatta, theKenyan
President, visited Chinain May, “the atmosphere thatgreeted him was
unfamiliar to theChina of old. Questions wereraised about
corruption, as wellas the figures and sums [thatKenya] had
proposed.” Kenyattadid not like it.
The Chinese even wantedto know if he planned to standfor office
again in 2022: “It waslike talking to the World Bank,”observed an
aide to the Kenyanleader. All this, as well as therecent events in
Hong Kong,show that the taming ofhumans or nations cannot betaken
for granted; nobodyremains a lamb forever.
(The writer is an expert onIndia-China relations)
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