Archives for 2021

PANAJI: Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, who has drawn criticism over his remark about to the gang-rape of two girls, on Friday said his statement was taken out of context, and added that the safety of minors has to be a “shared responsibility”.

Four men, one of them a driver with the agriculture department, allegedly posed as policemen and raped two girls after beating up the boys who were with them on Benaulim beach on Sunday.

All the accused have been arrested.

On Wednesday, Sawant had said in the state Assembly that parents need to introspect

The chief minister, who also holds the home portfolio, had said parents have a responsibility to ensure the safety of their children and hinted that they should not let their children, particularly minors, out at night.

But his remarks drew angry reactions.

In a statement issued here on Friday, Sawant said, “My statement about the unfortunate incident was taken out of context.”

“Both – as the head of a responsible government and as a father of a 14 year old daughter, I was deeply pained and disturbed. The pain of this incident is inexplicable,” he added.

The chief Minister said that at no point he had tried to deny the right to security provided by the law.

“Goa police has been a truly professional force especially when it comes to security of women and children. They have already acted swiftly and arrested the accused, and let me assure you that I shall ensure that the culprits get the most stringent punishment under the law,” he added.

The safety of our citizens is always my government’s top priority, he said.

“Safety of children especially the minor ones has to be a shared responsibility. Our right to security has to be strengthened further with more cautiousness. Children, especially minors, need guidance of their elders,” he said.

The chief minister said that there is a curfew imposed in the state, and people are restricted at public places.

“So, when I spoke about a shared responsibility for minor children, it was out of concern, care and love for my fellow citizens and our children,” he added.

“We all love our kids. Being the chief minister, my feeling of concern is extended to all the children of Goa,” Sawant said.

He added that both as an individual and as the chief minister, he can never ever directly, indirectly or remotely hurt the sentiments of the fellow citizens of Goa.

“I put this on record today,” he said.

Sawant reiterated that there would be no compromise in matters concerning the safety and security of children.

“Let there be no place for misunderstanding. Let us stand united. Let us trust each other. Let us stand united as one Goa so that all such evils can be defeated with all our might,” he said.

MUMBAI: Mumbai Police on Thursday told the Bombay High Court that businessman Raj Kundra was arrested in an alleged case of production and streaming of pornographic films as he was not cooperating with the investigation.

In an affidavit filed in response to Kundra’s petition challenging the arrest, the police also argued that section 67(A) of the Information Technology Act, which is about “publishing/creating pornographic content”, was rightly invoked in the case.

Kundra was arrested by the Mumbai crime branch on July 19, and is presently in judicial custody.

His bail application was rejected by a lower court on Wednesday.

In his petition, he claimed that the material which he allegedly disseminated through apps was not pornographic, and at the most it could be described as “lascivious”.

Kundra (45), who is married to actor Shilpa Shetty, also alleged that the police had not issued any notice under section 41A of the Code of Criminal Procedure before arrest, which is mandatory.

As per section 41A, the police may, in cases where arrest is not warranted, issue summons to the accused and record his or her statement.

The police said in their reply that a notice was issued prior to the arrest, but Kundra refused to accept it.

“The fact that the petitioner refused to accept the notice implies that the petitioner refused to cooperate with the investigation,” said the affidavit filed by inspector Kiran Bidve.

During the hearing before Justice A S Gadkari on Thursday, Kundra’s lawyer Aabad Ponda argued that when such a notice is issued, a period of two weeks is given to the person to appear for questioning.

“Kundra was not even given two days or two hours. His office premises were searched by the police on the afternoon of July 19. This went on for about three to four hours during which Kundra was present and cooperating. Later in the evening he was asked to accompany the police to the police station where he was arrested,” Ponda said.

The police in their affidavit, however, alleged that when the search was underway, Kundra and his “IT technician” Ryan Thorpe started deleting messages from a WhatsApp group, thus destroying evidence.

To prevent them from further tampering with evidence, Kundra was taken to police station and arrested, the police claimed.

Justice Gadkari will continue the hearing on July 31.

RAIPUR: The Chhattisgarh government will launch a scheme under which landless families will be provided a financial assistance of Rs 6,000 per year, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel announced on Wednesday.

After the discussion, the supplementary budget of Rs 2,485.59 crore was passed. “Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Bhoomihin Krishi Majdoor Nyay Yojna will be launched, under which the families which do not possess agriculture land and are dependent on agri labour or MGNREGA work (for livelihood) in rural areas will be given assistance of Rs 6,000 per year,” Baghel said.

Other sections of rural population such as barbers, dhobis (washermen), blacksmiths, priests will also be covered under the scheme, he added.

The scheme will be implemented from the ongoing financial year with a provision of Rs 200 crore made in the supplementary budget, he said.

The Centre had consented to buying 60 lakh metric tons of rice from the state but took only 24 lakh MT, and the state government had to auction the remaining stock at a loss, Baghel claimed.

“Despite this, we have been supporting farmers in every situation, even by taking loans,” he said.

Lack of certain facilities posed a challenge during the first and second wave of COVID-19 but now the government has been making efforts to ensure availability of better medical facilities across the state, he said, adding that for this a provision of Rs 957 crore has been made for the Health department.

During the second wave, the state government not only did a good job of managing the situation but also supplied medical oxygen to other states, he noted.

A provision of Rs 39 crore has been made for the acquisition of private-run Chandulal Chandrakar Memorial Medical College in Durg district, he said.

Earlier in the day, the state government tabled the Chhattisgarh Chandulal Chandrakar Memorial Medical College, Durg (Acquisition) Bill, 2021, in the assembly. Discussion on the bill is yet to take place.

Provision has been also made for the construction of a special jail with the capacity to house 1,500 prisoners at a cost of Rs 126 crore at Nagoi village in Bilaspur district, the CM informed.

NEW DELHI: India has so far received 26 Rafale aircraft out of the 36 it has ordered from Dassault Aviation, Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt said Wednesday.

The multi-role Rafale jets, built by French aerospace major Dassault Aviation, are known for air superiority and precision strikes.

The first batch of five Rafale jets arrived in India on July 29, 2020, nearly four years after India signed an inter-governmental agreement with France to procure 36 aircraft at a cost of Rs 59,000 crore.

The Rafale jets are India’s first major acquisition of fighter planes in 23 years after the Sukhoi jets were imported from Russia.

The Rafale jet is capable of carrying a range of potent weapons.

European missile maker MBDA’s Meteor beyond visual range air-to-air missile and Scalp cruise missile will be the mainstay of the weapons package of the Rafale jets.

NEW DELHI:  West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is in the capital to stitch an Opposition alliance ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, asserted on Wednesday that these parties must unite. Saying that regional parties will lead the nation, she added when Narendra Modi fights elections next time, it will be against the country.

During her five-day visit, Mamata has meetings lined up with many Opposition leaders. “I don’t want to be the face (of the Opposition). I want to continue as a worker and we need to work together.”

Speaking about her equations with major Opposition leaders, she said, “I have good relationships with Jagan (Mohan Reddy), Naveen babu (Patnaik), Chandrababu (Naidu), (MK) Stalin, Uddhav (Thackeray), Hemant Soren.” She added that she also had a chat with Lalu Yadav on Tuesday. “If there is a political storm, you won’t be able to stop it,” Mamata said. “Regional parties will lead the nation, we will not bow down before anyone anymore. The time has come.”

Without disclosing details of her meeting with the PM, Mamata said the Pegasus snooping matter is serious. “Why is the Union government not taking action on the Pegasus project? The situation is very serious. There should be also an all party meet to discuss a formula for investigating,” she added.

Mamata met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi at the latter’s residence and discussed the political situation, Opposition unity and Pegasus. Rahul Gandhi was present during the meeting. Terming it as a positive interaction, Mamata said, “Opposition unity was discussed. Everyone should come together to take on the BJP. A positive result should come out of this meeting in the near future.” This was the first meeting between Mamata and Sonia after TMC’s win in Bengal, where the parties contested as rivals. 

NEW DELHI : In a major revision of the Covid-19 vaccination policy, the Centre is contemplating lowering the 25% vaccine quota earmarked for private hospitals, sources told The New Indian Express.
The move comes in the wake of several states, including Tamil Nadu and Odisha, asking the Centre to cut the private sector’s quota to 10%, arguing its participation in the inoculation drive has been poor.
Under the existing policy, vaccines are split between government and private hospitals in a 75-25 % ratio. While beneficiaries are entitled to free vaccinations in government facilities, they have to pay pre-fixed charges at private centres.

However, the pace of vaccination in private hospitals in most states, has been very slow. Since May, when Covid-19 vaccination opened for all adults, only 7 percent of the jabs administered had been in private hospitals.“We feel there are not many takers for Covid vaccines in private hospitals, especially in 
tier-2 and tier-3 cities,” a senior health ministry official said, adding that people seem to prefer to 
take free shots in government hospitals rather than pay high price in private hospitals. “Therefore, 
we are re-examining the vaccine procurement and distribution policy,” the official added.

Girdhar Gyani, director-general, the Association of Private Healthcare Providers of India, listed three reasons for low uptake in private hospitals. He said vaccine availability is low in smaller hospitals due to a condition set by Covishield maker Serum Institute to pre-book at least 3,000 doses in one go. Vaccine hesitancy in 25-30 percent population and a lack of coordination on part of several states in vaccine procurement for hospitals are the other reasons, he added.