(Photo: PTI/File)

Chennai: Seeking to clear the air on the health of late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa when she was rushed to the Apollo Hospitals here on September 22 last year, the British doctor who treated her asserted that she was conscious while being brought in an ambulance from her home.

The late Chief Minister was on and off ventilator and often also interacted after being admitted for fever and dehydration, Richard Beale told a news conference here. Beale was flanked by P Balaji of Madras Medical College and K Babu of Apollo Hospitals, who had signed in election forms on which her thumb impression was taken.

This was for nominating AIADMK candidates for elections to two seats and bypoll to one segment last year. Beale clarified that it was possible for sepsis, the body’s response to infection, to spread fast and damage other organs though Jayalalithaa showed signs of recovery during her 75-day stay at the Apollo Hospitals here.

On the day she was admitted “she became short of breath at home and very short of breath when the ambulance brought her to the hospital…there was an infection resulting in damage to organs and contributing to shortness of breath”.

He said at that time “it was not clear” what the source of infection was “but subsequent tests showed there was indeed infection in her blood”. “So bacteria were going from the blood and that was where the infection was identified and resulted in her general poor condition,” he said. It was known that Jayalalithaa was suffering from diabetes and high blood pressure, he said.

(PTI)

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao today accepted the resignation of Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, clearing the decks for V K Sasikla to take over the top post.

Panneerselvam had resigned yesterday citing “personal reasons”. His resignation came after AIADMK chief Sasikala was elected the Legislature Party Leader.

“I hereby accept your resignation and the resignation of your Council of Ministers tendered vide your letter dated February 5, 2017,” Rao told Panneerselvam.

In a letter addressed to the Chief Minister and released by the Raj Bhavan, Rao also asked Panneerselvam and his Cabinet to function “until alternate arrangements are made”.

In his resignation letter addressed to the Governor yesterday, he had said, “Due to my personal reasons, I’m tendering my resignation from the post of Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.”

“Kindly accept my resignation and relieve the Council of Ministers of Tamil Nadu appointed by me on December 6, 2016,” he said.

Panneerselvam was appointed Chief Minister on the night of December 5 within hours of the death of his predecessor J Jayalalithaa.

Incidentally, he had proposed the name of Sasikala for the top post at the AIADMK MLAs meeting held in the party headquarters here yesterday.

(PTI)

New Delhi: A senior opposition member in Rajya Sabha today sought a probe into the manner in which the death of former Union Minister E Ahamed was “handled”, alleging he had died soon after being rushed to the hospital but his demise was announced much later.

Raising the issue during the Zero Hour, Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M) said there were varied allegations and various information that “I have got that some doctors say he was declared dead when he was taken to the hospital”.

Some say Ahamed died subsequently in the ICU, Yechury said, adding that later the IUML leader was shifted to the trauma centre as there were better facilities there.

“I want a proper and thorough investigation in the manner in which the death of one of our senior colleagues of Parliament and a former Cabinet Minister E Ahamed was handled and the way in which the news of his death was sought to be suppressed,” he said.

The 78-year old Indian Union Muslim League leader died at RML hospital where he was admitted on January 31 and put on artificial life support.

“There has been interference, that’s what I hear, from the highest authorities in the country, from the PMO, and this is something which cannot be accepted.

“This is shameful…I want this issue to be thoroughly investigated. I wish my information is not correct, what I heard. But if it is correct, then they must be made acountable and action must be taken against those who have behaved in this manner,” Yechury said.

He further said that other senior leaders were not allowed to see Ahamed in the hosptial and even his own children were not allowed to see him initially.

The CPI(M) leader also argued that a person cannot be put on life support without the permission of the nearest relative and wanted to know “how and why was the announcement of his death delayed”.

In the Lok Sabha when some Opposition members, particularly those from Kerala, raised the matter around 1300 hours, there was a heated exchange between TMC MP Saugata Roy and some BJP members, forcing Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to adjourn the House for the day.

(Agencies)

Batala: Punjab Congress today expelled Inder Sekhri, who is contesting assembly polls against party’s official candidate, and his five supporters from primary membership for their alleged anti-party activities.

In a letter, PPCC president Amarinder Singh said Inder Sekhri, who is contesting election from Batala assembly constituency against party’s nominated candidate Ashwani Sekhri, and his five supporters were expelled permanently from primary membership.

Inder Sekhri is brother of Ashwani Sekhri.

The other leaders expelled were Manjit Singh Hanspal, vice president of party’s OBC cell Punjab, Ramesh Verma, district vice president, Amrik Singh Mika, district chairman of Congress sewa dal, Jatinder Mana advocate, district president of legal cell and Chander Mohan Vij.

Meanwhile, when contacted Inder Sekhri said he had brought a number of “anti-party activities” of Ashwani into the notice of PPCC and AICC but no action was taken against him.

(Agencies)

Dewas: Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur was Wednesday acquitted along with seven others by a local court in the murder case of RSS parcharak Sunil Joshi for lack of evidence.

First Additional District and Sessions Judge Rajiv M Apte acquitted Pragya, Harsh Solanki, Vasudev Parmar, Ramcharan Patel, Anandraj Kataria, Lokesh Sharma, Rajendra Choudhary and Jitendra Sharma, saying there was not enough evidence against the accused to nail them in the murder.

Joshi was shot dead here on December 29, 2007.

Initially, the probe had hit a dead-end, but later arrest of a person in Rajasthan led the district police to name Pragya and others as accused in the case.

The trial from the district court was shifted to the Special NIA Court in Bhopal a few years ago. However, the matter was shifted back to the district court on the ground it was a murder case and doesn’t come under the ambit of NIA, which is an anti-terror agency.

Joshi was once a close aide of Pragya, but they fell out later.

Pragya is in judicial custody in connection with terror cases. She was not present in the court here when the verdict was announced.

Hearing the not guilty verdict, Anandraj and Vasudev, who were present in the court along with relatives and supporters, broke down.

(PTI)

New Delhi: In order to cleanse the political funding system and check black money, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today proposed to restrict cash donations to political parties from individuals to Rs 2,000 and introduced an ‘electoral bonds’ scheme.

The electoral bonds, which will be issued by notified banks, can be redeemed by recognised political parties within a prescribed time limit. “In accordance with the suggestion made by the Election Commission, the maximum amount of cash donation that a political party can receive will be Rs 2,000 from one person. Political parties will be entitled to receive donations by cheque or digital mode from their donors,” Jaitley said in his Union Budget for 2017-18.

Besides, the Budget proposed an amendment to the Reserve Bank of India Act to enable the issuance of electoral bonds in accordance with a scheme that the government would frame in this regard. “Under the scheme, a donor could purchase bonds from authorised banks against cheque and digital payments only. They shall be redeemable only in the designated account of a registered political party. These bonds will be redeemable within the prescribed time limit from issuance of bond,” Jaitley said.

Also, political parties have to file returns. Political parties would know who has given the money and they will disclose in returns how much bonds they have got.

“Bonds will be bought through cheque and bonds will be encashed with banks. It will be clean money and … transparent, as the buyer is known,” Jaitley said.

Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas Partner Amit Singhania said the Budget proposes to provide that the income of political parties will be exempt only if no donation more than Rs 2000 is received in cash and the political party files an income tax return.

“This is a welcome step in ensuring transparency in political party funding as it curbs not only the cash donation but also mandates compulsory filing of tax returns,” Singhania said.

(PTI)