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Smriti Irani objects use of ‘dear’ for her

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smriti irani

Patna: Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani and Bihar Education Minister Ashok Choudhary were today locked in a war of words over the latter addressing her as “dear”.

“Dear@smritiraniji, when will we get new Education policy..? when will year 2015 end in your calender..?” Choudhary wrote in his twitter account.

But, the use of the word “dear” did not go down well with the Union HRD Minister.
“Mahilaon ko ‘dear’ keh ke kab se sambodhit karne lage Ashokji?” Irani replied in her tweet message.

Choudhary answered to her objection by another message on his micro blogging site.
“Not to disrespect but educate…professional email start with “dear”. smritiraniji kabhi mudde pe jawab dijiye, don’t circle around it,” Chowdhary replied.

“@AshokChoudhaary all my communications to you or any other person start with ‘adarniya’, but since you are now communicating allow me 1/3,” Irani said in another tweet.

On the Bihar Education minister’s query about the new education policy she replied “@AshokChoudhaary have not received state views on education policy neither did you in your 1 on 1 meeting with me give any suggestions 3/3.”

The war of words with the Bihar Education Minister came on a day when she was on a visit to Bhagalpur in connection with “Vikash Parv” observed by NDA on completion of two years in the office. Ashok Choudhary is also the state president of Congress.

(PTI)

Begged for help but Smriti did not stop, allege kin of Expressway accident victim

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smriti irani

New Delhi: Despite Smriti Irani’s claims that she had helped the victims of a pile-up at Yamuna Expressway last week, the daughter of a doctor killed in the accident today contradicted the Union minister’s version of the story.

“Smriti Irani’s convoy rammed into our car. She came out. I begged her for help but she left,” Dr Ramesh Nagar’s daughter Sandili said.

Sandili’s brother, Abhishek, also backed that allegation. “My sister literally pleaded with folded hands to Smriti Irani for help, but she did not stop,” he said.

The statements by the two survivors of the tragedy contradict Irani’s claims made through a series of tweets of helping the victims. “Tried to help the injured who were lying on the road for quiet sometime and ensured they reach a hospital. Pray for their safety,” she had tweeted late on Saturday night.

“There was a pile up of vehicles due to an accident on the expressway. Unfortunately the police vehicle before mine & my car also crashed,” she narrated the incident, assuring her well-wishers that she was unhurt.

“For all enquiring re my accident- I’m fine. Thank you for the concern and wishes,” she said.

Irani, along with other Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, was returning to New Delhi from a meeting of the party’s youth wing in Uttar Pradesh’s Vrindavan town near Mathura.

(Agencies)

Smriti Irani resorted to ‘blatant lies’ in Parliament, says Rohith Vemula’s mom

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Radhika Vemula

New Delhi: Dalit student Rohith Vemula’s mother on Friday launched a scathing attack on HRD minister Smriti Irani, accusing her of resorting to “blatant lies” while talking in Parliament about her son’s suicide and that “life imprisonment” will not be enough for her and others “responsible” for his death.

Radhika Vemula, flanked by her other son Raja, said BJP will be “decimated to the ground” if Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not take any action against Irani and her ministerial colleague Bandaru Dattatreya who had written multiple letters to her seeking action against Rohith, alleging anti-national activities.

“Irani, this is not a small screen to act, this is real life. Bring out the facts, don’t fabricate them. How many parents you would like to suffer. Irani has lied multiple times while speaking on the issue in Parliament. Why has action not been taken against her?” she said in a news conference.

Speaking in Parliament, Irani had on Wednesday tried to deflect criticism and mounted a strident attack on the opposition accusing it of “politicizing” the PhD scholar’s death.

She had said that the committee which acted against Rohith had a dalit representative and that doctors were not allowed to revive him after he was found hanging.

Rohith’s brother Raja dubbed Irani’s comments as “blatant lies”, saying he reached the campus by 8.30pm and saw police and doctors where his body was kept.

“Even life imprisonment will not be enough for the ministers, vice-chancellor and the ABVP activists who were responsible for my son’s death. BJP will be decimated to the ground if Modi does not address the issues. We demand formation of an SIT to probe the case,” Radhika said.

Rohith’s friend Prashant, who was also expelled by the Hyderabad University, cited minutes of the executive council meeting of Hyderabad University, claiming that action was taken against them “in response” to communication from the HRD ministry to not allow the students to continue academic activities.

26-year-old Rohith was found hanging at a hostel room in the university on January 17, days after punitive action was taken against him and four other students for allegedly attacking an ABVP functionary.

Students and Rohith’s family have been alleging that Irani and Dattatreya had forced the university to take action against him and others.

The duty doctor at the University of Hyderabad on Thursday contradicted Irani’s claim that no doctor was allowed near the body to revive him.

Prashant said Irani must be punished for misleading the nation and giving a false statement in Parliament which is “an offence” under the Constitution.

(Agencies)

Rohith Vemula death case: Doctor exposes Smriti Irani’s lie

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rohith-vemula

Hyderabad: The duty doctor at the University of Hyderabad health centre today appeared to contradict the claim of HRD Minister Smriti Irani that no doctor was allowed near the body of research scholar Rohith Vemula on the day he had died either to revive him or remove him to hospital.

Dr M Rajshree, the doctor on duty that fateful day when Rohith had allegedly committed suicide on Jan 17, said today she was the one who examined the body and had declared him dead.

She said the body of Rohit was lying on a cot and police had reached 15 minutes after she had gone to the hostel room on the day he had died after she got information at around 7.20 PM that one of the students had attempted suicide.

During a debate in the Lok Sabha yesterday on the controversies surrounding the Hyderabad University and the JNU, Irani had said nobody allowed a doctor near Rohith either to revive him or take him to the hospital.

“Nobody allowed a doctor near him. The police has reported that no one attempt was made to revive this child, not one attempt was made to take him to a doctor. Instead what was done was that his body was used as a political tool, hidden. No police was allowed till 6.30, the next morning. It is not me the Telangana police is saying this,” she had said.

Narrating the sequence of events today, Dr Jajshree said she rushed to NRS Hostel after she got information at around 7.20 pm on January 17 that one of the students attempted suicide in one of the rooms.

“The body was rigid and cold. I did the examination of the body. I found the body on a cot. The body with protruding tongue was rigid and cold. I checked for BP, for heartbeat. Then I came to the conclusion that he was dead. His body was cold. “It took 10 to 15 minutes. Then I declared him dead and informed the security officer. I saw police personnel 10 or 15 minutes after I reached the spot ” Rajshree told PTI.

She also said she was not prevented from examining the body by anyone.
Rohit Vemula’s suicide triggered a massive outrage and opposition parties launched a scathing attack on the Central Government and demanded action against Union Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya, whose letters to Irani, were blamed for Rohith’s suicide, and Irani herself. The HRD Ministry appointed a judicial commission to look into the issue.

“The police started Panchanama. They checked the laptop and phone and collected suicide note. Rigor mortis of a body starts only after two hours. That is the minimum time for a body to stiffen. That’s what I told the police that it the death occurred before two hours,” she said.

When contacted, Dr Ravindra Kumar, Chief Medical Officer, said the duty doctor submitted a report in which he was declared dead.

(Agencies)

Opposition seek Smriti Irani’s apology on ‘objectionable’ comments in RS

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smriti irani

New Delhi: Opposition parties today sought an apology from HRD minister Smriti Irani for reading out in Rajya Sabha “objectionable” comments made outside against a god, as she defended herself saying she was asked for proof of her statements against JNU students.

BJP members also hit back at the Congress saying the opposition party was raising the issue due to the criticism of its Vice President Rahul Gandhi over his visit to JNU.

As the House met for the day, Deputy Leader of Congress in Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma raised a point of order saying the Constitution and rules do not permit anything to be raised in the House which is blasphemous and can hurt religious sentiments.

Irani, he said, had read out “insulting” comments made against Goddess Durga “verbatim” in the House hurting sentiments and sought a ruling from the Chair as to whether such comments made outside Parliament against any religious figure or a deity can be read out inside the House.

Members of other opposition parties also agreed with K C Tyagi of JD(U) demanding that Irani should unconditionally apologise for the comments read out by her.

Irani, however, remained unfazed by the criticism and asserted that she herself was a “practising hindu and a Durga worshipper”.

The HRD minister also insisted that she had read out the comments from authenticated documents from JNU as she was repeatedly being asked to explain what was the evidence against students accused of anti-national acts, which some parties were giving respectability to.

Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad then said it is a “very serious issue” and the “minister should apologise for what she said yesterday.”

Azad said there were campaigns against many religious figures but all this cannot be raised in the House.

Coming to his colleague’s defence, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi attacked Congress and other opposition parties saying it had become a pattern for them to seek a Short Duration Discussion, a couple of Calling Attention Motions and an apology in every session while showing no interest in legislative business.

He also said that Congress was raising the issue as its Vice President was criticised for supporting those indulging in activities against the nation.

As the two sides indulged in heated exchanges, Deputy Chairman P J Kurien said there has been a tradition that nothing blasphemous or anything against any community will be raised in the House. He assured members that he would go through the records and expunge anything blasphemous.

(Agencies)

Smriti Irani’s five letters to Hyderabad Varsity in spotlight

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smriti irani

Hyderabad: Following the death of Hyderabad Central University Research Scholar Rohith Vemula, six letters are in the spotlight, five of which have been written by Minister for Education Smriti Irani, asking answer from the University as to what action has been taken in connection to complaint by Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya.

The letters were written in September, October and November.

On Sunday, Rohith was found hanging in the hostel from where he was banned two weeks ago. He and four other students were accused of attacking an activist of the BJP’s student wing Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in August.

Though the university initially said that there was no evidence of the attack, four months later it suspended the five students and ordered them to stay away from the hostel and the cafeteria.

It is said that BJP Parliamentarian from Secunderabad Bandaru Dattatreya had written a letter to Education Minister Smriti Irani alleging that the university had become a “den of casteist, extremist and anti-national politics”. He had also complained that the university had not acted against the attackers of the ABVP activist, Nandanam Susheel Kumar.

“Comments on VIP reference of Bandaru Dattatreya, MoS for Labour and Employment,” said the email dated 3 September.

Four more letters were sent to the university on September 24, on October 6 and 20, and on November 19.

The letters, almost identical in content, cited Mr Dattatreya’s letter and said “comments/facts had not been received so far”, indicating that the university had not responded to calls for action against the students.

Smriti Irani’s ministry then wrote an email and four letters to the university, attaching Mr Dattatreya’s complaint and asking what action had been taken.

It was on December 21 that the university reversed its earlier decision and took action against the students.

Smriti Irani has denied any interference. “All are familiar that administrative control is with the university and not with the government,” the minister said.

(Agencies)

Delhi Court seeks education records of Smriti Irani

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smriti irani

New Delhi: A Delhi court has summoned — from Delhi University and the Election Commission — the records of education qualifications of Union Minister for Human Resources Development Smriti Irani.

Metropolitan Magistrate Akash Jain sought them on Friday during the hearing of a complaint from freelance writer Ahmer Khan that Ms. Irani had given different educational qualifications in three affidavits filed before the Election Commission (EC) while filing her nominations for the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha polls.

Allowing his plea, Mr Jain said: “Keeping in view the grounds mentioned in the application, the plea to direct the officials of the Election Commission and Delhi University to bring the records (of educational qualifications) is allowed.’’

The complainant alleged that in the nomination papers for the 2004 Lok Sabha election, Ms. Irani said she had completed B.A. in 1996 from Delhi University (correspondence course) but in the nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha election in 2011, she said her highest qualification was B.Com Part-1 from the School of Open Learning from the same university.

Again in the 2014 Lok Sabha election which the Minister contested from Amethi, she claimed in her affidavit that she had completed B.Com Part-I from the School of Open Learning from Delhi University, the complainant alleged.

The matter will now come up for pre-summoning evidence on March 16, 2016.

(Agencies)

Siddaramaiah requests union govt to reconsider decision on IIT in Dharwad

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siddaramaiah

Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has requested HRD Minister Smriti Irani to reconsider setting up of the IIT at Raichur instead of the proposed Dharwad as the venue.

Earlier this month the Centre had given its decision of setting up the first IIT of Karnataka in Dharwad. The decision made the district of Dharwad happy and politicians from Hubballi-Dharwad were given the credit for bringing the IIT, however, on the other hand people in Raichur were disappointed and protested against the government’s decision of choosing Dharwad over Raichur.

CM Siddaramaiah was attacked by several organisations in Raichur for not giving them the privilege of hosting an IIT.

However, BJP leaders Pralhad Joshi, Jagadish Shettar and HN Ananth Kumar, all from Hubballi-Dharwad credited themselves of getting the IIT sanctioned to the district.

In his letter to the HRD ministry, Siddaramaiah has stated that the state government had shortlisted Raichur, Mysuru and Dharwad for the IIT. He said that he felt that as it was decided recently that Dharwad would host an International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), the proposed IIT had to be set up in Raichur.

He further stated that Raichur was the district headquarters located in the Hyderabad-Karnataka backward region and enjoyed a special status under Article 371-J of the Indian Constitution, hence it would be an ideal spot for the IIT, which would also help in balanced regional development.

He concluded saying that the state would extend all necessary assistance and cooperation in establishing the IIT at Raichur.

(Agencies)

Spelling mistakes spotted in Smriti Irani’s letter, inquiry ordered

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smriti-irani

New Delhi: After a teacher highlighted the spelling mistakes in the Education Minister’s letter, Smriti Irani has become a butt of jokes on social media platforms.

In the letter, which was sent to schoolteachers applauding them for the performance of their students, the words ‘Minister’ and ‘Sansadhan’ were spelt incorrectly.

Richa Kumar of Delhi Public School spotted the error and posted it on her Facebook page along with a note.

The post read as follows:

“Thank you for congratulating me on the excellence I exemplify. However, having been a teacher for the last twenty years, your official letter head is an affront to my sensibilities as a Language teacher. The attached photographs are self explanatory. Please ensure that at least the people who work for you, in your ministry, are well educated.”

On learning about it, Education Minister Smriti Irani has ordered an inquiry into the matter.

Clarifying that the mistake was not made by her, Irani posted on Twitter, “I would not misspell my own name in Hindi.”

(Agencies)

No-detention till class 8, reviving tenth boards under review

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smriti irani

New Delhi: A crucial day-long meeting of the highest advisory body on education began here today to consider reviewing the no-detention policy up to class 8 and reintroduction of class 10 board examination.

The meeting is being chaired by HRD Minister Smriti Irani, where the Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi suggested supplying of sanitary napkins in schools to reduce dropout rates among girls.

The suggestion was supported by several states and a commitment was given by the government at the meeting to implement it soon.

The meeting would also consider a proposal for extension of the Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act up to class 10 in the secondary level and to nursery in the pre-school stage.

This is the first meeting of the newly reconstituted Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) under the NDA government.

On the agenda would be discussions on the proposed new national education policy where the states’ participation is crucial.

State Education Ministers and secretaries along with academicians and nominated members of CABE are attending the meeting.

At the inaugural discussion, Irani laid emphasis on states’ participation in the framing the education policy while Health Minister J P Nadda underscored the need for inclusion of courses on health studies in the curriculum along with emphasis on pictorial content in study materials.

He also supported the suggestion of a few members for issuing health cards to students in schools.

The focus of the day-long meeting would, however, be on a report of a CABE sub-committee which had suggested review of the no-detention policy up to class 8.

The committee suggested to end the policy in a phased manner and reintroduce class promotion from class 5 onwards.

“We need to stop, re-assess and then move forward. At this stage, it would be prudent to reiterate the need for assessment of the learning outcomes and make it consequential by linking it to promotion or otherwise to the next class beyond grade 5,” the committee had said in its report.

A few states have already repealed the policy, which had come into effect with the implementation of RTE by bringing in necessary amendments to the state rules.

The RTE Act, which makes education a fundamental right of every child between the age of 6 and 14, came into effect on April 1, 2010. It requires all private schools, except for minority institutions, to reserve 25 per cent of seats for underprivileged children.

(PTI)

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