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Delhi HC seeks response to plea against illegal labs

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The Delhi High Court on Thursday asked the AAP government to respond to a plea for action against illegal pathology labs and diagnostic centres here.

A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V. Kameswar Rao listed the matter for September 17.

Bijon Kumar Misra, who filed the public interest litigation, pleaded for appropriate steps by the government to ensure that the labs and diagnostic centres maintained quality as the patients’ line of treatment depended solely on their reports.

The petitioner sought the urgent implementation of the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act of 2010 in the National Capital Territory of Delhi.

The petitioner claimed that only 10 per cent of the labs and diagnostic centres operating in Delhi were accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories, an autonomous body of the Quality Council of India.

(IANS)

Bharat Bandh over SC/ST Act effective in UP, MP

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Many places in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh on Thursday were affected by the Bharat Bandh called to protest against the changes made in the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Not just rail and road traffic, markets and schools were closed. Even rural hinterland and smaller towns joined the protest called by upper caste communities, including the Akhil Bhartiya Vaishya Samaj and dozens of other groups.

The agitators blocked trains and put up road blocks on national and state highways. Schools declared a holiday to ensure the safety of students.

In Mathura and Vrindavan, the bandh was total as protesters took out marches and blocked main roads. In Firozabad, even Muslim shopkeepers joined the shutdown.

A protestor said: “Our anger is directed towards the recent changes in the Act which empowers the police to arrest anyone without investigations. We are not opposed to persons belonging to the SC/ST.”

The bandh has placed political parties in a dilemma. Officially the Congress, Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party have remained neutral, but their members are openly supporting the shutdown.

The massive turnout for a series of marches, to protest the amendment to the Act, in many districts and tehsils over the last few days have sent panic signals to the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party.

Organisations representing the ‘so-called’ upper castes supported by several fronts of OBCs, have openly challenged the BJP leadership and demanded immediate withdrawal of the amendment or face the music during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Sumant Gupta, national chief of the Vaishya Ekta Parishad, an umbrella front of various trading communities, said the protesters would march to Delhi on October 2, to demand scrapping of the amendment.

Clashes and violence have been reported from various parts of Uttar Pradesh. There was a scuffle in the Agra market where supporters of the SC/ST Act protested against efforts to shut down shops.

Police chased the mob and used tear gas shells to quell the warring groups as they pelted stones at each other and vandalised property.

Protestors stopped the Agra-Etawah passenger train by squatting on the rail tracks in Pinahat. They threw stones on the vehicle of a sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) on the Yamuna Expressway.

Prohibitory orders have been issued in many districts of the state.

Major protests have been reported from Varanasi, the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The agitators set ablaze some kiosks and stalled traffic at the Hyderabad Gate of the Banaras Hindu University (BHU).

Two trains were stopped in Mainpuri district. Protests were also reported from Dibiyapur in Aurraiya, Aligarh, Hathras, Etah, Kasganj.

Lawyers have also extended their support to the Bharat Bandh. There was, however, not much disturbances in Lucknow and Kanpur.

In the Madhya Pradesh capital, petrol pumps were closed as security was heightened in 35 areas there, police said.

The administration imposed Section 144 of the CrPC (Code of Criminal Procedure) in Chhatarpur, Shivpuri, Bhind, Ashoknagar, Guna, Gwalior and Katni, the police said.

There were huge protests in Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s home district Sehore. In Vidisha, people wore black T-shirts saying “Hum hai Mai ka Lal” in response to Chouhan who had said no one can end reservation.

Indore, Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior and Sagar, too witnessed huge protests.

Organisations that have joined the protest include Akhil Bhartiya Kshtriya Mahasabha, Rashtriya Brahmin Mahasabha, Garib Sena, Karn Rajpoot Samaj, Rajputana Youth Brigade, Anarakshit Samaj Party, and dozens of other groups.

Government has no space in bedrooms

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Congress Lok Sabha member Shashi Tharoor on Thursday described the Supreme Court decision decriminalising homosexuality as a “dawn of freedom” as the “government has no space in bedrooms”.

Reacting to the apex court ruling in favour of the LGBTIQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transsexual, intersex and queer/questioning) community in India, Tharoor said he was very pleased with the historic judgement.

“We allowed the government to interfere in our private lives but the apex court has stood up to uphold dignity of the people. This is not sex, this is freedom as government has no space in bedrooms as this is a private act between consenting adults. This is a dawn of freedom,” said Tharoor.

He went on to add that when he tried to move a private members bill in the Lok Sabha on two occasions, he was shouted down by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members.

“I then said it’s only the judiciary that can do anything and through this judgement, it shames those BJP members who opposed this,” said Tharoor.

R. Renju, an LGBTIQ activist, expressed happiness and applauded the apex court for this huge game-changing verdict.

“I always felt proud to be an Indian, and now as we become the 27th country which legalises homosexuality I feel even more proud to be an Indian.

“If anyone who has followed the LGBTIQ community, this judgement has been made after studying the community’s needs in detail. If I love or like someone, it comes from the heart.

“Now I am extremely proud to be an LGBTIQ activist. It’s at this time that I remember how much my predecessors have suffered, especially at the hands of the police,” said Renju.

Former Communist Party of India-Marxist backed legislator and Lok Sabha member Sebastian Paul said with the country progressing so much in 157 years, a lot had changed between now and then when this law was framed. So this new directive was welcome.

(IANS)

Gutkha scam: CBI arrests four

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The CBI on Thursday said it has arrested four persons including the promoters and directors of Jayem Industries and officers of the Food Safety and Drug Administration and Excise Department in connection with the multi-crore gutkha scam in Tamil Nadu.

A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) source told IANS said the agency had arrested Jayem Industries promoters and directors A.V. Madhav Rao and Uma Shankar Gupta.

The source said it had also arrested a designated officer of the Food Safety and Drug Administration department, P Senthil Murugan, and a Superintendent of the Central Excise Department, N.K. Pandian.

The arrests come a day after the CBI searched over 35 places in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Puducherry, Chennai, Tiruvallur and Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu and Guntur in Andhra Pradesh.

It raided the premises of Tamil Nadu Health Minister C. Vijayabasker and Director General of Police T.K. Rajendran, prompting calls for their resignation.

The CBI on May 29 registered a case against unknown officials of Central Excise, Tamil Nadu government, Food Safety Department, public servants and private persons on charges of criminal conspiracy and for corruption following a direction of the Madras High Court on April 26.

Its probe relates to the illegal manufacture, import, supply, distribution and sale of gutkha and other forms of chewable tobacco which are banned in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

Dilip Kumar hospitalised due to chest infection

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Veteran actor Dilip Kumar, 95, was on Wednesday admitted to a hospital here due to chest infection, but he is recuperating, said a family friend.

The actor is at the Lilavati Hospital and Research Centre, Bandra.

Faisal Farooqui, who tweets on behalf of the thespian, gave a health update on the ailing actor via Twitter.

“Saab has been admitted to Mumbai’s Lilavati Hospital as he was bit uneasy due to a chest infection. He is recuperating. Requesting your duas and prayers,” Farooqui tweeted.

Dilip Kumar, one of India’s most iconic actors, has appeared in some classics like “Kohinoor”, “Mughal-e-Azam”, “Shakti”, “Naya Daur” and “Ram Aur Shyam”.

He was last seen on the silver screen in 1998 in “Qila”. He is married to actress Saira Banu.

(IANS)

Mattis to remain Pentagon chief: Trump

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US President Donald Trump has said that Defence Secretary James Mattis will remain in office, dismissing reports that he is looking for possible replacements for the Pentagon chief.

“He’ll stay right there. We’re very happy with him. We’re having a lot of victories,” Trump said on Wednesday when asked by reporters at the White House whether he was considering replacing Mattis.

The remarks came as The Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin wrote in an article that the administration has been considering possible replacements for Mattis for weeks.

Rogin added that no decisions were made yet, though White House officials expected that Mattis will leave his position in the coming months.

The Trump-Mattis relationship was put under limelight a day earlier after excerpts from an explosive book mentioned that the Defence Secretary had made disparaging remarks about the President.

According to the book, “Fear: Trump in the White House”, authored by veteran investigative reporter Bob Woodward, Mattis was quoted as having told associates that Trump acted like “a fifth- or sixth-grader”.

Mattis denied earlier that he ever said or heard the quotes attributed to him in the book.

“While I generally enjoy reading fiction, this is a uniquely Washington brand of literature, and his anonymous sources do not lend credibility,” Mattis said in a statement.

Trump called Woodward’s book “a total piece of fiction”, while praising Mattis’ statement as “beautiful”.

In a statement to The Washington Post, Woodward said, “I stand by my reporting”. According to the author, the book was based on hundreds of hours of conversations with direct players.

Woodward has been a reporter at The Washington Post since 1971 and remains an associate editor. He is most famous for breaking the story of the Watergate scandal, which prompted the resignation of Richard Nixon from the presidency in 1974.

(IANS)

Telangana cabinet meet ends, CM meets Governor

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The Telangana cabinet met on Thursday afternoon and is understood to have taken a decision on recommending dissolution of the Assembly to pave the way for early elections.

After the brief cabinet meet, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao left for Raj Bhavan to meet Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan to convey the cabinet decision.

The cabinet meet began at 1 p.m. at Pragati Bhavan, the Chief Minister’s official residence, and concluded in less than 30 minutes. The cabinet is believed to have passed a resolution recommending to Governor Narasimhan to dissolve the Assembly.

Immediately after the cabinet meet, KCR, as the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief is popularly known, left for Raj Bhavan to hand over the cabinet resolution.

KCR will later reach Telangana Bhavan, the party headquarters, to formally announce the cabinet decision at a news conference. He is also likely to announce the first list of TRS candidates.

The Assembly term is till May 2019 and elections in normal course would be conducted along with the Lok Sabha polls.

(IANS)

‘Yeddy’s son met IT chief – BJP trying to topple government’ – CM

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Karnataka chief minister (CM), H D Kumaraswamy, has fired a salvo against the BJP by accusing the saffron party of trying to bring his government down. He also said that B Y Vijayendra, son of state BJP chief, B S Yeddyurappa, had met chief of the income tax (IT) department and held secret discussions in this matter.

This statement has given rise to a major upheaval in the political circles in the state, and it also has paved way for a major verbal confrontation between the former and current CMs, Yeddyurappa and Kumaraswamy.

Speaking to media persons here on Wednesday September 5, the CM said that the BJP has been trying to rock the coalition government in the state with the assistance of central investigation agencies. “Already investigation officials have reached the city. Vijayendra has held consultations with director general of income tax, Balakrishnan,” he claimed. Saying that he is aware why Vijayendra met the IT head and that the BJP leaders have been trying misuse central agencies to unseat the state government, he reiterated that he was telling the truth.

“I have come to know that BJP has been planning to launch a major offensive against me through all the investigative agencies at the centre. One might wonder what evidence do I have to make this allegation, but it is not possible to provide documentary proof for everything. You should not forget that I never speak without concrete information,” he added.

When media persons wanted to know where the said meeting happened, Kumaraswamy said he cannot follow people with camera in hand and that he has received the above information which is not baseless. He asserted that Vijayendra had met the top income tax officer for engineering the downfall of his government.

In retaliation, Yeddyurappa dismissed the allegations and asked the CM, who is in a responsible position, to make statements responsibly. He wondered what relationship he has with income tax, enforcement directorate etc. He asked Kumaraswamy to desist from making irresponsible statements unnecessarily, create confusion in the minds of the people, and try to make someone a scapegoat by projecting him as a criminal.

B Y Vijayendra clarified that he has never met any income tax officials and he does not know that there is an official named Balakrishnan in that department. He dismissed the allegation of Kumaraswamy and challenged him as the chief of state intelligence, to order an inquiry and make public the findings. He felt that the CM should not undermine the honour of his own position by making baseless allegations.

The income tax department too clarified that Yeddyurappa’s son, Vijayendra, had not met any of the income tax officials. Office of Karnataka and Goa income tax commissioner clarified that the officials of the department have not met any politicians or members of their families, nor have any discussions been held.

Joint commissioner of the department, Tamil Selvam, dismissed the allegations in a press release and said that the department, since the last two years, has been conducting in-depth and impartial investigation into illegal accumulation of wealth and taking legal steps against the guilty.

(Vartha Bharati)

Bengaluru pays tribute to journalist Gauri

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Gauri, 55, editor of Kannada weekly tabloid ‘Lankesh Patrike’, was shot dead in front of her house on September 5 night a year ago.

Thought a year-long probe into Gauri’s killing by the Karnataka’s Special Investigation Team led to the arrest of a dozen suspects, including Parushuram Wagmare, 26, who is alleged to have shot her, and his accomplices, the police are yet to confirm who was or were behind her assassination.

Scores of activists, Kannada writers, journalists, artistes, lawyers and student leaders joined Gauri’s family, including elder sister Kavitha Lankesh, in fondly remembering her and paying homage to her soul.

Among those who participated in the day-long activities were social activist Swami Agnivesh, Gujarat legislator Jignesh Mewani, former JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar, senior journalists Siddarth Varadarajan and Teesta Setalvad and multi-lingual actor Prakash Raj.

Family members of slain rationalists Govind Pansare and M.M. Kalaburgi also participated at some of the events in the city, organised by the Gauri Memorial Trust and other organisations.

The Gauri Media Trust released the first issue of her tabloid (Lankesh Patrike) in Kannada at the “Freedom of Expression Meet” in Central College, a year after its publication was suspended due to her sudden and untimely death.

A protest march was held from Gandhi statue in Cubbon Park to Raj Bhavan in the city centre, seeking justice to Gauri. Banners and posters carrying her picture and slogans “I Am Gauri” “Long Live Gauri” were carried.

Alleging that the forces that killed Mahatma Gandhi also killed Gauri, Agnivesh said her tragic death had led to the birth of thousands of Gauris across the country.

“We suspect that Hindutva forces are behind her killing as they were in the case of rationalists Narendra Dabholkar, Pansare and Kalburgi,” asserted Agnivesh.

Dabholkar was killed on August 20, 2013 at Pune, Pansare on February 20, 2015 in Mumbai and Kalburgi on August 30, 2015.

Said Kavitha: “We are living in dangerous times as the people who are opposed to fascism and authoritarianism are being arrested and jailed.”

Recalling that Gauri’s killing had changed his world view, actor Raj said narratives were being changed by the powers that be to silence the voices of dissent and fairness.

“We take our democracy for granted; often ignoring the price that people pay. Make no mistake, our democracy is alive because of the courage of people like Gauri. They chose to face death so that our democracy could live. We resolve to take your struggle forward,” tweeted former JNU student leader Kanhaiya.

Sharing a picture of him with Gauri, Mevani tweeted that the shirt he wore for the occasion was gifted by Gauri.

Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan of Swaraj Abhiyan said of the killers: “They (suspects) belong to several Hindutva (organisations) who were also making bombs to blow up Ganpati Mandaps and churches and Eid gatherings. (People) who celebrated her killing are still in power.”

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara said even a year after her death, Gauri continued to live on among thousands of voices she has inspired.

“You can silence people but not ideas. My heartfelt remembrance to this brave soul,” tweeted Parameshwara, who also holds the Home portfolio.

(PTI)

BJP activists bash up two Congress members in Ullal

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Three BJP activists allegedly attacked Congress workers at Thokkottu on Wednesday, September 5.

The injured are George Lobo (51) and Mohandas (42), residents of Krishna Nagar here.

The attackers have been identified as BJP activists Kavit Poojary, Arun Bhandari alias Maddy and Suni Belchada alias Chatni.

Chitra Chandrakanth, a contestant from Congress in Krishnanagar ward, won the Ullal City Municipal Council election held recently. She had also won the previous elections and had served as vice-president of Ullal CMC.

Sources said that her name was suggested for the post of the president this time and raged by this, BJP members who did not accept this decision attacked the Congress workers who took part in the election campaign for Chitra.

The case is registered at Ullal police station.

 

 

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