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BJP takes dig at Rahul, calls him ‘non-performing’ party president

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Taking a jibe at Congress President Rahul Gandhi, the BJP on Sunday dubbed him a “non-performing chief” of a party that is doing negative politics as against the positive politics pursued by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“After the defeat of the no-confidence motion in Parliament, the Congress non-working committee met today (Sunday) under a non-performing party President Rahul Gandhi. His mother Sonia Gandhi chaired the CWC (Congress Working Committee) for 20 years and after that her son Rahul Gandhi is chairing it. This is not how a democracy functions,” BJP Spokesperson Sambit Patra told a press conference here.

He said that the two-line decision taken at the CWC meeting was that the Congress does not want to win and its sole aim is to stop Modi at any cost.

“The Congress has decided to play the role of a suicide bomber. It is negative politics. Positive Politics is being performed under the leadership of Modi. The people of the country, who believe in positive and developmental politics, will never accept this negative politics,” he said.

The BJP leader also hit out at UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi for her “reverse countdown” jibe at the Prime Minister, saying the country had few days back seen the politics of “hug and wink” and the rhetoric on the floor of Parliament.

Addressing the CWC meet, Sonia Gandhi had said earlier in the day that the Prime Minister’s rhetoric shows his “desperation” reflecting that the “reverse countdown” of the Modi government has begun.

“You (Sonia) were runing the country in reverse gear and you are now talking of reverse countdown. The reverse countdown of dynastic politics, appeasement politics and caste politics has begun,” Patra said.

He said that the whole purpose of the CWC meet was to back Rahul Gandhi as Congress candidate for 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

“What is new in Sonia’s backing of Rahul as PM. This was the whole purpose of CWC. Sonia’s only ambition is to back Rahul as PM candidate,” he said.

Commenting on former Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram’s remarks that the Congress can win three times more seats in the 2019 general elections, Patra asked: “If a party is looking at contesting only 150 seats, how can it dream of getting the Prime Minister’s post?”

Nawaz shariff shift to hospital: Medical team

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Jailed Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif who has fallen ill and was suffering from heart and kidney ailments, has been asked to be shifted to a hospital by a medical team, a jail official said.

The medical team, led by retired General Azhar Kiani, visited Adiala jail in Rawalpindi on Sunday after Sharif complained, the jail administration official told Dawn newspaper on Monday.

Following his medical check-up, the medical team said that Sharif “needed to be hospitalised for immediate treatment”, he added.

The heartbeat of the former Prime Minister was irregular due to dehydration and the presence of urea in blood might affect his kidneys, the medical team has said.

The medical team’s recommendation had been sent to the Punjab health secretary and the caretaker government, Dawn reported.

“The government will take a decision on it,” he said, adding that the team had been called after the former prime minister complained that he was not feeling well.

The official said that a separate medical team from the district headquarters hospital conducted a medical check-up of Sharif’s jailed son-in-law, retired Captain Muhammad Safdar, as he was suffering from ear and throat infections.

Kiani, the chief executive officer of Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology and former commandant of the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology, was physician of former President-retired General Pervez Musharraf. He was not available for comments.

BJD walks out as LS begins debate on no trust motion against Modi government

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The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) members walked out of the Lok Sabha on Friday as the House began a debate on a no-confidence motion moved by the opposition against Prime Minister Narendra Modis government.

Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said the discussion on the no-trust motion would continue for the entire day and the vote would take place at 6 p.m.

She said the House would also skip lunch.

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge sought more time from the Speaker saying 38 minutes allotted for his party leaders to address the Lok Sabha was not enough.

He also sought more time for the members of Trinamool Congress, Left parties and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).

“This is a very important motion. The country is watching us to know what we have to say and how the government is going to respond. Don’t limit the time. There are precedents when no-confidence motions have been debated for two, three or even five days. Therefore if you sum up in five hours, it is not justified,” Kharge said.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar responded, saying Kharge is a senior leader but needed to understand that “in one-day cricket era, there was no need to play a test cricket match for five days”.

The BJD, which has 19 members in the Lok Sabha after the resignation of Kendrapara MP Baijyant Jay Panda, then walked out.

Its leader Bhartruhari Mahtab said injustice had been done to Odisha in the last 14 years and the BJP government at the Centre has failed to safeguard the interests of the state.

“In the last 14 years, the BJD has witnessed that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) for 10 years and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for four years have done injustice with Odisha. And this discussion is not going to help Odisha. So we are not going to participate,” Mahtab said.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP), an estranged ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA government, moved the no-confidence motion on Wednesday, which was admitted by Mahajan.

The no-confidence motion has the support of the Congress, Trinamool Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Samajwadi Party (SP), and the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M).

The ruling NDA, however, enjoys a comfortable majority in the House. The BJP which leads the ruling combine has 273 members in the House that has an effective strength of 533, excluding the Speaker.

Maryam Nawaz meets Sharif for first time since arrest

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Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s daughter met him for the first time on Thursday after both were arrested last week in a corruption case, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Senator Pervaiz Rasheed said.

Addressing the media outside the Adiala Jail where the three-time Premier, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Captain (retd) Safdar Awan are jailed after their conviction in the Avenfield properties case, Rasheed said that he and other party leaders met the Sharif family earlier in the day, Geo News reported.

He said the father-daughter duo met for the first time on Thursday since their arrest, which he said was against jail norms. The senator claimed that the incarcerated Sharif family was in the exact same spirits as they were before being jailed.

Sharing a message from the Sharif family, Rasheed said no jail sentence can stop them from achieving their goal and asked the people to vote for their party in the July 25 general elections.

Sharif was sentenced to 10 years in jail while his daughter received a seven-year term in the London properties case last week. His son-in-law got one-year jail.
[IANS]

PM Modi has lied to nation on Rafale: Rahul

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Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday said French President Emmanuel Macron had told him that there was no secrecy pact with India on the Rafale jet deal, alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had lied to the nation about it.

“I personally met the French President and asked him if there was a secrecy pact with India. He told me that no such pact was signed between the two countries. He said he had no hesitation in saying this and that I can tell this to my country,” Gandhi thundered in the Lok Sabha.

Gandhi said the price per plane during the UPA regime was Rs 520 crore but when Prime Minister Narendra Modi went to France and “with some magic” powers, the price per plane increased to Rs 1,600 crore.

“Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is here. She said she would reveal the price. But after that she said clearly she cannot because the French and Indian governments have a secrecy pact.

“The Prime Minister has lied to the country. Sitharaman under pressure from the Prime Minister has lied to the country. They must tell the nation. The Prime Minister and the Defence Minister must tell the nation.”

The mention of the Rafale deal triggered noisy protests from the ruling party MPs.

Rahul hugs Modi and says this is Congress

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Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday took everyone in the Lok Sabha by surprise when he went and hugged Prime Minister Narendra Modi after tearing into the BJP-led government during the no-confidence motion.

“I have not an iota of hatred or hard feelings against you. You hate me, I may be ‘Pappu’ for you. But I love you and respect you because I am the Congress,” Gandhi said at the end of his fiery speech.

He then walked across to the ruling benches and hugged Modi who was also taken by surprise.

The Prime Minister, a little taken aback at first, called Gandhi back and shook hands with him with a pat on his back. The two exchanged some words.

As the opposition members gave Gandhi a standing ovation and thumped their desks, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said such conduct was against the rules of the House.

Two injured after coming in contact with high-tension wire

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A young man and a teenager suffered serious burn injuries when they came in contact with a high-tension overhead wire while flying kite in north Delhi, police said on Thursday.

Police said Kartik, 18, and his juvenile neighbor, 14, received over 60 percent burn injuries when they received electric shocks while flying a kite on the terrace of the latter’s Sonia Vihar house on Wednesday afternoon.

Some children standing on adjoining buildings raised an alarm, following which their family members rushed upstairs and tried to pull them away with the help of bamboo sticks, Deputy Commissioner of Police Atul Kumar Thakur told IANS.

Both were later taken to nearby GTB Hospital.

Kartik is an auto-rickshaw driver while the teenager is a Class 6 student.

“We will take action against officials concerned for negligence. We are awaiting improvement in their condition to record their statements,” the officer added.

Legal luminaries, civil society groups say Anti-Trafficking Bill will criminalise communities

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The old framework of Social Welfare Legislation is given a go by and the people of India do not want this draconian law which criminalizes communities. The government is escaping from its responsibility by handing over the implementation of such important issues to the Police Department and is criminalizing the activities of the poor and marginalised by this ill-drafted Trafficking Bill,” said Prof Babu Mathew, legal expert and activist, at the Public Meeting which opposed the Anti-Trafficking Bill in its present form here on Wednesday.

Over 250 members from over 16 groups of NGOs, workers unions, and legal experts criticized the Trafficking Bill, which ironically, was introduced in the Parliament on the same evening by the Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi even as the Public Meeting is in progress in the city.

Rehab centers and protection homes run by private parties have curtailed the liberty of the victims and this crime has been happening across the country. It is a violation of the victims’ fundamental right. If this Bill becomes a Law, it will be draconian, anti-people and is meant to protect the vested interests. It is another kind of Swach Bharat where you want to clean up those poor and marginalized communities who are an eyesore to the society and push them under the carpet,’’ remarked BT Venkatesh, an eminent lawyer, on behalf of Reach Law, a co-organiser of the event.

Imprisonment for trafficking leading to AIDS or begging or injecting of hormones, will ultimately lead to criminalisation of trans-identities and it is not just about sex workers and Transgenders, time has come for all workers to unite and fight,” said Nisha Gulur, Transgender leader and President of National Network of Sex Workers, India (NNSW) echoing the words of Babu Mathew who gave a clarion call for all workers to unite.

“Victims whether it is bonded labour or those into begging, will now be criminalized and this legislation will override the Bonded Labour Act, which is a much better Act and is serving the purpose,’’ said Kiran Kamal of Jeevika.

“The Bill miserably fails to address the legal and real-time challenges that arise in addressing trafficking in persons and securing the rights and dignity of trafficked victims. Furthermore, trade unions and workers’ rights groups and many other stakeholders, who will be affected by the new legislation, have not been consulted while drafting the Bill,” said Rajesh Umadevi, Executive Director, Sangama. “This bIll continues to conflate trafficking and sex work by its silence. No law should harm the citizens of its own country,’’ said Aarthi Pai, lawyer, and social activist.
“Moving people away from their workplaces in the name of rehabilitation is curtailing their freedom of movement and association and it is a gross violation of our fundamental rights. The promise of a ‘victim-centric’ law falls flat as all that trafficked victims get is ‘detention’ in protection homes – a practice that has been severely criticised by international Human Rights experts and community groups,” said Bharathi, secretary, Karnataka Sex Workers Union.
Karnataka Garment Factory Workers Union (KOOGU), Sangama, Reach Law, CIEDS Collective, Karnataka Sex Workers Union (KSWU), Uttara Karnataka Mahila Ookutta (UKMO), National Network of Sex Workers (NNSW), Garment and Textile Workers Union (GATWU), South India Federation of Trade Unions and Jeevika (a group fighting against bonded labour) and Fedina. Lakshmi of Garment Workers Union, Bharathi of KSWU, Madhu Bhushan of CIEDS and others spoke.
All the 16 groups passed a resolution to demand the Parliament to:
1. Refer the Bill to a Standing Committee and conduct comprehensive consultations with all stakeholders including the affected communities.

Lorry operators begin nationwide undetermined strike

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The undetermined strike by the lorry operators affiliated to the All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) across the country to highlight removal of toll plazas on the national highways and other charters of demands commenced in the state on Friday.

The indefinite strike was to press the demands of reducing fuel price and for a uniform national pricing with quarterly revision, transparency and reduction in third party insurance premium.

Abolition of tax deduction at sources, rationalization of presumptive income under Sections 44 AE of Income Tax Act were the other demands. The AIMTC also demanded the government to address the E-Way Bill operational issues, abolish direct port delivery scheme and streamline port congestion.

Three lakh lorries off the roads
C. Dhanaraj, secretary, Tamil Nadu Lorry Owners Federation, one of the constituents of the AIMTC, told The Hindu that the association accounted for 4.60 lakh lorries, of which three lakh lorries were already off the road from Friday.

About 1.5 lakh lorries have carried loads of onion, dhal and other perishable items to north Indian states and they too were returning back to Tamil Nadu.

Mr. Dhanaraj said that in Salem district alone, about 40,000 lorries were off the road and this has affected the transportation of vegetables, fruits, textiles, sago.

Mr. Dhanaraj said that despite the discussion the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, had with the office-bearers of the AIMTC on the removal of toll plazas on Thursday, no compromise could be reached on the issue.

The lorry operators are firm on continuing the strike till all their just demands were conceded by the Centre, Mr. Dhanaraj said.

The lorry booking agents who have expressed their support to the strike call suspended the booking of consignments since July 15. According to P. Rajavadivel, president of the Tamil Nadu Booking Agents Association, due to this about 15,000 lorries which used to carry the loads to other states daily, were not being operated from Friday.

Due to the commencement of the strike, all the major lorry sheds in Salem and Namakkal districts were overflowing with the vehicles. The grounded lorries have also occupied all the space available in the lorry bays on national highways and in the fuel retail outlets. [Read more…]

DCM tells to increase women’s safety to police patrolling in plainclothes.

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Karnataka deputy chief minister (DCM), Dr G Parameshwar, has instructed senior police officers to increase the number of police personnel in plainclothes on patrol duty to bring down cases of atrocities over women in the state. He issued this instruction during the second meeting about app-based taxi services, which was held at his office on Thursday, July 19.

Parameshwar noted that ensuring the safety of women who use app-based taxi services is very important and that it should be ensured that atrocities on women never happen when using these services. He asked the police to hold discussions with the concerns operating such services and take suitable steps to improve safety aspects relating to women.

The DCM noted that although there have been a number of laws and programmes aimed at handling atrocities on women, there is lack of proper knowledge about them among the people. He, therefore, asked the officials to see that knowledge about the laws governing women’s safety, programmes and information about the helpline effectively reach the populace through advertisements. Noting that there are enough grants under Nirbhaya scheme, he asked the police to use this grant to buy 5,000 CCTV cameras, a thousand two-wheelers, as well as jeeps and deploy additional police in plain clothes for patrolling during nights to keep an eye on such activities.

Parameshwara also held discussions with a delegation from Bavaria, a federal state in Germany, which has offered to train Belagavi police during November this year. Similar training had been imparted for Mysuru police earlier. He wanted the delegation to come up with ideas to increase the number of police stations and also the percentage of women personnel in the police force.

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