Nasheman

India's largest selling Urdu weekly, now also in English

You are here: Home / Archives for News & Politics / India

53 pc children face one or more forms of sexual abuse: Govt

by

New Delhi: A centrally-sponsored survey has found that more than 53 per cent children in the country faced one or more forms of sexual abuse, the Rajya Sabha was informed Wednesday.

Minister of State for Home, Hansraj Ahir, said that the Ministry of Women and Child Development had conducted a study on Child Abuse in 2007, covering 13 states and more than 13,000 children.

The study revealed that that more than 53 per cent of children interviewed reported having faced one or more forms of sexual abuse and 21.90 per cent child respondents reported facing severe forms of sexual abuse and 50.76 per cent other forms of sexual abuse, he said in written reply to a question.

Ahir said 50 per cent abusers were persons known to the child and most children did not report the matter to anyone.

Children on street, at work and in institutional care reported the highest incidence of sexual assault, he said.

The 13 states where the survey was conducted were – Assam, Mizoram, Goa, Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Kerala.

(PTI)

No ‘non-veg food’ display, Delhi eateries told by BJP-ruled civic body

by

New Delhi: The South Delhi Municipal Corporation has ordered food stalls to shelve meat, raw or cooked, inside shelves in South Delhi citing hygiene and “sentiments of people” as the main reasons.

The proposal was brought in the BJP-ruled South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) House in its meeting recently and was approved by it, Leader of House Shikha Rai said, adding that hygiene and “sentiments of people affected by the sight” of meat were the main reasons behind the move.

The proposal holds for “both raw and cooked meat” of all kinds, displayed by shop-owners right outside of their shops, he said.

“It was a private member resolution originally moved by a councillor from Kakrola village in Najafgarh Zone in the Health Committee meeting. The committee then moved it to the SDMC House, which then approved it,” a spokesperson of the SDMC said.

“Since it was a private member resolution, the proposal would now be sent to the Commissioner to be examined, if it is in accordance with the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act,” he said, adding, “He may accept or reject it”.

South Delhi is home to many eateries and restaurants selling meat products in areas including Hauz Khas, New Friends’ Colony, Kamal Cinema in Safdarjung Green Park, Amar Colony Market near Lajpat Nagar. Display of skewered kebabs and shawarma is a common sight at eating joints selling meat in various parts of Delhi.

The proposal has drawn sharp reaction from political parties and the medical fraternity.

Abhishek Dutt, Congress councillor and leader of his party in the SDMC House, said, “This is an interference in people’s personal lives. Just because the BJP has majority in the House it cannot make such dictatorial decisions. If it’s related to hygiene they should challan those flouting rules. What is the need for bringing in such a blanket ban,” he said.

Dutt added that they had opposed the move but due to the BJP’s majority in the House, it was approved.

Praveen Shankar Kapoor, Delhi BJP spokesperson, said that the move was taken from public health angle and maintained that there would be no curbs on the sale of non-vegetarian food.

The AAP reacted cautiously to the move, and Greater Kailash MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj, a party spokesperson, said that the proposal should be discussed and AAP councillors would share their views on the matter.

The Indian Medical Association raised objection to the proposal, saying any food has to be hygienic, whether vegetarian or non-vegetarian.

“We do not find any rational behind the move that prohibits display of only non-vegetarian food outside shops, restaurants. If contamination of food is the concern then why keep out vegetarian food and snacks out of this order,” IMA President K K Aggarwal said.

A restaurant owner in south Delhi’s Amar Colony area, who did not wish to be named, said that the move was “fine from hygiene perspective”, but the civic body should “offer a solution” to these eateries and tell them how should it be displayed properly, instead of just proposing a ban.

“Also, the argument that sight of non-veg food offends sentiments of people does not hold water,” he said.

(PTI)

Malegaon blasts: Terror charges against Sadhvi Pragya, Purohit dropped

by

Mumbai: A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court here on Wednesday dropped charges under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act against Lt Col Prasad Purohit, Sadhvi Pragya Thakur, Ramesh Upadhyay and Ajay Rahikar in the 2008 Malegaon blast case.

While the court dropped all charges under Section 17, 20 and 13 of the the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Arms Act, it however, decided that Sadhvi Pragya and Purohit will be tried under Section 18 of the former act as well as Sections 120B, 302, 307, 304, 326, 427 and 153 A of the Indian Penal Code.

All the accused persons are already out on bail, though all previous bonds and sureties will continue, the special NIA court said.

The next date of hearing has been scheduled for January 15.

The court refused to exonerate Sadhvi Pragya from the charges of conspiracy, holding that she was aware about a motorcycle being used to carry out the explosion.

On Monday, the court had dismissed the petitions filed by Purohit and another accused Sameer Kulkarni, challenging the sanction of prosecution under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

On September 29, 2008, six people were killed and 101 people injured after a bomb tied to a motorcycle exploded in Nashik’s Malegaon town. The Maharashtra Police’s Anti-Terrorism Squad had arrested 11 people in the case in November 2008. In April 2011, the investigation was transferred to the NIA.

(IANS)

Ensure justice for ‘our bhabhi in Gujarat’ too: Asaduddin Owaisi

by

New Delhi: Justice should be done to “20 lakh abandoned women” from all religions, including “our bhabhi in Gujarat”, Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi said in the Lok Sabha on Thursday in an apparent reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s wife while strongly opposing introduction of the bill that criminalises triple talaq.

Speaking after Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad tabled the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights and Marriage) Bill, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen MP said it violated the fundamental rights and lacked “basic legal coherence”.

Maintaining that not enough consultation was done on the bill, the member said: “This will be injustice to Muslim women… Make a law where the 20 lakh women from other religions who have been abandoned, which also includes our bhabhi in Gujarat… They should be given justice.”

He also questioned the need to formulate a new law for this because an existing law on domestic violence tackled the matter.

“There is absence of consistency with the existing legal framework. The bill says the husband will be sent to jail, and it also says he will have to pay allowance… How can a person in jail pay allowance,” he said, referring to the provision that a woman given triple talaq will have the right to seek maintenance.

(IANS)

Bill on triple talaq introduced in Lok Sabha

by

New Delhi: A bill criminalising triple talaq was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Thursday amid protests from the opposition objecting to its introduction, and an assurance from Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad that “it was not about religion but about justice and respect for women”.

Members from the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), Biju Janata Dal and some other parties spoke against the introduction of The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017.

No member from the Congress was, however, allowed to speak, as Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said that they had not given a notice in advance to speak on the issue.

Prasad called it a historic day and stated that the Bill was to ensure gender justice for Muslim women.

The Bill was introduced after a voice vote as all treasury benches members supported the introduction.

The Bill criminalises triple talaq, or oral divorce, and has provision for a maximum three year jail term and fine for practicing this form of divorce.

It also gives Muslim women the right to seek maintenance and the right to a child’s custody.

Soon after Prasad moved the bill for introduction, opposition members raised objections.

RJD leader Jay Prakash Narayan Yadav said the provision for three year imprisonment was unfair, and said it could disturb the social fabric.

AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi said the Bill violated the fundamental rights and lacked “basic legal coherence”.

He also questioned the need to create another law for this, while there was an existing law on domestic violence.

“There is absence of consistency with the existing legal framework. The bill says the husband will be sent to jail, and it also says he will have to pay allowance… How can a person in jail pay allowances,” he said referring to the provision that a woman given triple talaq will have the right to seek maintenance.

He said not enough consultation was done on the Bill, and added: “This will be injustice to Muslim women… Make a law where the 20 lakh women from other religions, who have been abandoned, which also includes our Bhabhi in Gujarat, they should be given justice”.

IUML MP E.T. Mohammed Basheer said it was in violation of Article 25 of the Constitution that provides for freedom of practicing and propagating religion.

BJD leader Bhartruhari Mahtab said there were many internal contradictions in the Bill.

“This Bill will only bring more cases in court, government should go back and redraft it,” he said.

Prasad said: “This law is not about religion, it is about gender justice, the dignity and pride of a woman. The Supreme Court called it illegal, but the practice still prevails. Are not the basic rights of our sisters a part of the basic structure of Constitution”.

The Bill was then introduced in the House, and was to be taken up for debate later in the day.

Speaking outside Parliament, Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala later said the party supported the Bill, adding that there was a need to strengthen the law.

“The party supports the law of banning instant triple talaq and we believe that there is a dire need to strengthen this law. We have certain suggestions to solidify this law in order to protect the rights of these women,” he said.

In a written reply to the Lok Sabha last week, Prasad had said that there have been 66 cases of triple talaq in the country since August when the Supreme Court judgment termed the practice as “unconstitutional”.

(IANS)

Anant Kumar Hegde apologises for ‘constitution change’ comments

by

New Delhi: Union Minister Anant Kumar Hegde tendered an apology in the Lok Sabha on Thursday for his statement on changing the Constitution, even as he maintained that his comments were “put out of context”.

Soon after the House met, Hegde said: “I deeply respect the Constitution, Parliament and Babasaheb Ambedkar. The Constitution is supreme for me, there can be no question on it, as a citizen I can never go against it.”

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, however, said that Hegde had spoken against Ambedkar.

Speaker Sumitra Mahajan then urged the member to apologise. “Sometimes in life we feel what we have said is right, but others may still get hurt,” she said.

Hegde then extended an apology and said: “My words have been twisted and presented, I never said all this… But if someone was hurt, I apologise to those members.”

The Union Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship at a function in Kukanur in Karnataka on Monday urged people to “claim with pride that they are Muslim, Christian, Lingayat, Brahmin, or a Hindu”.

He said: “Those who, without knowing about their parental blood, call themselves secular, they don’t have their own identity…They don’t know about their parentage, but they are intellectuals.

“Some people say the Constitution says secular and you must accept it. We will respect the Constitution, but the Constitution has changed several times and it will change in the future too. We are here to change the Constitution and we’ll change it soon.”

The comments led to disruptions in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on Wednesday when Parliament met after a four-day-long break.

(IANS)

Karnataka farmers petition Governor, CM for Mahadayi water

by

Over 200 farmers from the state took to the streets here on Wednesday and submitted a petition to the Governor, Chief Minister and other political leaders, demanding release of the Mahadayi river water by Goa.

“We have submitted a memorandum to the Governor (Vajubhai R.Vala)’s office and the Chief Minister’s office requesting for the release of water from Mahadayi river (from neighbouring Goa) to the drought-hit state of Karnataka,” general secretary of the state farmers’ association Rait Sena Karnataka, H.S. Madiwalar told IANS here.

The farmers, who have been staging a protest in the city for the past four days outside the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s state unit office in the western suburb, have also met the leaders of the Janata Dal (Secular).

“We hope that JD(S) leader and former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda will support us and help us in getting drinking water from the river as both parties in the state — Congress and BJP — have only been blaming each other over the issue,” Madiwalar said.

The BJP state unit leaders were whisked away by the police from the Congress office in the city centre after they staged a demonstration on Wednesday against the ruling party’s failure to resolve the issue.

Several Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV) members, who were also staging protests along with the farmers outside the Governor’s official residence Raj Bhavan and other locations, were detained by the police.

The 77-km-long Mahadayi or Mandovi river originates at Bhimgad in the Western Ghats in Belagavi district of northwest Karnataka and flows into neighbouring Goa and eventually joins the Arabian Sea off the west coast.

Although the river flows 29 km in Karnataka and 52 km in Goa, its catchment area is spread over 2,032 km in the southern state as against 1,580 km in Goa.

Karnataka has been asking Goa since 2001 to release 7.6 tmcft (thousand million cubic feet) of the river water to meet the drinking needs of its people in Hubballi-Dharwad, Gadag, Bagalkote and Belagavi districts and irrigating their farmlands.

Karnataka plans to build two canals at Kalasa and Banduri, which are the tributaries of the river in the state, to divert and supply the water to the four districts.

While Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene in the inter-state dispute over sharing of the river water, BJP’s state unit chief B.S. Yeddyurappa said the state Congress leaders should convince their Goan counterparts to allow their Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar to settle the issue amicably.

(IANS)

Say No to Binge Drinking

by

Dr. Lorance Peter, Senior Consultant Gastroenterologist, Columbia Asia Hospital Sarjapur Road share some inputs on the symptoms and ways it can be prevented
Bengaluru, December 27, 2017: It’s December and yay the party time of the year is back. The week from Christmas to New Year is the time where a lot of social gatherings and public events happen and people drinking alcohol is very common. While many of them consume alcoholic beverages responsibly, binge drinking has become common nowadays among people from all ages.

What is binge drinking?

Binge drinking is where a person drinks alcohol until he/she is totally drunk or intoxicated and this increases the risk of violence, leading to injuries many a times. It is also associated with numerous health conditions, which would result in both emotional and economical costs. Drinking 6 units of alcohol in a very short span, say about an hour, would increase the blood alcohol concentration level. But drinking the same amount over several hours, as well as eating food, would incur a less effect on one’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC).

Some of the numerous consequences include:

Liver disorders leading to dysfunction
Stroke
Hypertension and cardiovascular disorders
Accidents (R. T.A)
Unsafe sex, which risks the changes of sexually transmitted diseases
Psychological issues

Here are some safe alcohol consumption tips to our party crowd:

Alcohol consumers should be aware of how much alcohol can be consumed safely, and they should start limiting themselves, considering the further consequences.

It’s always recommended not to refill the half empty- glass, as it’s difficult to keep a count on the amount of alcohol consumed.

Alcoholic consumption has to be spaced in-between by having a glass of water or soft drinks.

It’s always advisable to avoid party fun games like “rounds” or “shouts”, as this encourages the crowd to keep up with the person who is drinking the fastest, and the chances of binge drinking is always high here.

To avoid excessive alcohol drinking, one has to keep themselves busy by dancing, chatting or having fun, because sitting idle can keep oneself motivated to consume alcohol.
Planning a party- venue which is alcohol-free is always advisable.

From the concern of better health, it’s always advisable to cut back on alcohol, which in turn helps in improvised health. Cutting down on alcohol is always beneficial to manage your weight, as some drinks contain high calories. Intoxication also leads to a range of injuries like the one’s associated with drink and drive, showcasing poor behaviour and also risk one’s mental and physical well-being.

About Columbia Asia Hospitals Pvt. Ltd.

Columbia Asia Hospitals Pvt. Ltd. is the only company in India to utilize 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) route in the hospital sector.

About Columbia Asia Group of Companies

The Columbia Asia Group is owned by more than 150 private equity companies, fund management organizations and individual investors. The group currently operates eleven facilities in India and has presence in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad, Kolkata, Mysore, Patiala and Pune. The company also operates hospitals in Malaysia (12), Vietnam (3), and Indonesia (3). The Indian management operations are managed from its office in Bangalore.

845 rescued, 661 still missing since Cyclone Ockhi

by

New Delhi: The defence forces and other agencies involved in rescue operations when Cyclone Ockhi battered southern India saved 845 lives, but 661 fishermen still remain missing, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

In a written response to a question, Nirmala said the navy, the air force and the coast guard saved the lives of 821 people until December 20. Another 24 lives were saved by other agencies, including merchant navy vessels.

Of the total 845 people rescued, 453 were from Tamil Nadu, 362 from Kerala, and 30 from Lakshadweep and Minicoy islands. However, the defence minister said 661 fishermen were still missing.

 
The majority of those untraceable are from Tamil Nadu (400) and Kerala (261), the worst-hit states when Cyclone Ockhi swept through the coastlines of southern India.
The cyclone had caught many fishermen off guard after it formed quickly in the Arabian Sea in early December.

(PTI)

Hegde’s ‘change the Constitution’ comment disrupts RS

by

New Delhi: Union Minister Anant Kumar Hegde has “no right” to be in the House or in the government, the Opposition said on Wednesday, disrupting the Rajya Sabha over the Karnataka MP’s controversial remarks that the ruling BJP was “here to change the Constitution” and remove the word “secular” from it.

Opposition members vociferously raised the Hegde issue as soon as the House convened after a four-day break amid continued logjam over Congress’ demand for apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his remarks against his predecessor Manmohan Singh.

Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad lashed out at the government and the Bharatiya Janata Party and said if any person lacked faith in the Indian Constitution, he did not deserve to be in the House or in the government.

“The Minister has no trust in the Constitution and has no right to be the minister. He has no right to be a Member of Parliament either,” Azad said.

The Union Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship at a function in Kukanur in Karnataka on Monday urged people to “claim with pride that they are Muslim, Christian, Lingayat, Brahmin, or a Hindu” and said: “Those who, without knowing about their parental blood, call themselves secular, they don’t have their own identity…They don’t know about their parentage, but they are intellectuals.

“Some people say the Constitution says secular and you must accept it. We will respect the Constitution, but the Constitution has changed several times and it will change in the future too.

“We are here to change the Constitution and we’ll change it soon.”

As the Parliament met for the first time after an extended weekend, the Opposition sought a discussion over the issue.

Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu denied the request but allowed the Opposition members to briefly make a mention about it in the Zero Hour.

Samajwadi Party MP Naresh Agarwal said Hegde had abused the Constitution and insulted its architects like B.R. Ambedkar.

“It is like abusing the Constitution. Can anyone remain Minister by abusing the Constitution? It is an insult to Babasaheb Ambedkar,” Agarwal said.

The ruling BJP members took objections to Agarwal unnecessarily dragging Ambedkar into the row. They also protested, triggering slogans from the Opposition.

Naidu then adjourned the House till 12 p.m.

(IANS)

KNOW US

GET INVOLVED

PROMOTE

Archives