Vuln!! Path it now!!
Shimla/New Delhi, May 11 (PTI) Veteran Congress leader from Himachal Pradesh and former Union minister Sukh Ram died early Wednesday at a Delhi hospital. He was 94.
The Congress leader, who was airlifted and admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi on May 7 after suffering a brain stroke in Manali in Himachal Pradesh, died at the hospital at 1:35 am, hospital sources said.
Sukh Ram’s grandson Aashray Sharma said his body will be kept at Seri Manch in Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi to enable people to pay their last respects on Thursday.
“Goodbye grandfather, the phone won’t ring now (alvida dadajee, abhi nahi bajegee phone ki ghanti),” Sharma said in a Facebook post around 2 am on Wednesday.
In another post, Sharma said Sukh Ram’s body will reach his home city Mandi on Wednesday at 6 pm.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur expressed condolences over Sukh Ram’s demise.
In a tweet in Hindi, he said, “I am grief stricken to hear the news of death of former union minister and veteran leader from Mandi Pandit Sukh Ram Jee.”
His contribution to politics was very vital and will be always remembered, he added.
“May Ishwar provide place to his departed soul at His feet and his bereaved family get strength to bear the irreparable loss,” he added.
Thakur had on May 7 provided a state helicopter for airlifting the veteran political leader to Delhi for treatment.
Sukh Ram was the Union minister of state communications (independent charge) from 1993 to 1996. He was a member of the Lok Sabha from the Mandi constituency.
He won five assembly elections and was thrice elected to Lok Sabha.
In 2011, Sukh Ram was sentenced to five years imprisonment for corruption during his tenure as communications minister in 1996. His son Anil Sharma is a BJP MLA from Mandi.
Born on July 27,1927, Sukh Ram had represented the Mandi assembly seat from 1963 to 1984. During his tenure as state animal husbandry minister, he was credited with bringing cows from Germany which led to an increase in income of farmers.
He was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1984 and served as a junior minister in the Rajiv Gandhi government. Sukh Ram served as minister of state for defence production and supplies, planning and food and civil supplies.
While Sukh Ram represented the Mandi Lok Sabha constituency, his son Anil Sharma contested and won the assembly seat in 1993. The Congress leader had won the Mandi Lok Sabha seat in 1996, but he and his son were expelled from the party after the telecom scam.
Subsequently, they floated the Himachal Vikas Congress Party, which entered into a post-poll alliance with the BJP and joined the government.
In 1998, Sukh Ram contested the assembly elections from Mandi Sadar and won by a huge margin. His son Anil Sharma was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1998.
Sukh Ram along with his grandson rejoined the Congress right before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections to get a Congress ticket for Aashray Sharam but he could not win.
Sukh Ram’s other grandson Aayush Sharma is an actor and married to Bollywood superstar Salman Khan’s sister Arpita.
The Aam Aadmi Party’s Mumbai unit went across to all flood prone areas and inspected the rivers, nallahs and storm water drains (SWDs) that cause the flooding in the respective areas and were shocked to find out that there is absolutely no pre monsoon de-silting done!
Merely two weeks are left for the onset of the Monsoon Season in Mumbai but once again BMC has failed to clear the rivers, nallahs and SWDs of silt and debri – which means they will overflow and once again major areas of the city will have to face floods. Even by the BMC’s own figures major nallahs and SWDs in the city are far from desilted. If the BMC’s own documents and their online tracker are to be believed only 43% of the city’s nallahs & SWDs and only 84% of Mithi River have been desilted! As per BMC large parts of nallahs including the Poisar river, Chandravarkar Nallah & 48 other nallahs have not even begun desilting. Only 28 % of South Mumbai’s nallahs and SWD’s have been desilted. Only 58% of the Eastern Suburbs nallahs and SWDs have been cleaned. Similarly in the Western Suburbs 50% of the nallahs and SWDs have not been cleaned. In total even the BMC admits it has only cleaned 55% of the city’s minor nallahs.
The shocking truth is that even these figures are fake and nowhere near ground reality!! AAP volunteers and leadership went to various spots along the Mithi and saw that the river is still hopelessly choked up at Jogeshwari, BKC, Bandra East & Kalina – this poses a major threat to all Western Suburbs. Even smaller Nallahs & SWD’s are still choked up across the city nullahs. The Eastern Suburbs are worse off as none of the nallahs have even been attempted and the 58% claim is totally fake!
“The Shivsena Government has shown complete apathy to the death and devastation caused in Mumbai year after year. In power in BMC for three decades and now in the State too, their only interest is in looting the BMC and their utter recklessness in ignoring the pre monsoon preparation is nothing short of malafide criminal intent. It is time to bury the ghost of the “Spirit of Mumbai” and file criminal charges against those responsible for the floods that we are inevitably going to face.” said Mumbai President Preeti Sharma Menon.
“The sheer lies behind the reportage of the cleaning of the Mithi River proves that there is something rotten in the BMC. There seems to be a massive nexus between the contractors cleaning the river and Municipal Authorities and they think the lives of Mumbaikars is a cheap price to pay.” said AAP Leader and Mumbai’s Riverman Gopal Jhaveri.
The Aam Aadmi Party demands that an external independent body be appointed to audit the pre monsoon preparation and all the contractors and officers who have failed to do the work and those that have misreported the figures be tried for attempted murder. And, if the city floods again this monsoon, criminal negligence cases should be filed against the Councillors of those wards. It is time that Mumbaikers put these criminals in jail!
AAP complains against alleged sexual harrassment by Dr. Manoj Patel at Nanavati Hospital, Vile Parle
Writes letters to the Dean of Nanavati Hospital and Santacruz Police Station demanding immediate inquiry and action
The Aam Aadmi Party today submitted letters of complaint to the Dean of Nanavati hospital, Vile Parle, and the Santacruz Police Station, in response to reports of alleged sexual harassment by a doctor of Nanavati Hospital on 31st March 2022. Dr. Manoj Patel, a practitioner under General Medicine has allegedly molested a girl during what was a routine health check-up. What makes this incident even more appalling, is that when the victim rushed out of Dr. Manoj Patel’s ward and publically called out the doctor’s misbehaviour; the hospital staff acted as mere bystanders, and did nothing to support the victim.
“This is a condemnable offence of an extremely grave nature, and must be met with the strictest action against the perpetrator, if the allegations of misbehaviour are found to be true. We demand that the authorities take immediate cognizance of this incident, and initiate an inquiry. It is extremely important that the sanctity of the medical profession is maintained, and no such act is ever repeated.” said Preeti Sharma Menon, National Executive Member and Mumbai Prabhari.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Tuesday embarked on a visit to China to attend a regional meeting on war-torn Afghanistan.
The third meeting of ‘Foreign Ministers of Neighbouring Countries of Afghanistan’ is being held on March 29 to 31, according to the Pakistan Foreign Office (FO). The meeting will be held in Tunxi, central China’s Anhui province.
“Besides attending the Neighbouring Countries Ministerial meeting, the Foreign Minister will interact with counterparts from participating countries,” said the FO.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is expected to host a dialogue between the foreign ministers and the acting Foreign Minister of Afghanistan’s interim government, Amir Khan Muttaqi, on the sidelines of the meeting.
Foreign Ministers of Indonesia and Qatar have been invited to the meeting as “guests”.
Pakistan had initiated the ‘Neighbouring Countries’ format in September 2021 with a view to evolving a regional approach on the situation in Afghanistan after the hardline Taliban seized power in Kabul in August last year.
The Taliban regime in Afghanistan has not been recognised by the international community amidst severe economic and humanitarian problems faced by the country.
Pakistan hosted the first meeting on September 8, 2021.
The FO said Pakistan fully supports a regional approach on Afghanistan for promoting durable peace and stability in the region.
Pakistan will continue to support the international community’s efforts to advance the shared objectives of a peaceful, stable, sovereign, prosperous and connected Afghanistan, said the FO.
Qureshi has been invited by State Councilor and Foreign Minister of China Wang.
Vuln!! Path it now!!
Russia made two overtures to ease tensions around Ukraine reporting a pullback of troops near its neighbour and welcoming talks with the West. But the United States and its allies said they needed evidence of the troop movements and that the threat of a Russian invasion still loomed.
For the second day Tuesday, there were signs of hope that Europe might avoid war following weeks of escalating East-West tensions as Moscow massed around 150,000 troops on three sides of Ukraine and held massive military drills. Those moves led to dire warnings from Washington, London and other European capitals that Russia was preparing to roll into Ukraine.
But the tenor changed this week. President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that Russia does not want war and would rely on negotiations in its efforts to eliminate any chance that Ukraine could one day join NATO his key demand in the crisis. At the same time, he did not commit to a full pullback, saying Russia’s next moves in the standoff will depend on how the situation evolves.
Russia also offered few details of the pullback, and President Joe Biden said American officials had not verified Russia’s claim. He promised that the U.S. would give diplomacy every chance, but he struck a skeptical tone about Moscow’s intentions.
Two paths are still open,” Biden said in remarks at the White House. “But let there be no doubt: If Russia commits this breach by invading Ukraine, responsible nations around the world will not hesitate to respond. If we do not stand for freedom where it is at risk today, we’ll surely pay a steeper price tomorrow.
Even amid the glimmers of hope, Biden said 150,000 Russian forces are now massed near Ukraine and in neighbouring Belarus an increase from an earlier U.S. estimate of 130,000 troops.
Russia’s claim that it pulled back troops “would be good, but we have not yet verified that, Biden said. Indeed, our analysts indicate that they remain very much in a threatening position.
Russia has denied having any invasion plans. It wants the West to keep Ukraine and other former Soviet nations out of NATO, halt weapons deployments near Russian borders and roll back forces from Eastern Europe.
The U.S. and its allies have roundly rejected those demands, but they offered to engage in talks with Russia on ways to bolster security in Europe.
Speaking after meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Putin said the West agreed to discuss a ban on missile deployment to Europe, restrictions on military drills and other confidence-building measures issues that Moscow put on the table years ago.
He said Russia is open to discuss some of those elements,” but added that it would do so only in combination “with the main issues that are of primary importance for us.
While Scholz reiterated that NATO’s eastward expansion is not on the agenda everyone knows that very well, Putin retorted that Moscow will not be assuaged by such assurances.
They are telling us it won’t happen tomorrow, Putin said. Well, when will it happen? The day after tomorrow? What does it change for us in the historic perspective? Nothing.
Scholz also said diplomatic options are far from exhausted, and he praised the announcement of a troop withdrawal as a good signal, adding: “We hope that more will follow.
The Russian Defense Ministry released images of tanks and howitzers rolling onto railway platforms and more tanks rolling across snowy fields. It did not disclose where or when the images were taken, or where the vehicles were headed, other than to places of permanent deployment.
Ukraine expressed skepticism.
We won’t believe when we hear, we’ll believe when we see, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.
And NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that there have been no signs, so far, of a reduced military presence on Ukraine’s borders.
Meanwhile, a series of cyberattacks knocked out the websites of the Ukrainian army, the defense ministry and major banks. There was no indication that the relatively low-level denial-of-service attacks might be a smoke screen for more serious cyber mischief. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the U.S. has not yet determined who was behind the attacks.
Despite the worst East-West tensions in decades, few Russians expect a war. In a village in Russia’s Belgorod region, about 30 kilometers (18 miles) from Ukraine’s border, residents carried on with life as usual, even as more military personnel have been passing through village streets.
We are really on the border, we really have relatives here and there, everyone has somebody on the Ukrainian side, villager Lyudmila Nechvolod said. “No one wants war.
Russian lawmakers urged Putin to recognize rebel-held areas in eastern Ukraine as independent states. The State Duma, Russia’s lower house, voted to submit an appeal to Putin to that effect.
Putin said the request reflects the Russian public’s sympathy for the suffering of people trapped in the conflict in eastern Ukraine that has killed over 14,000 since 2014. He noted, however, that Russia continues to believe a 2015 peace deal brokered by France and Germany should serve as the main vehicle for a settlement of the separatist conflict.PTI
An appeal has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the direction of the Karnataka High Court that has asked students not to insist on wearing any cloth on campuses of educational institutions which can instigate people, till the matter is resolved.
The plea filed by a student has sought a stay on the direction of the high court, which is hearing the hijab issue, as well as the proceedings going on before the three judge bench.
The appeal contended that the high court has sought to curtail the fundamental right of Muslim student women by not allowing them to wear the hijab.
The high court has posted the matter for Monday and also said educational institutions can resume classes for students.
The three-judge full bench of Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justice J M Khazi and Justice Krishna S Dixit, which was formed on Wednesday, also said it wants the matter to be resolved at the earliest but till that time peace and tranquillity is to be maintained.
“Till the disposal of the matter, you people should not insist on wearing all these religious things,” Awasthi had said.
“We will pass an order. Let the schools-colleges start. But till the matter is resolved, no student should insist on wearing religious dress”, he had said.
On Wednesday, Justice Dixit, who was hearing the case, referred the case to Justice Awasthi’s consideration with a view that a larger bench may look into the case.
The Hijab row started in December end when a few students started coming to a government pre-university college in Udupi wearing Hijab. To protest against it, some Hindu students turned up wearing saffron scarves.
The row spread to other educational institutions in different parts of the State, and the protests took a violent turn at some place earlier this week, prompting the government on Tuesday to declare three days holiday for the institutions. PTI.
Australia will open its borders to all vaccinated tourists and business travellers from February 21 in a further relaxation of pandemic restrictions announced Monday.
Australia imposed some of the world’s toughest travel restrictions on its citizens and permanent residents in March 2020 to prevent them from bringing COVID-19 home.
When the border restrictions were relaxed in November in response to an increasing vaccination rate among the Australian population, international students and skilled migrants were prioritised over tourists in being welcomed back to Australia.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said his senior ministers agreed on Monday that the border would reopen to all vaccinated visas holders from February 21.
Morrison said visitors must have proof of vaccination. He referred to Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic being deported by the Australian government last month because he was not vaccinated against coronavirus.
Events earlier in the year should have sent a very clear message, I think, to everyone around the world that that is the requirement to enter into Australia, Morrison said.
Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews said visitors who could provide proof of a medical reason why they could not be vaccinated could apply for a travel exemption.
Tourist operators have been lobbying the government to bring tourists back sooner. The southern hemisphere summer is in its final month.
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