Category: National

CMs of Congress-run States asked if the Centre has a plan to get the country out of lockdown and also revive the economy

PTI

Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday questioned the government over the criteria it adopted to judge how long the COVID-19-induced lockdown will continue.

Addressing a meeting of chief ministers of states where the Congress is in power, she asked “what after May 17?.” The third phase of the lockdown ends on May 17.

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi were part of the meeting.

“After May 17th, What? and After May 17th, How?…what criteria is GoI (government of India) using to judge how long the lockdown is to continue…,” Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala quoted Sonia Gandhi as saying in the video conference with CMs.

She thanked farmers, particularly of Punjab and Haryana, for ensuring food security by giving bumper wheat crop produce despite all odds.

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also said, “We need to know, as Soniaji said, what will happen after lockdown 3.0?”.

“Soniaji has already pointed out. CM’s need to deliberate and ask as to what is the strategy of the government of India to get the country out of lockdown,” Singh asked.

Speaking at the meeting, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said he has set up two committees, one to strategise on how to come out of the lockdown and the other on economic revival.

“Concern is people sitting in Delhi are deciding on classification of (COVID-19) zones without knowing what’s happening on the ground,” he said at the meeting.

Rajasthan Chief minister Ashok Gehlot said, “until extensive stimulus package is given, how will States and the country run? We have lost ₹10,000 crore revenue.”

He said states have repeatedly requested the prime minister for a package, “but we are yet to hear from the government of India”.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said, “States are facing dire economic crisis. They need to be provided immediate assistance.”

He said Chattisgarh is one state where 80% of small industries have restarted and nearly 85,000 workers have returned to work.

85 more BSF personnel test positive in New Delhi

As many as 85 BSF personnel tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, taking the total number of infected personnel to 154 so far.

Two of them have recovered from the disease.

Two floors of the BSF headquarters in the CGOs complex on Lodhi Road here were sealed on Monday after a staff member was found COVID-19 infected and the headquarters was shut for sanitisation.

30 BSF jawans test positive for COVID-19 in Jodhpur

Thirty BSF jawans, forming part of a company deployed earlier in the Walled City area in Delhi on internal security duty, tested positive for COVID-19 here on Wednesday, an official of the border guarding force said.

According to the BSF official, all these jawans were the part of a BSF company comprising 65 jawans, which had been sent to Delhi from Jaipur on internal security duty and had been put up at the Jama Masjid in the national capital.

With inputs from The Hindu

Delhi coronavirus liquor tax: Liquor shops pulled up their shutters on Monday after over a month since the centre announced a lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic

New Delhi: The Delhi government will charge 70 per cent extra tax on liquor from today amid the coronavirus pandemic. Calling the new tax “special corona fee”, the Arvind Kejriwal government in a late night order on Monday said the police should allow the shops to remain open from 9 am to 6:30 pm.
The 70% tax is on the maximum retail price or MRP per bottle. For instance, a liquor bottle with a pre-tax MRP of Rs 1,000 will now cost Rs 1,700.

Liquor shops pulled up their shutters on Monday after over a month since the centre announced a lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The Delhi government is looking to harvest more revenue from liquor sales as the lockdown has affected businesses and tax collection.

The move to charge the 70 per cent tax on liquor was first considered at a cabinet meeting chaired by Mr Kejriwal on Monday morning itself, just after the extended lockdown kicked in with some rules eased, news agency PTI reported quoting unnamed sources.

On Sunday, Mr Kejriwal said the state government’s earnings and economy have been affected due to the lockdown. Citing revenue figures, he said the Delhi government earned Rs 3,500 crore in April 2019, but only Rs 300 crore in April this year.

The Delhi government issues licence to sell liquor to its tourism and related undertakings – DTTDC, DSIDC, DSCSC and DCCWS – and these agencies can further issue licence to those who want to use their premises to sell liquor.

Only standalone liquor shops as against those located at markets are allowed to open in Delhi.

Many said they were not aware that only government liquor shops were allowed to open.

Hours after the shops opened on Monday, thousands turned up to stand in long queues and without following social distancing guidelines. This led the authorities to shut many of the shops in no time.

Officials had painstakingly drawn chalk circles for buyers of booze to stand in but the social distancing efforts were thwarted as people gathered from early morning.

The ministry said 1,020 COVID-19 patients recovered in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of those cured to 12,726

PTI

As many as 3,900 new COVID-19 cases and 195 fatalities were reported in the last 24 hours, the biggest spike in a single day, the health ministry said on Tuesday and asserted that some states were not reporting cases in a timely manner, which is now being addressed.

Addressing the daily briefing on the COVID-19 situation in the country, joint secretary at the health ministry Lav Agarwal said the total number of cases stand at 46,433 and the death toll at 1,568.

We are dealing with an infectious disease. Thus timely reporting of cases and their management is very crucial and gaps in these areas were noted in some states, which after due persuasion are being addressed, Agarwal said.

The ministry said 1,020 COVID-19 patients recovered in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of those cured to 12,726, a recovery rate of 27.41 per cent.

We are very comfortable in terms of managing COVID-19 as of now, but any laxity at the field level may have consequences, he said.

Asserting that it is important to trace each and every contact of COVID-19 positive patients, Mr. Agarwal said conducting surveillance for Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) and influenza like illness (ILI) symptoms in facilities in containment zones and otherwise, yields very valuable data and guides further action.

The lockdown has yielded very positive results, doubling time of cases has improved from 3.4 days before lockdown to 12 days now, he said, adding that it is important to sustain the momentum.

These special flights would be operated by Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express

PTI

The Central government is likely to operate 64 flights from May 7 to 13 to bring home around 14,800 Indian nationals stranded abroad because of the coronavirus lockdown, said senior government officials on Tuesday.

These special flights would be operated by Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express to repatriate Indians from 12 countries —the UAE, the UK, the US, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman, said the officials.

India has been under a lockdown since March 25 to curb the spread of the coronavirus and it will continue till May 17. All commercial passenger flights have been suspended for this period.

Therefore, the Ministry of Home Affairs announced on Monday it will facilitate the return of asymptomatic Indian nationals stranded abroad from May 7 onwards, in a phased manner, through aircraft and naval ships on a payment basis.

Between May 7 and 13, India is likely to conduct 10 flights to the UAE, seven flights each to the US and the UK, five to Saudi Arabia, five to Singapore and two flights to Qatar, the officials told PTI.

It is also likely to conduct seven flights each to Malaysia and Bangladesh, five each to Kuwait and Philippines, two each to Oman and Bahrain, the officials noted.

Out of the 64 repatriation flights, 15 would be from Kerala, 11 each would be from Delhi and Tamil Nadu, seven each would be from Maharashtra and Telangana, and remaining flights would be from five other states, the officials said.

“Approximately 14,800 Indian nationals are likely to return to the country through these 64 flights during the seven-day period. The government will run more repatriation flights after May 13,” one of the officials said.

The Minister also shared air fares to be paid by those seeking to return. A flight from London to Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and New Delhi will cost ₹50,000 (per passenger). Flights from Chicago, San Francisco, Newark and Washington will cost nearly ₹1,00,000; a flight from Dubai will cost ₹13,000 and from Abu Dhabi ₹15,000. Flights from Singapore and Malaysia will cost ₹20,000.

Passengers will also have to pay for their quarantine facilities, but a final decision will be taken by the State governments.

To a question on why were passengers being charged exorbitant airfares on par with commercial rates?

The Minister said, “this is a commercial service. We will not be offering subsidised fares. As it is Air India is surviving on a government subsidy of ₹500 crore to ₹600 crore per month and most private airlines are hand to mouth and are loss making.” He explained that air tickets also factored the cost of a two-way journey as many aircraft will fly from India empty.

“This exercise is for those who find themselves distressed and are stranded because either their visas have expired or either they are being deported or either they went to these countries for work and wanted to come back,” the Minister said.

The Government of India will be facilitating the return of Indian nationals stranded abroad on compelling grounds in a phased manner from May 7.

Return will be facilitated by air and ship. A full SOP has been prepared for screening /quarantine to be undertaken by State governments, coordinated by MEA/MOCA.

Army Chief Gen MM Naravane said India will give “proportionate response” to all acts of infringement of ceasefire and support to terrorism by Pakistan.

PTI

New Delhi: Pakistan is still following its “myopic” and “limited” agenda of pushing terrorists into Jammu and Kashmir, and India will respond appropriately with precision unless the neighbouring country gives up its policy of state sponsored terrorism, Army Chief Gen MM Naravane said here.

In an exclusive interview to PTI, the chief of the 1.3 million-strong Army said India will give “proportionate response” to all acts of infringement of ceasefire and support to terrorism by Pakistan.

On the Handwara encounter, Gen. Naravane said India is proud of the five security personnel who laid down their lives saving civilians from terrorists at a village in the North Kashmir locality and particularly complimented Col Ashutosh Sharma who led the operation.

“I would like to emphasise that Indian Army will give proportionate response to all acts of infringement of ceasefire and its (Pakistan’s) support to terrorism. The onus remains with Pakistan to bring peace in the region,” the Chief of Army Staff said.

“Unless Pakistan gives up its policy of state sponsored terrorism, we will continue to respond appropriately and with precision,” he added.

Gen Naravane said the recent infiltration attempts by Pakistan along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir showed that Pakistan is not interested in battling the coronavirus pandemic and is still following its “own myopic and limited agenda of pushing terrorists inside India.”

“The low priority given to the Pakistani citizens by its own government and the army is apparent by the exponential rise in cases and massive shortages of medical equipment and supplies in Pakistan,” he said.

The Army Chief said even during the SAARC video conference, Pakistan’s narrow-mindedness was on full display when it used the platform to complain about “non-existent” violations of human rights in Kashmir instead of finding ways to keep its citizens safe from the pandemic.

“The increased intensity of ceasefire violations by the Pakistan army, where its targets innocent civilians on the LoC, just shows that the country is a global risk and is not interested in providing relief to its own citizens,” he said.

“In fact, Pakistan’s removal of names of hardcore terrorists from the terror watch list just proves that it still believes in exporting terrorism as an instrument of state policy,” he added.

On implementation of recommendations of terror anti-terror watchdog FATF, Gen Naravane said Pakistan has sought to “blindside” the international community by making superficial changes and amendments to its “non-existent” checks on terror financing and money laundering.

“It still continues to employ proxies to inflict terror and violence not only inside India but also in Afghanistan where it supports the Taliban militarily and financially,” he said.

“The sudden spurts in violence against Afghan security forces are indicative of the illegal and illicit drug and money laundering networks that fuel the conflict,” Gen Naravane added.

What is particularly disturbing is that the Central government and the Rail Ministry are charging them for train tickets in this hour of crisis, the party president says in a statement

PTI

The State units of the Congress or the Pradesh Congress Committees (PCC) will bear the cost of rail travel of every needy worker and migrant labour, Congress president Sonia Gandhi said in a statement on Monday.

She called it ‘disturbing’ that the Railways and the Union government were charging the migrants even for distress travel when it could spend nearly ₹100 crores on a public programme in Gujarat, a veiled attack on the Namaste Trump programme to welcome U.S. President Donald Trump.

“What is particularly disturbing is that the Central government and the Rail Ministry are charging them for train tickets in this hour of crisis,” Ms. Gandhi said in a statement.

“The Indian National Congress has, therefore, taken a decision that every Pradesh Congress Committee shall bear the cost for the rail travel of every needy worker and migrant labourer and shall take necessary steps in this regard.”

Questioning the responsibility of the Union government, the Congress chief said there were lakhs of migrant workers who were ‘languishing’ in different parts of the country with neither food nor money to travel.

“Post the Partition of 1947, this is the first time India witnessed a tragedy with such a massive human cost as thousands of migrant workers and labourers were forced to walk home several hundred kilometres on foot — without food, without medicines, without money, without transportation, without anything except for the desire to return to their families and loved ones. The very thought of their plight is enough to break our hearts as there was also the outpouring of support from fellow Indians for their inspiring resolve,” she said.

‘Ambassadors of nation’s growth’

“Our workers and labourers are the ambassadors of our nation’s growth. When our government can recognise its responsibility by arranging free air travel for our citizens stranded abroad, when the government can spend nearly ₹100 crores on transport and food etc. for just one public programme in Gujarat, when the Rail Ministry has the largesse to donate ₹151 crores to the PM’s Corona fund, then why can’t these essential members of our nation’s fabric be given a fraction of the same courtesy, especially free rail travel, at this hour of acute distress,” asked Ms. Gandhi.

The Congress chief stated that by making a “humble contribution” the Congress would stand “shoulder to shoulder in solidarity with the workers”.

Cong. releases Railways guidelines

As soon as Central government ‘sources’ stated that the Centre would fund 85% of the rail travel cost of migrant workers, the Congress on Monday released a copy of the Indian Railways guidelines where it was clearly mentioned that the fare had to be collected from the passenger.

The government’s damage control came soon after Ms. Gandhi issued a public statement that her party would pay for the rail fares of the migrant workers.

Addressing an online press conference, party general secretary K.C. Venugopal and Randeep Surjewala said the government’s move was an afterthought and asserted that the party had already paid ₹1 crore to the BJP government in Karnataka to facilitate smooth travel of migrant labour and workers.

“The local State government authority shall hand over the tickets to passengers cleared by them and collect the ticket fare and hand over the total amount to Railways,” Mr. Venugopal read out from order signed by a senior official of the Railway Board.

The Congress general secretary said that all the State party units or Pradesh Congress Committees (PCCs) had been informed to get in touch with the Chief Secretaries of the State government to make the offer of payment.

PM CARES Fund

“Nobody should stand on false prestige, and we call upon Prime Minister Narendra Modiji to utilise thousands and thousands of crores lying in the PM CARES Fund,” Mr. Surjewala said.

Former party chief Rahul Gandhi too made a similar point on twitter.

“On the one hand, the Railways is charging fares from migrant workers stranded in other States while, on the other hand, it is donating ₹150 crores to the PM CARES Fund. Just solve the riddle,” Mr. Gandhi tweeted.

Calling the party president’s decision to direct PCCs to bear the cost of rail transport for migrant workers historic, former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said the move “puts the Government of India to shame”.

Senior party leader Ahmed Patel asked why the issue of migrant workers had not got the attention of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) it deserved.

“The near silence of the NHRC is surprising. Two major human rights abuses have occurred during this pandemic & we are yet to hear from this constitutional body.1) Forced exodus of poor migrants on foot. 2) Stigmatisation of a community contrary to WHO guidelines,” Mr. Patel tweeted.

India demarched senior Pakistan diplomat and lodged a strong protest

PTI

India has conveyed its strong protest to Pakistan over an order by that country’s supreme court allowing the conduct of general elections in Gilgit-Baltistan.

The Ministry of External Affairs said Pakistan was told that entire Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, including areas of Gilgit and Baltistan, are an integral part of India and that Islamabad should immediately vacate the areas under its illegal occupation.

In a recent order, the Pakistan Supreme Court allowed the amendment to the Government of Gilgit-Baltistan Order of 2018 to conduct the general elections in the region.

“India demarched senior Pakistan diplomat and lodged a strong protest to Pakistan against Supreme Court of Pakistan order on the so-called ‘Gilgit-Baltistan’,” the MEA said in a statement.

“It was clearly conveyed that the entire Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, including the areas of Gilgit and Baltistan, are an integral part of India by virtue of its fully legal and irrevocable accession,” it said.

The MEA said the government of Pakistan or its judiciary has no locus standi on territories “illegally and forcibly” occupied by it.

“India completely rejects such actions and continued attempts to bring material changes in Pakistan occupied areas of the Indian territory of Jammu and Kashmir,” it said.

“Instead, Pakistan should immediately vacate all areas under its illegal occupation,” it added.

The MEA said Pakistan’s recent actions can neither hide the “illegal occupation” of parts of union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh by it nor the “grave human rights violations, exploitation and denial of freedom” to the people residing in these areas for the past seven decades.