Ghulam Nabi Azad, 71, has major role to play in coming months: Congress

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February 28, 2021

Cong leaders shower praises on Azad, say he has major role to play in coming  months - Oneindia News

Jammu, Feb 28: Several Congress leaders on Saturday praised party colleague Ghulam Nabi Azad, who retired from the Rajya Sabha recently, with Manish Tewari saying the veteran leader has a major role to play in the coming months as the nation is facing a "threat" to its identity from the ruling BJP.

71 years old Azad retired from the Upper House of Parliament on February 15.

"When this country is facing a threat and attempts are being made to change its identity, we need a leader like Azad and his guidance to take the ship of this country to the shore," Tewari said at a function organised by the Gandhi Global Family here.

"The time has come when progressive, nationalist and secular forces should come together on a single platform. Azad has a major role in this," he said.

The former Union minister said senior Congress leaders are here on the invitation of the Gandhi Global Family to thank Azad, who has held high posts and served the country and the party at various levels over the past four decades.

"Azad is a dedicated Congress party worker and it is not wrong to say that he is the among a few who understand the party as he had been in charge (of party affairs) of various states," Tewari said.

Launching a scathing attack on the BJP-led government at the Centre, he said it is responsible for the prevailing situation in the country due to its alleged misrule over the past six-and-a-half years.

"Jammu and Kashmir was hit hard by its unilateral decision on August 5, 2019. It has never happened in the history of the country that a full-fledged state was bifurcated into Union Territories. J&K has a golden history and is the crown of India and we promise to fight for the restoration of statehood to it," the Congress leader said.

He claimed that the Centre's move was "against the Constitution and justice".

In his address, senior Congress leader Anand Sharma said questions are being raised as regards "why are we here".

"We live in India and it is our right to go anywhere in the country. We do not need permission from anyone. We have come here to give a message that with a person with whom we have spent over 40 years, we are with him," Sharma said.

However, he said, "We have raised our voice to improve the health of the party and strengthen it so that the youth join the party."

"We have seen good times and do not want to see the decline of the party as we grow older. We will take the political fight from Jammu to Nagpur and will fight it together," Sharma said, adding those who are attempting to mislead the public and create a wrong notion should note that "Congress is our identity and we are the identity of Congress".

"We have given our prime to the party and walked a long distance. None of us was dropped by a parachute and we used the doors to enter the party instead of the window. We will strengthen the Congress and become the hope of the people, India will reach new heights," he said.

Showering praises on Azad, Sharma said nobody should be of the opinion that his career is over with his retirement from the Rajya Sabha.

"This was not the right time to retire him from the Rajya Sabha as the country is faced with challenges. We feel the pain of Jammu and Kashmir and will continue with our fight to ensure that the erstwhile state gets its statehood back," he said.

He said this is for the first time after 1950 that the Rajya Sabha has no representative from Jammu and Kashmir after the retirement of Azad.

"The Jammu and Kashmir assembly election has not taken place and none of its representatives has been elected to the Rajya Sabha," he said.

Taking a dig at the BJP, he said India cannot be run on a single ideology.

Another Congress leader Raj Babbar said there are some who are terming them as "G-23" leaders.

"I am saying we are Gandhi-23 and the Congress leaders are with the ideology of Gandhi," he said.

"This G-23 wants a strong Congress and we are determined that Gandhi-23 will work to ensure the party's victory in the upcoming elections in different states," Babbar said.

"The journey of Azad has not finished. It has not even not reached the half-way mark. We need the support of every Gandhian and Congressman to ensure that Azad completes his journey," he said.

Senior Congress leader and former Haryana chief minister Boopinder Singh Hooda described Azad as a nationalist by core.

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News Network
March 21,2024

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Israeli military siege, hunger, and diseases will soon become the main killer in Gaza, says commissioner- general of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).

Philippe Lazzarini, who heads the UNRWA for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, took to X on Wednesday to vent his concern for the growing hunger and spread of diseases as a result of the Israeli siege on the besieged strip.

He said starvation and illness may soon be the main killer in Gaza.

"This fabricated and catastrophic level of hunger can still be reversed by flooding Gaza with food and life-saving assistance," Lazzarini said.

"More than ever humanity requires political will,” the UNRWA chief added.

In a press release on March 19, UNRWA said that “famine is imminent in the Gaza Strip, especially for isolated populations in northern Gaza deprived of humanitarian aid.”

The statement noted that the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), in a latest food security outlook, concluded that up to 1.1 million people in Gaza are facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity.

“Nutrition screenings conducted in February by UNICEF and UNRWA show that rates of acute malnutrition among children in northern Gaza and Rafah have nearly doubled since January,” it said.

The Israeli regime has accused UNRWA staff of being involved in the October 7 attack by the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas against the occupied territories, prompting a number of its western allies to suspend funding for the UN agency.

On Wednesday, an agreement was reached by US congressional leaders and the White House on a massive funding bill will continue a ban on US funding for UNRWA until March 2025, Reuters reported.

Earlier this year the US, Canada, Australia, Britain, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Finland, Estonia, Japan, Austria and Romania  decided to cut their funding to the UNRWA, considered a lifeline for the Palestinians in Gaza.

France had also announced that it does not plan a new payment to fund UNRWA in the first quarter of 2024.

Condemning the suspension of funding, Lazzarini had said, “It would be immensely irresponsible to sanction an agency and an entire community…, especially at a time of war, displacement and political crises in the region.”

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News Network
March 18,2024

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New Delhi, Mar 18: The Election Commission on Monday afternoon issued orders for the removal of six Home Secretaries - including the top bureaucrats from Gujarat, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh.

The poll panel also directed the transfer of West Bengal's Director-General of Police, the top cop of a state that has seen several instances of poll-related violence in recent years. The poll panel further said a shortlist of three potential replacements had to be prepared and submitted by 5 pm.

The re-shuffle, not an uncommon move by the Election Commission before major polls, also includes the transfer of the Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand Home Secretaries, as well as senior officials attached to the offices of the Mizoram and Himachal Pradesh Chief Ministers.

In addition, Iqbal Singh Chahal, who is Commissioner of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, and other officials in municipalities across Maharashtra, have been removed too.

All of this comes less than a month before the 2024 Lok Sabha poll; the ECI on Saturday said voting will begin on April 19 and run over seven phases till June 1.

This is, in fact, the first bureaucratic re-jig by the ECI since it announced polling dates.

The ECI's move comes after a meeting of Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and his two associates, the newly-appointed Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu. This step comes as part of the poll panel's commitment to ensure a level playing field for all political parties in the forthcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, as well as by-polls for 26 seats in 13 states.

Sources said the personnel removed were found to be holding dual charge in the offices of the respective chief ministers of each state, and this could compromise, or be seen to be compromising, required neutrality, particularly in relation to law-and-order before, during and after polling.

Bengal's ruling Trinamool has not yet reacted to the removal of DGP Rajiv Malik, who is seen by some to be close to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's party. In the past, the state government has questioned the last-minute re-shuffle of senior civil service and police officials so close to an election, arguing it actually hampers prep work since the new faces need time to adjust to the post.

Bengal has frequently witnessed violence during polling season; in June last year over a dozen people were killed across the state as voting for a panchayat election was underway.

The Trinamool accused the opposition of instigating violence and criticised central forces for their failure to protect voters, while the Congress claimed the state had let thugs loose on the people.

While announcing the dates on Saturday, the Chief Election Commissioner said the poll panel would take a very dim view of any violence during the election. Mr Kumar said the ECI is prepared to come down hard on any such incident. "We're putting political parties on notice," he declared.

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News Network
March 22,2024

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The start of the world’s most lucrative cricket tournament in India is presenting investors with another big opportunity to cash in on the sport, months after the world’s most populous nation hosted the Cricket World Cup.

The eight-week long Indian Premier League begins March 22 for its 17th season. Since its inception, the fast-paced cricket tournament has become a corporate juggernaut to rival the National Football League in the US and the English Premier League in value.

Just as October’s Cricket World Cup boosted consumption in India for months, fans are expected to flock to restaurants, pubs and food delivery platforms over the duration of the tournament. This year’s IPL also coincides with general elections that will last for six weeks starting April 19, a period when companies are expecting higher food and drink sales as people flock to rallies and other events.

“There’s going to be a lot of spending,” said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at Bank of Baroda. “IPL, as well as the election, gives a three-month corridor with enhanced economic activity.”

Stocks in India such as McDonald’s franchise operator Westlife Foodworld Ltd. and peer Sapphire Foods India Ltd. gained ahead of the first match on Friday, as well as hotels and beverage makers. Packaged-food companies could also stand to benefit from the IPL craze, said Sachil Bobade, an analyst at investment firm Dolat Capital Market.

The IPL ecosystem was valued at $11 billion (Rs 91,721 crores) in 2023, including the value of media rights and sponsorships, according to Indian valuation consulting firm D&P Advisory.

The league is also attracting record sums of money from sponsors and broadcasters. Conglomerate Tata Group won the title sponsorship rights of the tournament in January for a record 25 billion rupees ($300 million). Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s media venture secured the digital streaming rights in 2022 for five years for $2.7 billion, while Walt Disney Co. paid roughly the same for TV rights.

“There was a serious amount of bidding even this year,” said Vinit Karnik, head of entertainment, esports and sports at media agency GroupM South Asia. “I see growth in IPL in double digits year-on-year,” he adds.

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