Arrangements for Thaipoosam reviewed

21/01/2020 , Staff Reporter, PALANI

A meeting was chaired by Collector M. Vijayalakshmi in the presence of Joint Commissioner of Palani Temple V. Jayachandra Banu Reddy at the Collectorate here on Monday, regarding the preparatory works to be undertaken for Thaipoosam festival, scheduled from February 2 to 11.

The Collector said that more than two lakh devotees are expected to visit the Dhandayuthapani Swami Temple during the festival and most of them will be padayatris. The district administration has set up 11 permanent kavadi mandapams, 12 staying centres, 48 free toilet and bathroom facilities, 28 purified drinking water points, etc.

For Nadda, a steady rise to the top 

He cut his teeth in the ABVP and in Himachal Pradesh before shifting to Delhi

21/01/2020 , Nistula Hebbar, NEW DELHI 


 
At the helm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi with J.P. Nadda and Home Minister Amit Shah. Sushil Kumar Verma

For J.P. Nadda, 59, being elected as the 11th president of the BJP tops off a steady rise from student politics in the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the RSS, to State politics in Himachal Pradesh and then an important stint in national politics since 2010.

Mr. Nadda, born to Krishna and Narain Lall Nadda, on December 2, 1960, did his schooling at St. Xavier’s, Patna, and graduated from Patna College, Patna University.

He joined the ABVP in Patna and continued the association when he and his family moved back to their native Himachal Pradesh after his father retired from Patna University.

Student union chief

Here, Mr. Nadda joined Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla, for a law degree and remained active in student politics, becoming the first ABVP president of the students’ union there.

His organisational skills were recognised, and he was made the ABVP’s organisational general secretary in Delhi between 1985 and 1989.

Those were heady days for not just the student movement but also for the BJP, which was coming out of its bad performance in the 1985 Lok Sabha election and raising the pitch for a Ram temple in Ayodhya.

Mr. Nadda’s stint in Delhi helped him fight his first Assembly election in 1993. In all, he has won in three Assembly elections, and has been a Minister twice in the Himachal Pradesh government.

However, it was in 2010, when Union Minister Nitin Gadkari was the BJP president, that he got his big break in the organisation. Mr. Gadkari first made him national general secretary and then got him elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2012.

He was made a Minister in the first Narendra Modi government, but returned to organisational work in the second. His role as Uttar Pradesh in-charge for the 2019 election was much appreciated, and he managed to carve out a valued, trustworthy space for himself in the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah equation soon.

This resulted in his being made the BJP’s first working president in June 2019, the understanding being that he would be made president once Mr. Shah’s tenure ended.

For Mr. Nadda, not only is the role of the third wheel in the Modi-Shah equation going to be a tightrope walk but will also be tough to follow in the footsteps of Mr. Shah, whose control over the organisation and meticulous electoral planning have acquired legendary proportions. The fact that he faces two tough elections immediately after taking over, in Delhi and Bihar, is significant. The BJP hopes his tenure will be as smooth as his rise to the top post.

SC throws out Nirbhaya convict’s plea 

‘Juvenility claim cannot be reagitated once the courts have rejected it’

 21/01/2020 , Legal Correspondent, NEW DELHI

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a plea of Nirbhaya gang rape convict Pawan Kumar Gupta against the Delhi High Court's rejection of his claim that he was a juvenile at the time of the crime in 2012.

A three-judge Bench led by Justice R. Banumathi said that though the plea of juvenility could be made by an accused at any stage of the case, it cannot be reagitated time and again once successive courts have rejected the claim.

During the two-hour long hearing that continued through the lunch break, advocate A.P. Singh, for Gupta, said there was a “big conspiracy” afoot to conceal his client’s real age.

Reading out the order in open court, Justice Banumathi, for the Bench also comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan and A.S. Bopanna, said the claim of juvenility and materials produced were considered and decided unfavourably to Gupta by the magistrate in 2013 and later on by the Delhi High Court and finally the Supreme Court in July 2018 in review.

“Your issue that Pawan Gupta is a juvenile was argued and decided against you in the review on July 9 by the Supreme Court. This issue was heard and dismissed on the same material. Can this be repeatedly agitated, this will be never-ending...” Justice Bhushan addressed Mr. Singh.

“The magistrate had considered your juvenility plea and rejected it in 2013. The High Court also rejected. The Supreme Court rejected in review. How many times, Sir... How many times, Sir, will you raise this plea?” Justice Banumathi remarked.

The special leave petition filed against the December 19 dismissal came after a five-judge Bench of the Supreme Court led by Justice N.V. Ramana last week rejected the curative petitions of two other Nirbhaya death row convicts, Vinay Sharma and Mukesh.

The President has also rejected the mercy plea of Mukesh.

The Supreme Court recently dismissed a review petition filed by another one of the four condemned men, Akshay Singh, to review its May 5, 2017 judgment confirming the death penalty in the case.

Akshay, Mukesh, Pawan and Vinay had brutally gang-raped a 23-year-old paramedical student in a moving bus on the intervening night of December 16-17, 2012. She died of her injuries a few days later. An accused, Ram Singh, allegedly committed suicide in the Tihar jail. A juvenile, who was among the accused, was convicted by a juvenile justice board. He was released from a reformation home after serving a three-year term.

Senior IAS officer seeks retirement

21/01/2020 , Sangeetha Kandavel, CHENNAI

Senior IAS officer Santhosh Babu, serving as Principal Secretary in the Information Technology Department, has applied for voluntary retirement from service. He is also the Managing Director of Tamil Nadu Fibrenet Corporation (TANFINET).

“Yes, he has applied for VRS,” said a source on Monday. In a letter to the Chief Secretary, he cited “personal reasons” for his decision. He is learnt to be toying with the idea of launching a startup.

He is credited with launching India’s first rural BPO FOSTeRA.

VAOs challenge High Court order on grievance cells 

‘With advancement in technology, the presence of VAOs at their village has become obsolete’
 
21/01/2020 , B. Tilak Chandar, MADURAI

A group of seven Village Administrative Officers (VAOs) filed an appeal before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Monday, challenging a single bench order that directed the State to constitute grievance cells to hear complaints against the VAOs.

Challenging the order, the VAOs said that the single bench order was passed on a writ petition that sought a direction to the State to instruct the VAO of Melaiyur revenue village in Thanjavur district to reside in the village for grievance redressal.

However, the scope of the petition was expanded and an order was passed directing the State to constitute grievance cells to hear complaints against the VAOs and give appropriate directions that action would be initiated against those not following the order.

In their appeal, they said that VAOs were entrusted with a plethora of duties which includes preparation and maintenance of village revenue and land records, collection of various taxes, issuance of certificates and other important functions.

They have dedicated a major portion of their efforts and energy towards the upkeep and well-being of the villages where they have been stationed. But, VAOs are often left struggling to find decent accommodation.

Sometimes, the area of posting may be an isolated village with no road connectivity or accommodation available.

Some areas lack infrastructure facilities as the area of posting may be nothing but plantations or agricultural lands with few houses.

In several cases, women VAOs struggle to find decent accommodation and even an office with proper sanitation facilities.

The VAOs pointed out that they were constantly present in their offices throughout the day during office hours and beyond and it was only during the night they they went to their residences. The necessity of VAOs to reside in their village was when communication was largely possible only through word of mouth. With advancement in technology and the availability of mobile phones, the continued presence of VAOs at the village of their posting had become obsolete, they added.

The position of law must change in accordance with changing times, they said. They sought a stay on the single bench order.

A Division Bench of Justices M. Duraiswamy and T. Ravindran sought a response from the State government and adjourned the hearing of the case till February 7.

Builder asked to pay ₹5 lakh compensation to senior citizen

21/01/2020 , Special Correspondent, Chennai

The Tamil Nadu State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Chennai has directed Ramaniyam Real Estates Pvt Ltd to pay ₹5 lakh compensation and refund amount paid by a senior citizen for buying a flat along with interest.

According to complaint filed by K.R. Parthasarathy, 69, he had booked a flat in the project developed for senior citizens at Sholinganallur by Appudhi Real Estates Pvt Ltd in 2013. The firm subsequently got merged with Ramaniyam. The builder had promised to provide access control system to the building and buzzer alarm in each room of the flat, he said. He had paid about ₹44.27 lakh towards purchase of UDS, cost of construction and other services.

In his complaint, he claimed that the builder lured him to enter into an agreement to a flat meant for senior citizens by promising to provide special security facilities such as access control system to the building, but has not kept their promise. In its response, the builder said it never promised or undertook to provide the security facilities. The Commission rejected the builder’s argument. It told the builder to refund ₹44.27 lakh along with interest of ₹11.29 lakh accrued till December 31, 2016 and thereafter with interest at 9% per annum for ₹44.27 lakh till payment and ₹10,000 litigation cost to the buyer.

Coronavirus outbreak: doctors to look out for flu-like symptoms
Directorate of Public Health on alert for respiratory infections
 
21/01/2020 , Serena Josephine M., Chennai

No entry: Tamil Nadu already has a screening mechanism for influenza-like illnesses, according to K. Kolandaswamy, Director of Public Health.

With China reporting a novel coronavirus outbreak, the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine has instructed doctors to look out for symptoms of influenza-like illnesses, regardless of patient travel history to the affected country.

Tamil Nadu already has in place a screening mechanism for influenza-like illnesses, and doctors have been told to stay alert, look out for symptoms of respiratory infections, fever and cough and ask for the travel history of patients, according to K. Kolandaswamy, director of public health.

“Influenza-like illness is under watch in Tamil Nadu, and we have a history-taking system in place for any infectious disease. Now, we have told doctors to focus on symptoms of influenza-like illness, whether or not a patient has travel history and provide prompt treatment. People with such symptoms should report to the nearest health facility,” he added.

Airports to screen fliers

Health officials said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has instructed airports that have direct connecting flights to China such as Delhi to have thermal scanners to screen travellers from China as a precautionary measure. “The international airport in Chennai is already screening passengers for influenza-like illness, and has a self-reporting system too,” he added.

The Union Health Ministry, in a travel advisory issued earlier, said that travellers to China should follow simple public health measures at all times such as observe good personal hygiene, practice frequent hand-washing with soap, cover mouth when coughing or sneezing, avoid close contact with persons who are unwell or showing symptoms of illness, and to wear a mask in case of respiratory symptoms of cough and runny nose.

The advisory asked all travellers to China, in particular to Wuhan, to monitor their health closely. If a person felt sick on the flight while returning to India, he/she should inform the airline crew about the illness, seek masks from the crew and follow their directions while disembarking.

They should report to airport health authorities/immigration and follow the direction of the airport health officer.

If a person feels sick in a span of one month after their return from China, he/she should report the illness to the nearest health facility and inform doctors of the travel history, the advisory said.