BJP leaders tear into Mamata for giving PM’s cyclone meet a miss

BJP leaders tear into Mamata for giving PM’s cyclone meet a miss

New Delhi:29.05.2021

TOI: Chennai Edition 

BJP leaders, including several Union ministers, hit out at West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday for skipping a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Cyclone Yaas, with BJP president J P Nadda accusing her of “murdering constitutional ethos and the culture of cooperative federalism”.

Senior BJP leaders launched sharp attack on her, with Union home minister Amit Shah accusing her of putting “arrogance above public welfare”, while defence minister Rajnath Singh described her conduct as shocking and painful.

“This kind of behaviour with the prime minister, who arrived in the state with a sense of helping people of Bengal in the time of disaster, is painful. This is an unfortunate example of keeping political differences above public service and constitutional duties, which harms the basic spirit of India’s federal system,” Singh said.

Shah tweeted, “Mamata Didi’s conduct today is an unfortunate low. Cyclone Yaas has affected several common citizens and the need of the hour is to assist those affected. Sadly, Didi has put arrogance above public welfare and today’s petty behaviour reflects that.”

Nadda said Modi holds the principle of cooperative federalism “very sacred” and has been actively working with all chief ministers irrespective of their party affiliation to give relief to people but unsurprisingly, he added, Banerjee’s tactics and petty politics have once again come to haunt the people of Bengal. PTI

Govt slams ‘arrogant’ Didi for skipping PM meeting

Govt slams ‘arrogant’ Didi for skipping PM meeting

‘Justifies Adhikari’s Presence At Meeting As LoP’

Akhilesh.Singh@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: 29.05.2021 

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s decision to skip the Cyclone Yaas review meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, appeared to have left the Centre ‘bewildered’ even as sources justified the presence of Suvendu Adhikari at the meeting in his capacity as leader of the opposition (LoP).

Sources in government said the CM’s conduct was “callous, arrogant and supremely unmindful” of the welfare of the people of the state.

“Today, PM landed at Kalaikunda airbase after conducting an aerial survey in Odisha and West Bengal. When the PM arrived to attend the review meeting, there was no one from the West Bengal government,” said a source, adding that usually the tensions of state poll campaign are left behind after government formation.

The source said the chief minister and chief secretary of West Bengal were present on the same premises and yet they did not come to receive the PM.

Modi, governor Jagdeep Dhankhar and Union ministers waited for half-an-hour for West Bengal representatives to turn up. “Suddenly Mamata Banerjee stormed in and handed over a bunch of papers on the cyclone impact to the PM and said that she is leaving as she has other visits lined up,” a source said.

A government source said if this was not shocking enough, Banerjee even did not allow officers of the West Bengal government to make a presentation.

“The entire presentation was loaded on the screen. However, her pettiness prevented officers from presenting it to the PM,” the source said.

Referring to Banerjee’s objection to the presence of Adhikari in the review meeting, sources said since Cyclone Yaas is a natural calamity, it was imperative that the “collective energies of all the elected representatives of people are pooled together”.

“Accordingly LoP of both Odisha and West Bengal were invited in the respective meetings with PM. However, since LoP in Odisha is recovering from Covid-19, he was unable to attend the meeting,” a source said. “Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, leader of Congress in Lok Sabha, was also contacted to be part of the meeting. He has thanked the PM for the invitation but since he is in Delhi, he was unable to attend,” the source said.

UNDER FIRE: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee addresses the media on Friday

Man abandons father with black fungus symptoms

Man abandons father with black fungus symptoms

Sushil.Rao@timesgroup.com

Hyderabad:29.05.2021 

Times of India: Chennai Edition

This pandemic is not just killing humans, but emotions too. This was amply demonstrated when a 68-yearold man with black fungus symptoms was abandoned by his son in Vikarabad district of Telangana. Police had to step in and counsel Ramulu, who finally relented and assured to take care of his father Chandraiah.

Chandraiah tested positive for Covid-19 on May 3 and recovered. However, as he developed a problem in his left eye, he went to the government hospital at Parigi. The hospital staff confirmed he had black fungus symptoms and told him that he would be referred to a hospital in Vikarabad.

When Chandraiah expressed his helplessness, the hospital staff called up his son and informed him about the situation. Ramulu reportedly said he could not take chances as he has two sons and would not like to put them at risk by being with his father. “I have had enough of my father and taking care of him. I cannot do it anymore,” Ramulu told bluntly.

The hospital staff tried to persuade Ramulu but in vain. Police called up Ramulu, counselled him, saying he cannot abandon his father at a critical time when he has health complications. Ramulu relented.

Full report on www.toi.in

India for further studies to trace origin of Covid

India for further studies to trace origin of Covid

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:29.05.2021 

In a significant statement that comes even as the border face-off with Chine remains unresolved, India called for further studies to determine the origin of the coronavirus causing Covid-19, days after US President Joe Biden gave his intelligence officials 90 days to probe the ‘lab-leak’ theory, much to the annoyance of Beijing.

China has angrily rebutted suggestions that the Covid pathogen escaped from a Wuhan lab but the theory has refused to die down with recent reports claiming that staff at the critical facility had fallen ill in November, 2019. There have been other reports that surfaced first in the Australian media that the Chinese military considered options of “weaponising” virus of the Covid family.

The Indian move will not go down well with China which has been suggesting that the border tensions be seen as only a part of the overall relationship. The decision is another indication that India is not willing to consider normalising of ties as long as the border tensions in Ladakh remain unresolved. The stagnation in the deinduction at friction points is read as China looking for some “gains” or a “face-saver” after the mutual withdrawals at Pangong Tso.

In a response to questions, MEA spokesperson said on Friday, “The WHOconvened global study on the origin of Covid-19 is an important first step. It stressed the need for next phase studies as also for further data and studies to reach robust conclusions. The follow-up of the WHO report and further studies deserve the understanding and cooperation of all.” Though he did not name China, the indication to India’s northern neighbour was obvious.

Full report on www.toi.in

The decision is another indication that India is not willing to consider normalising of ties as long as the border tensions in Ladakh remain unresolved

‘India will be fully vaccinated by Dec’

‘India will be fully vaccinated by Dec’

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:29.05.2021 

Times Chennai Edition 

Information and broadcasting minister Prakash Javadekar on Friday said India would be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 by the end of the year.

He was responding to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s barbs at PM Narendra Modi for doing little to control the spread of the virus or charting out a clear vaccination strategy.

Javadekar said the health ministry had laid out a clear roadmap which said 216 crore doses would be available by December and that 108 crore people would be vaccinated.

He also countered Rahul’s claim that the Covid-19 vaccination drive, at the current rate, would take three years to complete. He said Rahul’s said claim was an insult to India and its people.

India ranked second in the world on the scale of vaccination by administering over 20 crore doses, and it was set to see a big jump from August, he added.

Majority of PM Cares ventilators in K’taka are lying unused

Bengaluru:

Even as hospitals in Karnataka grapple with severe shortage of ventilators and oxygen following a huge spike in Covid cases,1,800 ventilators received from the Centre are lying unused, reports BV Shivashankar.

Of the1,800 ventilators, the majority have been lying idle in hospitals for want of skilled staff, including technicians, doctors, anaestheticians and nurses, to operate them. Some are dysfunctional due to technical defects.

2.8 crore doses of Covaxin supplied so far, says Centre

2.8 crore doses of Covaxin supplied so far, says Centre

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Hyderabad/New Delhi:

TOI: Chennai Edition 29.05.2021

Bharat Biotech has supplied almost 2.8 crore doses of Covaxin to the Centre as of May 28 morning, a PIB release said on Friday. Of these, about 2.2 crore doses, including wastage, have been consumed by states and UTs, leaving them with about 55.8 lakh doses, it said. In addition, private hospitals have received about 13.7 lakh doses of Covaxin.

Including the 21.5 lakh doses that are to be supplied in May, the total number of doses supplied and in the pipeline till date adds up to about 3.1 crore, the ministry said.

Meanwhile, Bharat Biotech, which did not divulge any production details, said in a statement that the timeline for manufacturing, testing and release for a batch of Covaxin is approximately 120 days, depending on the technology framework and regulatory guidelines to be met.

The PIB release said, “Vaccine being a biological product of medical importance takes time for harvesting and quality testing. This cannot be done overnight to ensure a safe product…An increase in gross production does not translate to immediate supply.”

Full report on www.toi.in

TAKING THE JAB: A woman gets vaccinated at a drive-in facility in Ahmedabad on Friday

COVID- "Education Cannot Be More Important Than Lives Of Children" : Class Xth Student Moves Bombay High Court Praying To Not Change State's Decision To Cancel Exams

COVID- "Education Cannot Be More Important Than Lives Of Children" : Class Xth Student Moves Bombay High Court Praying To Not Change State's Decision To Cancel Exams: A class Xth student from Pune has moved the Bombay High Court urging the Court to not change the