Month: July 2019

President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress President Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal were among leaders who condoled her death. Gandhi described her as “beloved daughter of Congress party”.

Dikshit, 81, was the longest-serving Chief Minister of Delhi, having served in office for 15 years from 1998.

She was appointed Delhi Congress Committee earlier this year ahead of Lok Sabha polls. She contested from North East Delhi but lost. Dikshit had also projected party’s chief ministerial candidate in Uttar Pradesh before Congress allied with Samajwadi Party ahead of last assembly polls.

A statement issued by Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, where she was admitted on Saturday morning, said she was brought “in a critical condition with cardiac arrest”.

“A multi-disciplinary team of doctors, led by Dr Ashok Seth, Chairman, Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, carried out the advanced resuscitative measures. Her condition stabilised temporarily. However, she had another cardiac arrest and despite all the resuscitative efforts, passed away at 3:55 pm on 20th,” it said,” it said.

Dikshit had three bypass surgeries and had been in and out of hospital of late as she was not keeping well. She attended a political meeting on Thursday.

Dikshit’s death caused a wave of shock in the Congress with party leaders remembering her dedication towards the party and her administrative abilities.

Dikshit shared a special bond with Rahul Gandhi who said he was devastated to learn of her death.

“I’m devastated to hear about the passing away of Shiela Dikshitji, a beloved daughter of the Congress Party, with whom I shared a close personal bond. My condolences to her family and the citizens of Delhi, whom she served selflessly as a 3 term CM, in this time of great grief,” Gandhi said in a tweet.

Kovind said she will be remembered for “momentous transformation” of the national capital during her terms as chief minister.

“Sad to hear of the passing of Sheila Dikshit, former Chief Minister of Delhi and a senior political figure. Her term in office was a period of momentous transformation for the capital for which she will be remembered. Condolences to her family and associates,” he tweeted.

Modi recalled her warm and affable personality and said she made noteworthy contribution to Delhi’s development.

“Deeply saddened by the demise of Sheila Dikshitji. Blessed with a warm and affable personality, she made a noteworthy contribution to Delhi’s development. Condolences to her family and supporters. Om Shanti,” he said in a tweet.

Kejriwal said in a tweet that her demise was a huge loss to Delhi.

“Just now got to know about the extremely terrible news about the passing away of Mrs Sheila Dikshit ji. It is a huge loss for Delhi and her contribution will always be remembered. My heartfelt condolences to her family members. May her soul rest in peace,” he said.

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah said Dikshit did wonders for Delhi as Chief Minister and will be greatly missed by all who knew her.

PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti said she was one of the tallest leaders in Congress and transformed Delhi in her tenure as Chief Minister.

On seeing the Congress leader, the women of the victims’ families were seen crying and a visibly moved Priyanka was seen consoling them and expressing her condolences.

She later returned to the Chunnar Guest House here, where she was taken to after she protested with supporters of her party, and spent the entire last night.

“Administration should have helped the victims’ families…they should have protected them. They should have extended help when they were facing the (Sonbhadra firing) incident. (Prasashan ko inki rakhwali karni chaiye. Jab inke sath hadsa ho raha tha, madad karni chaiye thi),” she said speaking to mediapersons here.

Families of victims of the Sonbhadra firing had on their own came to meet Priyanka today but only three of them were allowed to meet while 15 others were prevented from doing so by the police and administration. She urged media persons to put pressure on the administration to let the kin meet her.

“The families of those who were killed and injured have come from Sonbhadra to meet me on their own. Two relatives of the victims have come here to meet me but 15 others are not allowed to meet me, are being stopped. Even I am not allowed to meet them. I do not understand what the Uttar Pradesh government and police administration want,” she said while speaking to media persons here.

She further told media persons here, “Bhagwan jane inki mansikta kya hai? Aap thoda dabwav banayiya, unhe aana dijiye. Mere pichhe pade hain.” (God knows what their thought process is? You please put pressure, let them (kin of victims) come. They are after me.”

Meanwhile, a delegation including District Magistrate Ankit Agrawal and Vanaras SP visited the hospital where victims of Sonbhadra firing have been admitted and presently undergoing treatment.

However, a parliamentary delegation of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) led by party leader and Derek O’ Brien, which was on its way to Sonbhadra district to meet the families of those affected in the firing earlier this week, was stopped at the Varanasi airport today.

In a video message, the TMC leader said that police has detained the delegation and was not allowing them to meet the Sonbhadra firing incident victims.

Extending support to victims’ families, BSP supremo Mayawati had asked party Assembly members to provide all possible aid to them.

ANI

The trust vote will now be held on Monday, July 22 with the ruling party leaders claiming that a number of speakers were still there to participate in the debate on the confidence motion moved by Kumaraswamy on Thursday.

After a day-long debate and drama marked by heated exchanges between the ruling and opposition members over the powers of a Governor and the need to respect his directive.

As the House resumed proceedings in the morning, the Governor shot off a missive to the Chief Minister to prove his majority by 1:30 pm. There was a lot of debate on the directive itself and in the midst of uproar, Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar adjourned the House till 3 pm.

This was followed by another directive from the Governor that the confidence vote business should be completed by 6 pm.

Intervening in the debate, Kumaraswamy virtually ruled out proving his majority in the Assembly by the second deadline set by the Governor, when he sought protection from the Assembly Speaker in the matter.

He said the “second love letter” sent by Vala asking him to prove majority in the Assembly before 6 pm today hurt him and asked him whether he came to know of horse-trading only now.

“I leave the decision on the floor test to you (the Speaker). It won’t be directed by Delhi. I request you to protect me from the letter sent by the Governor,” Kumaraswamy had said.

The Chief Minister also moved the Supreme Court challenging the Governor’s directive to the government saying it was in violation of well-settled law laid down by the court.

He and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Chief Dinesh Gundu Rao challenged in the apex court its July 17 order which they contended fettered the political parties’ right to issue a whip to its MLAs to attend the proceedings of the House in the confidence motion. They were seeking clarification on the July 17 order which allowed the 15 rebel MLAs now holed up in a Mumbai hotel the freedom to participate or not.

Displaying photos of BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa’s personal assistant Santosh purportedly boarding a plane with independent MLA H Nagesh in the Assembly, the chief minister suggested that horse-trading indulged in by BJP was on for the last 10 days.

“I have respect for the Governor. But the second love letter from the Governor has hurt me. He only came to know about horse-trading 10 days ago?” he said.

After missing the 1.30 pm deadline, Kumaraswamy received a fresh directive from the Governor to prove his government’s majority on the floor of the state Assembly by 6 pm today.

The 13-month-old Congress-JDS government slumped into a minority earlier this month following the resignation of several dissident MLAs.

Sixteen MLAs from the ruling coalition including thirteen Congress and three JD(S) MLAs have resigned.

The state Assembly has 225 members, including one nominated MLA. The halfway mark in the 225-member Assembly is 113.

(ANI)

Priyanka, who had arrived in Varanasi earlier today, was detained after she along with Congress leaders has sat on a dharna in protest against the state government who she claimed was preventing her from meeting the families of the victims of the firing incident.

Police detained Priyanka citing violating of Section 144, which was imposed in the area. The section prohibits assembly of more than 4 people in an area.

She was taken to the Chunnar Guest House in Mirzapur, where she again sat on dharna.

“I will go to Sonbhadra and meet the victims. I will not move from here till I meet victims and deceased kins. I am ready to go anywhere they (police) take me from here,” said Priyanka who was accompanied by party workers and supporters.

“Section 144 was imposed in Sonbhadra and not in Mirzapur. I told them I will not violate any law. I want to go to Sonbhadra and I will move with three other people. But they did not listen and took me here,” she said while speaking to media persons.

She claimed that the media did not give due attention to the Sonbhadra incident, adding that it is a duty of media to show atrocities of the common man.

Priyanka demanded a flat of Rs 25 lakh for victims and ownership right of their land.

Soon after Priyanka Gandhi was detained by Uttar Pradesh Police on her way to Sonbhdra, Rahul Gandhi dubbed the action as “illegal arrest” which is “disturbing”.

The Gandhi scion said that Priyanka’s arrest displays the BJP government’s increasing insecurity in Uttar Pradesh.

“The illegal arrest of Priyanka in Sonbhadra, UP, is disturbing. This arbitrary application of power, to prevent her from meeting families of the 10 Adivasi farmers brutally gunned down for refusing to vacate their own land, reveals the BJP Govt’s increasing insecurity in UP,” Rahul Gandhi tweeted.

Congress party also hit out at Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for not allowing Priyanka to visit relatives of the victims.

“Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Ajay Singh Bisht-led government’s attempt to stop Priyanka from visiting Sonbhadra is an insult to democracy. This shows ‘dictatorship’ of his government as the move was taken without a written order and basic spirit of the Constitution,” Congress said on Twitter responding to her detention.

“Yes, we still won’t be cowed down. We were only going peacefully to meet victim families. I don’t know where are they taking me, we are ready to go anywhere,” she told ANI after being detained.

“Just want to go and meet families of victims (Sonbhadra firing case), I even assured that will take only four people with me. Yet the administration is not letting us go there. They should tell us why we are being stopped. We will continue to sit here peacefully,” Priyanka said while speaking to media persons here.

“Officers told me that they have received an order from higher authorities, I want them to show it to me,” she added.

She was escorted to Mirzapur amidst heavy police security.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said police have arrested 29 people and government has suspended four officials in connection with the Sonbhadra firing incident.

According to police, nine people were killed in the firing.

ANI

The trend was supported by Pakistani citizens, amongst whom was a prominent Pakistani actor, Hamza Ali Abbasi.

“This will upset sum ppl but i must say wht i see as truth! I have know this man for yrs, i am quite familiar with their literature & the mindset of his followers…. HAFIZ SAEED IS NOT A TERRORIST! His only fault? He speaks for & rallies the youth for Kashmir! #IsupportHafizSaeed,” Abbasi tweeted.

A UN-proscribed terrorist, Saeed is the main accused in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, which killed around 165 people, including foreign citizens. His group, Lashkar-e-Taiba, is also accused of carrying out the 2001 Indian Parliament attack.

He was sent to seven-day judicial custody on July 17 after being arrested on charges of terror financing by Pakistan.

“Hafiz Saeed is our proud our iconic leader. He is not a terrorist. Hafiz Saeed is loyal to Pakistan as well as Islam. We should defend him and proved that Hafiz sahb always fights to get justice for Muslim minorities. And their betterment. Free Hafiz Saeed #IsupportHafizSaeed,” another Pakistani Twitter user wrote, supporting the terrorist.

“Before going to Meet Trump @ImranKhanPTI make arrest of Hafiz Saeed to get the lolipop(mali imdad & get more attention) from @realDonaldTrump. #IsupportHafizSaeed,” tweeted another Pakistani user of the microblogging site.

Many are seeing Hafiz’s arrest as an attempt by Pakistan to circumvent blacklisting by the Paris-based anti-money laundering watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Pakistan has repeatedly failed to meet its commitments under the FATF action plan and is already on the body’s “grey list.”

Others have also speculated that the arrest is a bid by Pakistan to improve relations with the United States of America before Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to Washington, during which he is slated to have a brief meeting with US President Donald Trump. Both India and the US have long sought for justice to be delivered to the victims of the 26/11 attacks.

Meanwhile, India has dismissed Hafiz’s arrest as mere “drama,” pointing out that it isn’t the first time the UN-proscribed terrorist has been arrested.

“This has not been the first time that Hafiz Saeed has been arrested or detained. This drama has taken place at least eight times since 2001,” said Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar.

“The question is whether this time it would be more than a cosmetic exercise and whether Saeed will be tried and sentenced for his terrorist activities,” he added.

Kumar noted that Pakistan’s sincerity to take action against terrorists and terror groups would be judged on the basis of their ability to demonstrate “verifiable, credible and irreversible actions against terrorists and to disrupt and dismantle terror groups operating from their soil.”

“We hope that this time Hafiz Saeed will genuinely be brought to justice,” Kumar said.

(ANI)

“This government has lost the majority. They tried to drag on the issue and tried to provoke us but we acted with patience. We will continue to press for a trust vote on the motion. We will stage night-long dharna in the House,” Yeddyurappa told reporters here.

The BJP leader’s announcement came close on the heels of the adjournment of the Assembly in the midst of a debate on the confidence motion moved by Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy. Yeddyurappa also said that the Congress-JDS government was not ready for trust vote as the Chief Minister does not have the confidence of the people as well as the Assembly.

BJP Chief BS Yeddyurappa slept on the green floor of the House along with his party MLAs.

Many BJP MLAs were seen sleeping in the Well of the House and on the passage leading to the Well.

Earlier, state BJP Chief BS Yeddyurappa was seen having discussions with his colleagues.

The lawmakers also had their dinner at the Opposition Lounge of the Karnataka Assembly.

BLP MLAs were also seen having a discussion together.

Shortly, after the Karnataka Assembly was adjourned on Thursday without a trial of strength, Governor Vajubhai Vala wrote a letter to Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy asking him to prove majority on the floor of the House by tomorrow afternoon. Vala told Kumaraswamy to prove his government’s majority by 1.30 pm on Friday. This came after a BJP delegation headed by former minister Jagdish Shettar rushed to the Raj Bhavan and met the Governor seeking completion of the business today itself.

Amid a furore on the issue with BJP members demanding that the confidence motion be put to vote immediately, the Chair adjourned the House till tomorrow. The BJP announced that its members will spend the night in the House in protest.

The 13-month-old Congress-JDS government had earlier this month slumped into a minority following the resignation of the dissident MLAs. Sixteen MLAs from the ruling coalition including thirteen Congress and three JD(S)MLAs have resigned.

If the dissident MLAs, who are in Mumbai, are counted out, the BJP appears to have the support of 105 MLAs in the 225-member state Assembly including one nominated MLA. (ANI)