September 2022 - Page 4 of 52 - Lokmarg

Will Not Contest Cong Prez Polls: Gehlot

By LokMarg 29th September 2022

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday said that he will not fight for the post of Congress chief.

His remarks came after the veteran leader met with party’s interim chief Sonia Gandhi at her residence at 10 Janpath in the national capital.
“I met Rahul Gandhi in Kochi and requested him to fight the polls (for Congress President). When he didn’t accept, I said I’ll contest but now with that incident (political crisis in Rajasthan), I have decided not to contest the elections,” CM Gehlot said.

Gehlot also apologised for the ruckus in Rajasthan triggered by his loyalists over a possible leadership change in the state after Gehlot was set to file his nomination papers for the Congress chief polls.

Gehlot said that whatever happened in the state in the past two days had shocked everyone.

“I had a conversation with Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi. Whatever happened two days ago shocked us. It gave a message that all of it happened as I wanted to be CM. I apologised to her,” said CM Gehlot addressing the media persons after meeting Sonia Gandhi.

Further in his address to the media persons, Gehlot said that he won’t contest the elections in this atmosphere. “I won’t contest these elections in this atmosphere, with moral responsibility,” Gehlot said.

On being asked if he will remain Rajasthan CM, Gehlot said, “I won’t decide that, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi will decide that.”

“One-line resolution is our tradition. Unfortunately, a situation arose that resolution wasn’t passed. It was my moral responsibility (to pass the resolution), but despite being a CM I couldn’t get it passed,” he added.

Talking to reporters, Gehlot said the party works under the Congress president and decisions will be taken in the time to come.

He said Congress workers worry about the direction in which the country is heading and tackling the issue was more important.

Also, today Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh collected his nomination papers and announced that he is likely to file his nominations tomorrow between 11 am to 3 pm.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has announced that he will submit his nomination for the post at 12.15 pm tomorrow.

The filing of nominations for the top Congress post will take place till September 30, and the election will take place on October 17. (ANI)

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PFI Kerala General Secy Handed Over To NIA

By LokMarg 29th September 2022

Senior PFI leader from Kerala Abdul Sattar, who had been allegedly absconding but was arrested soon after the radical outfit was banned in India, has been handed over to the NIA, a senior police official said Thursday.

Sattar, the Kerala state general secretary of the Popular Front of India, was arrested from his office in Kollam district Wednesday. His arrest came hours after the government announced a ban on PFI for allegedly having terror links.
Sattar had called for a state-wide hartal on September 23 against raids on the outfit and arrests of its leaders. During the hartal, there were reports of violence from Kerala.

Karunagappally Assistant Commissioner of Police Pratheep Kumar said the state police were on alert and watching Sattar for nearly a week.

“Sattar was initially absconding and appeared in public later. He was arrested from his office in Kollam and handed over to (National Investigation Agency) NIA officials last night,” the ACP added.

On Wednesday, after the government announced the ban on PFI, Sattar disbanded the outfit and asked all its members to cease their activities.

“All PFI members and the public are informed that the PFI has been dissolved. MHA has issued a notification banning PFI. As law-abiding citizens of our great country, the organisation accepts the decision,” he had said.

The Union Home Ministry has declared the PFI and its associates “as an unlawful association” and banned them for five years. It said that PFI and its affiliates operate openly as a socio-economic and political organisation “but they have been pursuing a secret agenda to radicalise a particular section of the society” to undermine the concept of democracy.

The ban has been imposed on PFI affiliates Rehab India Foundation (RIF), Campus Front of India (CFI), All India Imams Council (AIIC), National Confederation of Human Rights Organisation (NCHRO), National Women’s Front, Junior Front, Empower India Foundation and Rehab Foundation.

The government’s move to ban the PFI came after two nationwide raids, including Kerala, Karnataka and Delhi, against the outfit within a week. More than 100 people linked to the organisation were detained during the raids. (ANI)

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Taliban Sign Deal For Russian Oil, Gas, And Wheat At Discounted Rate

By LokMarg 29th September 2022

Taliban have inked an agreement to purchase and import Russian wheat, gas, and oil, the officials of the Islamic group said.

A Taliban spokesperson said products including gasoline, diesel, gas, and wheat would be purchased at a “special discount” in Russian currency, Khaama Press news agency reported.
Although Russia had agreed to the discounted trade deal, the Taliban official did not provide any details on the pricing and payment methods.

This deal comes as Russia has been hit hard by sanctions imposed after its invasion of Ukraine. The punitive measures from the Western countries have forced Moscow to shift its exports from Europe to Asia.

Meanwhile, economic development, trade, and transit remained a high priority for the Taliban, since its accent to power in August last year.

The Islamic group has continued diplomatic and economic engagement with regional countries, whose representatives stated publicly that formal recognition of the de facto authorities as a government was not imminent.

This deal comes after high-level Taliban delegations visited Russia earlier this year. Aside from Moscow, several companies from regional countries have shown interest in investing in the extractive industries sector in Afghanistan.

The Taliban leadership have consistently said that they are looking for trade deals with the international community.

This latest agreement with Russia move could help to ease the isolation that has effectively cut it off from the world following their takeover of Afghanistan last year.

A UN report released on Tuesday said the Afghan economy remained greatly weakened by the severe economic contraction and the banking and financial crisis that followed the Taliban takeover.

“Available data suggest that six-month revenue collection through June, driven by customs and non-tax sources, is on par with the level recorded for the same period last year, and exports, driven by coal and fruits, surpassed past performance,” said the latest quarterly report of the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to the Security Council.

The sudden stop of aid inflows, however, accompanied by political uncertainty, inadequate access to services and women’s exclusion from economic participation, continued to lead to slow growth, the report added.

According to the UN report, Humanitarian needs were compounded by the sharp economic decline and the devastating combination of decades of conflict, recent earthquakes, recurring natural hazards, and protracted vulnerability. (ANI)

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Twitter Account Of Popular Front of India Withheld In India

By LokMarg 29th September 2022

The official Twitter account of Popular Front of India (PFI) has been withheld in India by the social media platform “in response to a legal demand”, a day after the Centre banned the outfit under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for “terror links”.

The government had yesterday ordered the blocking of all the social media traces of the banned outfit, including its Twitter, YouTube channels, Instagram, and Facebook accounts.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) made the announcement to ban the organisation through a notification issued late on Tuesday night, declaring “the PFI and its associates or affiliates or fronts as an unlawful association with immediate effect”.

Alongwith PFI, the ban is also imposed on its fronts including Rehab India Foundation (RIF). Campus Front of India (CFI), All India Imams Council (AIIC), National Confederation of Human Rights Organizations (NCHRO), National Women’s Front, Junior Front, Empower India Foundation and Rehab Foundation, Kerala as an “unlawful association”.

The notification clearly mentioned that the ban has been imposed against PFI and its associates or affiliates or fronts for “indulging in unlawful activities, which are prejudicial to the integrity, sovereignty and security of the country and have the potential of disturbing public peace and communal harmony of the country and supporting militancy in the country.

“In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 3 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. 1967 (37 of 1967), the Central Government hereby declares the Popular Front of India (PFI) and its associates or affiliates or fronts including Rehab India Foundation (RIF). Campus Front of India (CFI), All India Imams Council (AIIC), National Confederation of Human Rights Organization (NCHRO), National Women’s Front, Junior Front, Empower India Foundation and Rehab Foundation, Kerala as an ‘unlawful association’,” reads the notification.

The Centre issued the ban, citing the investigation of its agencies, mentioning “the investigations have established clear linkages between PFI and its associates or affiliates or fronts”.

“There had been a number of instances of international linkages of PFI with Global Terrorist Groups the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The PFI and its associates or affiliates or fronts have been working covertly to increase radicalization of one community by promoting a sense of insecurity in the country, which is substantiated by the fact that some PFI cadres have joined international terrorist organisations.”

The PFI is involved in several “criminal and terror cases and shows sheer disrespect towards the constitutional authority of the country and with funds and ideological support from outside it has become a major threat to the internal security of the country”, mentioned the notification. (ANI)

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Digivijaya Will File Nomination For Cong Prez Tomorrow

By LokMarg 29th September 2022

Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Thursday joined the race for the post of Congress President.

“Today I have come here to collect the nomination form and will possibly file it tomorrow,” Singh said outside his residence here today.
The former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh met with Rahul Gandhi in Kerala at the party’s Bharat Jodo Yatra and had arrived in the national capital late last evening.

Till now, only Shashi Tharoor has declared his candidature for the post.

The filing of nominations for the top Congress post will take place till September 30 and the election will take place on October 17. (ANI)

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Chinese National Shot Dead In Pakistan’s Karachi

By LokMarg 28th September 2022

A Chinese national was killed while two others were injured in Pakistan’s Karachi on Wednesday, local media reported, citing authorities.

Quoting a police official, Dawn newspaper reported that an unidentified man opened fire inside a dental clinic in Karachi’s Saddar area.
SSP South Asad Raza said that one person was killed and two people were injured who were shifted to a hospital for treatment. He confirmed that the three were Chinese people.

Taking to twitter, Pakistan Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah condemned the attack. (ANI)

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PFI Accepts Govt’s Decision: Kerala Party General Secretary

By LokMarg 28th September 2022

Following the ban on the Popular Front of India (PFI), the Kerala state general secretary of the outfit Abdul Sattar on Wednesday said that the organisation has been dissolved.

“All PFI members and the public are informed that the PFI has been dissolved. MHA has issued a notification banning PFI. As law-abiding citizens of our great country, the organization accepts the decision,” said Sattar.
He further said that the Popular Front of India has requested all members to stop their activities.

On Tuesday, the Union home ministry had declared the Popular Front of India (PFI), and its associates or affiliates or fronts, as an unlawful association with immediate effect for five years, under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

“PFI and its associates or affiliates or fronts operate openly as a socio-economic, educational and political organization but, they have been pursuing a secret agenda to radicalise a particular section of the society working towards undermining the concept of democracy and show sheer disrespect towards the constitutional authority and constitutional set up of the country,” said the government notification.

The notification said PFI and its associates or affiliates or fronts have been indulging in unlawful activities, which are prejudicial to the integrity, sovereignty and security of the country and have the potential to disturb public peace and communal harmony of the country and support militancy in the country.

Along with PFI, the ban is also imposed on its fronts, including Rehab India Foundation (RIF), Campus Front of India (CFI), All India Imams Council (AIIC), National Confederation of Human Rights Organisation (NCHRO), National Women’s Front, Junior Front, Empower India Foundation and Rehab Foundation, Kerala, as an “unlawful association”.

The Centre issued the ban citing the investigation of its agencies, mentioning “the investigations have established clear linkages between PFI and its associates or affiliates or fronts”.

The notification mentions that the criminal activities and brutal murders have been carried out by PFI cadres for the sole objective of “disturbing public peace and tranquility and creating a reign of terror in the public mind”. (ANI)

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Lt General Anil Chauhan (Retd) Appointed As New Chief Of Defence Staff

By LokMarg 28th September 2022

The government on Tuesday appointed Lt General Anil Chauhan (retired) as the new Chief of Defence Staff (CDS). He had retired as the Eastern Army Commander in May last year and was serving as the Military Advisor to the National Security Council.

This is the first time that a retired officer has been appointed at this position for which a gazette notification was issued to announce the change in rules for the appointment.
In a career spanning over nearly 40 years, Lt Gen Chauhan has held several command, staff and instrumental appointments and had extensive experience in counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir and northeast India.

He will also function as Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Military Affairs, with effect from the date of his assumption of charge and until further orders, an official release said.

Lt General Anil Chauhan (retired) will be the second CDS of the country after Gen Bipin Rawat who died in a helicopter crash in December last year in Tamil Nadu.

Born on 18th May 1961, Lt Gen Anil Chauhan was commissioned into the 11 Gorkha Rifles of the Indian Army in 1981.

He is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla and Indian Military Academy, Dehradun.

In the rank of Maj General, the officer had commanded an Infantry Division in the critical Baramula sector in the Northern Command.

Later as Lt General, he commanded a corps in the North East and subsequently went to become the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Command from September 2019 and held the charge until his retirement from the service in May 2021.

In addition to these command appointments, the officer also tenanted important staff appointments including the charge of Director General of Military Operations.

Earlier, the officer had also served as a United Nations mission to Angola.

He superannuated from the Indian Army on 31 May 2021.

Even after his retirement from the Army, he continued to contribute to national security and strategic matters.

For his distinguished and illustrious service in the Army, Lt General Anil Chauhan (retired) was awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Uttam Yudh Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Sena Medal and Vishisht Seva Medal.

The CDS is the most senior uniformed officer in rank, the first among equals — the only four-star officers in the country are the CDS, the chiefs of the Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force.

The post was lying vacant since December 8 last year after the death of General Bipin Rawat.

When General Bipin Rawat was appointed CDS by the Narendra Modi government within six months of coming back to power in 2019, it was hailed as one of the biggest reforms in the higher military structure of the country.

The CDS is also the single point of contact for the government for giving military advice and is the senior-most bureaucrat in the defence ministry which has four major departments.

The appointment comes amid efforts by the government to give a big push to indigenisation in the equipment for defence forces. (ANI)

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No Link Between Heart Dysfunction, COVID Booster In India

By LokMarg 28th September 2022

Clearing the air around the effects of a booster dose of the vaccines, the health experts have said that there is no definite link between heart dysfunction and the precaution doses of the COVID shots.
With social media flooded with questions revolving around the effects of booster dose on the human heart, the experts came out in defence of the vaccines.

According to Dr Vivek Chaturvedi, Professor & HOD, Cardiology, Amrita Hospital, Faridabad, there have been some instances of heart-related issues in the patients after vaccination, however, there is no conclusive evidence to prove this.

“This is a very thorny question because we do see heart attacks happening. Not just attacks, sometimes fluid around the heart, sometimes Arrhythmias of the heart after vaccination. But it is very difficult to confirm this because these were happening in the past also,” he said.

However, Dr Vivek said that COVID can have effects on the heart and the person getting infected with COVID may have a flared heart-related disease.

“Covid can affect the heart in many ways. The most common problem which has been found is that the people who have had heart disease in the past, their heart disease can get flared and aggravated. They can have heart attacks and heart failure and also Arrhythmia. Secondly, people who have not had heart disease but have diabetes, and blood pressure can have a heart attack, and many such cases have come which is precipitated by COVID. Thirdly, even if no heart attack is precipitated, when covid is severe, it is known to cause heart dysfunctions, heart blocks, and different types of rapid heart rate called Arrhythmias,” he said.

When asked about the increase in the deaths due to heart-related issues since the onset of the pandemic, he said, “Yes, this has been a big controversy because a lot of death was occurring at home during covid when it was at its peak because people were afraid to go out but, data that has been carefully analyzed from certain countries has shown that covid definitely had increased the risk for heart attacks.”

Dr Vinayak Agrawal, Director, Non-Invasive Cardiology, Fortis, Gurugram mentioned that the road to recovery of an individual after COVID may differ for different persons, and added that the person who needs to be hospitalised in the ICU with severe lung disease or other infections may need supervised recovery.

“Post COVID infection, the road to recovery or rehabilitation is quite individualistic. For someone, who required hospitalization or ICU care during COVID with significant lung or heart or multisystem involvement, there would obviously be a need for prolonged and supervised gradual recovery or rehab inputs,” he said.

“Since heart involvement may be seen in these mild or asymptomatic cases also, hence if you experience significant fatigue/ weakness, out of proportion breathlessness at rest or walking, chest discomfort on walking or dizziness, then a specialist consult should be sought and further investigations including blood tests like troponin levels, NT proBNP (biomarkers), ECG, 24-hour ECG (Holter), Echocardiogram or cardiac MRI may be done,” he added.

The expert advised the people undergoing recovery not to engage in moderate to strenuous exercises or gym initially for nearly six weeks.

“Go slow, and do not resume moderate to strenuous exercises or gym initially for 4 to 6 weeks post-COVID diagnosis. Patients returning to high-level sports or physically demanding occupations following confirmed heart involvement require 3-6 months or longer period of complete rest. If you continue to experience symptoms after a few weeks, consult your doctor to rule out long covid syndrome,” he said. (ANI)

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Madhya Pradesh Police Detains 30 People Over PFI Links

By LokMarg 28th September 2022

The Madhya Pradesh Police have detained 30 people from 8 districts of the state for alleged links with the banned PFI (Popular Front India), Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narrotam Mishra said.

“Following the arrest of 1 person from Ujjain and 3 from Indore last week we have detained 30 people across 8 districts of the state in connection with PFI links. Their laptops and mobile phones have been seized and further investigation is going on,” Mishra told ANI.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Central government banned the Popular Front of India (PFI), its associates, and affiliates as an unlawful association with immediate effect for a period of five years under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) made the announcement through a notification issued late on Tuesday night, declaring “the PFI and its associates or affiliates or fronts as an unlawful association with immediate effect”.

Along with PFI, the ban is also imposed on its fronts including Rehab India Foundation (RIF). Campus Front of India (CFI), All India Imams Council (AIIC), National Confederation of Human Rights Organization (NCHRO), National Women’s Front, Junior Front, Empower India Foundation and Rehab Foundation, Kerala as an “unlawful association”.

Campus Front of India (CFI), All India Imams Council (AIIC), National Confederation of Human Rights Organization (NCHRO), National Women’s Front, Junior Front, Empower India Foundation and Rehab Foundation, Kerala as an ‘unlawful association’,” reads the notification.

“The Central Government hereby directs that this notification shall, subject to any order that may be made under section 4 of the UAPA have effect for a period of five years from the date of its publication in the Office.” The Centre issued the ban citing the investigation of its agencies, mentioning “the investigations have established clear linkages between PFI and its associates or affiliates or fronts”.

It is also accused that “some of the PFI’s founding members are the leaders of Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and PFI has linkages with Jamat-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), both of which are proscribed organisations”. “There had been a number of instances of international linkages of PFI with Global Terrorist Groups the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

The PFI and its associates or affiliates or fronts have been working covertly to increase radicalization of one community by promoting a sense of insecurity in the country, which is substantiated by the fact that some PFI cadres have joined international terrorist organisations.”

The notification noted that “Rehab India Foundation collects funds through PFI members and some of the members of the PFI are also members of Campus Front of India. Empower India Foundation, Rehab Foundation, Kerala, and the activities of Junior Front. All India Imams Council, National Commission of Human Rights Organization (NCHRO) and National Women’s Front are monitored and coordinated by the PFI leaders”.

It is accused that “the PFI has created the associates or affiliates or fronts with the objective of enhancing its reach among different sections of the society such as youth, students, women, Imams, lawyers or weaker sections of the society with the sole objective of expanding its membership, influence and fundraising capacity”.

The PFI cadres are also accused of their involvement in several terrorist acts and the murder of several persons, including Sanjith (Kerala, November 2021), V-Ramalingam (Tamil Nadu, 2019), Nandu (Kerala, 2021), Abhimanyu (Kerala, 2018), Bibin (Kerala, 2017), Sharath (Kamataka, 2017), R.Rudresh (Kamataka, 2016), Praveen Puyari (Karnataka, 2016), Sasi Kumar (Tamil Nadu, 2016) and Praveen Nettaru (Kamataka 2022).

The notification mentions that the criminal activities and brutal murders have been carried out by PFI cadres with the sole objective of “disturbing public peace and tranquillity and creating a reign of terror in the public mind”.

It also mentioned that there had been a number of instances of “international linkages of PFI with Global Terrorist Groups and some activists of the PFI have joined Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and participated in terror activities in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Some of these PFI cadres linked to ISIS have been killed in these conflict theatres and some have been arrested by State Police and Central Agencies also the PFI has linkages with Jamat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), a proscribed terrorist organization”.

“The Office bearers and cadres of the PFI along with others are conspiring and raising funds from within India and abroad through the banking channels. and the hawala, donations, etc. as part of a well-crafted criminal conspiracy. and then want to transfer, layering and integrate these funds through multiple accounts to project them as legitimate and eventually use these funds to carry out various criminal, unlawful and terrorist activities in India.

“The sources of deposits on behalf of PFI with respect to its several bank accounts were not supported by the financial profiles of the account holders and the activities of PFI were not being carried out as per their declared objectives and therefore, the Income Tax Department cancelled the registration granted to PFI under section 12A or 12AA of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961).

The Income Tax Department also cancelled the registration granted to Rehab India Foundation under section 12A or section 12AA of the Income Tax Act, 1961,” reads the notification.

The State Governments of Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Gujarat have recommended banning PFI, it also said. (ANI)

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