New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday directed the AIIMS director to constitute a medical board on Thursday itself to give an opinion on the health of former finance minister P Chidambaram, who is suffering from Crohn's disease.
The high court said Hyderabad-based gastroenterologist Nageshwara Reddy be included in the board to give his opinion on P Chidambaram's medical condition, who is currently lodged in Tihar Jail.
P Chidambaram has sought interim bail in the INX Media money laundering case on medical grounds, saying his condition is deteriorating and he needs to be in a sterile environment.
Justice Suresh Kait said the board will sit today to discuss Chidambaram's medical condition and the report be placed before the court which will hear the matter on Friday.
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Leh: Former bureaucrat Radha Krishna Mathur was sworn-in on Thursday as the first Lieutenant Governor of the strategically located Union Territory of Ladakh, which came into existence after the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir.
Mathur, who will turn 66 in November, was administered the oath of office by the Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court, Gita Mittal, at a function held at the Sindhu Sanskriti auditorium in Leh, which was attended by officials of the Leh and Kargil hill councils, Army and paramilitary forces, religious leaders and the general public.
— Spokesperson, Ministry of Home Affairs (@PIBHomeAffairs) October 31, 2019
After the swearing-in, Mathur, who was given a guard of honour at the venue by the Ladakh Police, said a lot of development activities needed to be carried out in the border areas.
"Already the government is implementing several programmes in the region, priorities for Ladakh will be set in the new regime in consultation with the public and hill councils," an official spokesperson quoted him as saying.
Mathur, a 1977-batch IAS officer from Tripura, said his experience of working in the backward and border areas in the capacity of the chief secretary of Tripura and the defence secretary will be useful.
A post-graduate in industrial engineering from the IIT, Mathur retired as the defence secretary in 2015 and was appointed as the chief information commissioner in December of the same year. He completed his tenure in November, 2018, after attaining the age of 65 years.
Ahead of the swearing-in, the Union Home Ministry revoked a notification of December last year imposing President's rule in undivided Jammu and Kashmir.
The Centre, on Wednesday night, appointed Umang Narula, a 1989-batch IAS officer, as an advisor to Mathur, besides posting SS Khandare, a 1995-batch IPS officer, as the "Head of Police" in Ladakh.
With a population of nearly three lakh, Ladakh is strategically located as it shares borders with Pakistan as well as China.
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Kevadiya: Paying glowing tributes to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on National Unity Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday defended the abrogation of Article 370, saying the special status provisions only generated terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.
Attending a function at the Statue of Unity here on the occasion of Patel's 144th birth anniversary, Modi led the gathering in taking the 'national unity pledge'. "The new system in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh is not meant to draw a line on the land (to draw a boundary) but to build a strong link of trust," the prime minister said, apparently referring to the bifurcation of the state into two Union Territories.
Narendra Modi while addressing rally on Thursday. ANI
Inspired by Patel, his government is working for "emotional, economic and constitutional integration" of the country, without which it would be difficult to imagine a powerful India in the 21st century, he said.
In a swipe at Pakistan, he said those "who cannot win wars" against India are trying to destroy its unity. "The country took the decision of abrogation of Article 370, which had only given separatism and terrorism to that state," Modi said.
"Over 40,000 people lost their lives in three decades of terrorism," he said, adding that it was Patel's inspiration which made him take the decision to abrogate Article 370, and he dedicates the decision "at the feet of" the first home minister of the country.
"Patel had once said that had he handled the Kashmir issue, it would not have taken so long to resolve it," Modi said, in a veiled swipe at Jawaharlal Nehru, the country's first prime minister whom the ruling BJP often blames for the Kashmir issue.
"North-East is now moving from separatism to attachment as decades-old problems are nearing resolution," Modi said, referring to his government's initiatives to bring peace to the insurgency-affected region.
Without naming Pakistan, Modi said that some elements are trying to destroy the unity in diversity of India by spreading separatism and terrorism, but even after "trying for centuries, nobody could annihilate us or defeat us". "Unity in diversity is our pride and our identity, the world is surprised by our unity despite so much diversity," Modi said.
"When we respect traditions and beliefs of different sects and religions, love and attachment (among people) increase," the prime minister said.
When Patel embarked on the mission to merge over 500 princely states into India, "feeling of unity" inspired many rulers to join the Indian union, he said. "Centuries ago, India was united by Chanakya (the ancient philosopher who is said to be the adviser of Emperor Chandragupta Maurya), and after that Sardar Patel did it," Modi said.
Sardar Patel's birth anniversary is celebrated as `Rashtriya Ekta Diwas' (National Unity Day) since 2014. At the function on the occasion, the wife of Naseer Ahmed, a CRPF jawan who was killed in the February 2019 Pulwama terror attack, presented Modi with a replica of the National Police Memorial which commemorates over 34,000 state and central police personnel who died in the line of duty.
During the function, the prime minister offered floral tributes to the Statue of Unity, considered to be the world's tallest statue, as flower petals were showered on it from
above by an Indian Air Force helicopter.
The prime minister watched `Ekta parade' in which personnel of the Gujarat Police, Jammu & Kashmir Police, Central Reserve Police Force and Border Security Force took part. Mock drill demonstrations were conducted by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), National Disaster Response Force and National Security Guard.
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German chancellor Angela Merkel begins her fourth visit to India — for the fifth in a series of biennial bilateral summits — on the back of her party's humbling defeats in regional elections. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has lost ground to the Far-Left Die Linke and Far-Right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the country's Brandenburg, Saxony and Thuringia states. However, and expectedly, while her weakening position on the national stage will certainly be on Merkel's mind, it'll be international imperatives that will take centre stage over the next four days.
India and Germany have had a 'strategic partnership' since 2001, but it was a whole decade later that the two countries held the first Intergovernmental Consultation (IGC) — a mechanism through which heads of government and key Cabinet ministers meet every two years to discuss issues spanning the entire gamut of the bilateral.
On the agenda this time around, will be such topics as trade and investment, technology, culture and security. Furthermore, agreements related to sustainable development and artificial intelligence are also expected to be signed over the course of the IGC. Germany has already maintained that Kashmir is India's internal matter, so while the two sides may discuss the situation in the Valley after the abrogation of Article 370, this discussion is unlikely to take precedence. Trade will likely be the key component of discussions between both sides.
File image of German chancellor Angela Merkel. AP
Pushing trade forward
For the past five years, India-Germany trade has consistently hovered around the $20 billion mark for the past five years, hitting a high of $24 billion in 2018/19 and a low of $18.8 billion in 2016/17, as per Ministry of Commerce figures. The present Fiscal Year (2019/20) has already seen bilateral trade worth $9.4 billion between the two countries. To put matters into perspective, last year, Germany was India's eighth-largest trade partner, while India was Germany's 25th-largest trade partner. Meanwhile, with bilateral trade worth over $222 billion, China is Germany's top trade partner.
The danger of this overreliance on an assertive — both politically and economically — China is why, according to senior CDU member Johann Wadephul, Germany seeks to deepen its relations with 'natural partner' India. Wadephul said, "No country in Europe or Asia that wishes to hold its own against China's growing power can do so by relying only on itself... That's why, we're seeking to build 'an alliance of multilateralists' with 'shared values'." At present, China accounts for 7.1 percent of Germany's exports and 10 percent of its imports. India's corresponding numbers are 0.9 and 0.92 percent respectively. It's safe to say there's a long way to go.
Additionally, it is likely that Germany will seek to inject momentum into the long-pending India-EU Free Trade Agreement. Proposed in 2007, negotiations hit a roadblock in 2013 when both sides arrived at an impasse on tariffs and market access. Disagreements on standards and practices exacerbated the situation and negotiations were shelved for five years. Germany has been an advocate of the free trade agreement and welcomed the resumption of negotiations last year.
If Great Britain does leave the EU in January 2020, Germany will account for a larger chunk of the EU-India trade pie and be in a stronger position to lead negotiations on behalf of the bloc. At present, the EU is India's largest trade partner (12.9 percent of its total trade), while India is the EU's ninth-largest trade partner (2.3 percent of its total trade). That a breakthrough on the FTA would be a win-win for both sides goes without saying.
The IGC should give both sides a good opportunity to build on areas of convergence and attempt to mitigate divergences on trade.
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United Nations: The European Union has called on India and Pakistan to avoid escalation of tension over the Kashmir issue and resume bilateral dialogue for a peaceful and political solution to the matter after the Indian government revoked Jammu and Kashmir's special status.
Reacting sharply to India's move to abrogate Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir to bring it in line with the rest of the country, Pakistan downgraded diplomatic ties with New Delhi and expelled the Indian envoy.
Pakistan has been trying to internationalise the Kashmir issue but India has asserted that the abrogation of Article 370 was its "internal matter". New Delhi has also asked Islamabad to accept reality and stop its anti-India rhetoric.
Marketa Homolkova, First Secretary, Delegation of the European Union (EU) in Geneva, made the statement while speaking at the General Assembly's First Committee discussion on ‘Regional Disarmament and Security' on Tuesday.
“In a moment of renewed tensions around Kashmir, we call on both parties to avoid escalation and encourage them to resume bilateral dialogue, with a view to finding a peaceful and political solution,” the EU official said.
Her comments came as 23 EU parliamentarians visited Kashmir to assess the situation in the region.
A panel of EU delegations visited Kashmir on Tuesday. ANI
The delegation, while ending their visit on Wednesday, termed the dilution of Article 370 an internal issue of India and said they stand by the country in its fight against terrorism.
In her remarks, Homolkova also highlighted the conflict in Syria.
She said the EU condemns, in the strongest terms, all attacks against civilian populations and civilian infrastructure, including health, educational and water facilities, by the Syrian regime and its allies, which contravene international humanitarian law.
On the situation in North Korea, she said the repeated ballistic missile launches by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, in violation of multiple UN Security Council Resolutions, represent a grave threat to regional and international peace and security and undermine the ongoing international efforts towards lasting peace and security on the Korean Peninsula.
Speaking about Iran, she said the EU urges Tehran to return to full Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) compliance and called on the country to play a constructive role in the region, specifically not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons.
The EU also called upon Iran to take all the necessary measures to fully respect relevant UN Security Council resolutions related to the transfer of missiles and relevant material and technology to state and non-state actors in the region.
She also voiced EU's regret over the withdrawal of the United States from the Iran nuclear deal.
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History was created Thursday when Jammu and Kashmir, which has been part of the Union of India since 1947, ceased to be a state and was officially bifurcated into two Union Territories. And with this the President's Rule imposed in undivided Jammu and Kashmir, since June 2017 after Mehbooba Mufti-led coalition government lost its majority, was revoked.
President Ram Nath Kovind issued two separate notifications on Thursday morning — the first revoking the President's rule in undivided Jammu and Kashmir and subsequently, taking over the control of the administration of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir, which will be controlled through the L-G now.
IAS officers Girish Chandra Murmu and RK Mathur have been appointed the new Lieutenant Governors (LGs) for the Union territories (UTs) of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, respectively. Mathur took oath as the first L-G of Ladakh in Leh, while Murmu is scheduled to be sworn in later in the day in Srinagar.
A security jawan stands guard during a shutdown in Srinagar. PTI
Both Murmu and Mathur will be sworn in by Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court Gita Mittal.
As per the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, the two UTs came into existence at the stroke of midnight on 31 October (Wednesday-Thursday), nearly three months after the announcement in Rajya Sabha.
This is for the first time that a state is converted into two UTs even though there are numerous example of a UT becoming a full state or a state bifurcating into two states.
The total number of states in the country will be now 28 while the total UTs will go up to seven.
The Narendra Modi government's decision and subsequent approval of the Parliament to abrogate the special status given to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 and its bifurcation into two UTs was taken to redraw the map and future of a region at the centre of a protracted militancy movement.
The long-sanding electoral promise of the BJP to end the special status of Jammu and Kashmir was announced less than 90 days after the Modi 2.0 government assumed power in May end.
The 5 August decision was taken 72 years after the then ruler of the princely state, Maharaja Hari Singh, executed the Instrument of Accession on 26 October, 1947, making it part of the Union of India.
The two UTs come into existence on the day of the birth anniversary country's first Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who is credited for the merger of over 560 states into the Union of India.
In India, 31 October is observed as the National Unity Day and both Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday will attend separate functions in Kevadia (Gujarat) and New Delhi, respectively.
Shah, who was in New Delhi on Thursday, said Article 370 and Article 35A were the gateway of terrorism into Jammu and Kashmir which was closed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi by abrogating them. Shah also said Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's unfullfilled dream of integrating Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of the country was accomplished on 5 August when Article 370 and 35A were repealed.
"Article 370 and 35A were the gateway of terrorism in India. Prime Minister Modi has closed this gate by repealing them," he said while flagging off a run to commemorate the 144th birth anniversary of Patel.
According to the Act, the UT of Jammu and Kashmir will have a legislature like Puducherry while Ladakh will be a UT without legislature like Chandigarh and both the UTs will be headed by two separate Lieutenant Governors (L-G).
The Centre will be in direct control of the police and the law and order in Jammu and Kashmir, while the land will be under the elected government there.
The UT of Ladakh will be under the direct control of the Central Government which will administer the high altitude region through the L-G.
While moving the resolution in the Rajya Sabha that Article 370 — which allowed Jammu and Kashmir to have its own Constitution and prohibited outsiders from buying land and property in the state, Shah had said these provisions will no longer be applicable and the Central Government will restore its statehood at "appropriate time" and after "normalcy" returns.
"The government will not allow the situation to turn into another battle-torn Kosovo... It was heaven on earth and will remain so," Shah had said, referring to the decades-old militancy in Jammu and Kashmir.
Soon after the abrogation of the Article 370, several hundred political leaders and separatists were put under detention by the Jammu and Kashmir administration while restrictions were also imposed on the movement of people and vehicles, and telephone, mobile phones and internet communications were suspended.
While most of the restrictions were removed since then, curb on the internet is still continuing and the situation in the Kashmir Valley is yet to be termed as completely normal.
Among those put under detention include three former chief ministers — Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti.
The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, says the all India services like the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and the Indian Police Service (IPS), of Jammu and Kashmir cadre will continue to serve in the two succeeding UTs while new recruits of these services will be allocated in the Arunachal, Goa, Mizoram Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre.
The provincial service officers will continue serving in their current positions till a new order is issued by the Lt Governors for the two new UTs of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
The IAS, IPS and other central service officers and the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) will be under the control of the LG and not the elected government of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir.
Mehbooba was the last chief minister of undivided Jammu and Kashmir whose tenure ended in June 2017 when the central rule was imposed thereafter her coalition partner BJP withdrew support. Satya Pal Malik is the last governor whose tenure comes to an end on Wednesday. He has been transferred and appointed as Governor of Goa.
Just a day before Jammu and Kashmir is divided into two UTs, the National Conference on Wednesday made a fervent last-minute appeal to the Centre to shelve the plan and maintain the statehood of the "200-year-old state" dubbed as "crown of India".
With inputs from PTI
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New Delhi: A CPCB-led anti-pollution task force on Wednesday recommended extending the ban on night-time construction in Delhi-NCR till 2 November and asked Punjab and Haryana to take immediate stringent action to curb stubble burning.
Representational image. ANI
At a meeting here, the 'Task Force on Graded Response Action Plan' also recommended that coal-based industries, barring power plants, in satellite towns of Faridabad, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad, Noida, Greater Noida, Sonepat, and Bahadurgarh be also shut till 2 November.
In Delhi, industries which have not shifted to piped natural gas, should remain closed during the period, read the minutes of the meeting. The Supreme Court-mandated Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority had banned construction and operation of hot mix plants and stone crushers from 6 pm to 6 am from 26 to 30 October.
The ban had come on the recommendation of the task force. CPCB member-secretary Prashant Gargava said air quality is likely to remain in the "severe" category until Thursday. "A high number of stubble burning cases have been reported from Punjab and Haryana which is delineated to have contributed around 25 percent to Delhi's PM2.5 concentration on Wednesday," he said.
IMD scientist VK Soni said there were clouds over Delhi due to a cyclone in the Arabian Sea. Northwesterly winds that bring smoke from stubble burning from Haryana and Punjab and low surface wind speed led to a rise in pollution levels, he said.
"The wind speed will be slightly higher on Thursday and it is expected that on 1 November, pollution levels may come down to a very poor category," Soni said. At a second meeting, the Central Pollution Control Board reviewed ground-level action and shared its feedback with implementing agencies.
"We have asked these agencies to resolve all pending pollution-related complaints within 24 hours," Gargava said. He said preemptive measures and meteorological conditions provided a cushion and that's why Delhi's air quality did not slip into the "emergency" category like previous years. "But action on the part of implementing agencies has not been satisfactory," Gargava said.
Forty-six teams of the apex anti-pollution body have been conducting inspections in Delhi-NCR. Authorities in Delhi-NCR reported 1,452 cases that led to air pollution from 7 to 27 October, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board. Of the total 1,452 violations, 446 related to pollution due to construction and demolition and 355 dumping of waste.
Prepared by the Central Pollution Control Board and first implemented in Delhi-NCR in 2017, the Graded Response Action Plan lists measures to curb air pollution according to the severity of the situation.
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