SC verdict banning instant triple talaq hailed across country

New Delhi, Aug 23 (PTI) Leaders across the political spectrum, social activists and top jurists on Tuesday hailed as a victory of "gender equality" and a "giant step" for women the landmark Supreme Court verdict banning the practice of instant divorce among Muslims.

As reactions from across the country poured in welcoming the judgement declaring triple talaq, a form of divorce under Islam which allows men to dissolve marriages instantly, unconstitutional, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah called it "historic". The judgement grants equality to Muslim women and is a "powerful measure" for women empowerment, Modi said

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) for its part said it will chalk out its future course of action at its working committee meeting in Bhopal on September 10 while Maulana Mohammed Shafique Qasmi, the Imam of Nakhoda Masjid in Kolkata, said the AIMPLB and experts of Sharia law should be consulted before formulating a new law

"Muslim Law is our own personal law and it has nothing to do with any other community. It should be left to us to decide on it," Zafaryab Jilani, a member of the working committee of the board, told PTI in Lucknow.

BJP chief Amit Shah said the verdict marked the beginning of a new epoch of equality and self-respect for Muslim women in the country.

Muslim women, who had knocked the doors of the Supreme Court opposing triple talaq, were elated at the verdict, saying they have emerged "victorious" and now feel protected

However, some women petitioners opined that the victory in its true sense would be achieved once a law comes into force, making the practice punishable

Farah Faiz, Zakia Suman, Noorjehan Niaz and the All India Muslim Women Personal Law Board (AIMWPLB) variedly described the verdict as a "moment of big victory," "big relief" and "half the battle won."

"The court has given a direction to the government to frame a law. We have won half the battle. We will be victorious in the true sense only once the law is framed so as to make this practice punishable. There is no remedy for women against the practice till a law is framed," Faiz, also the President of Rashtrawadi Muslim Mahila Sangh, said

But the government virtually ruled out the need for a new law on triple talaq, indicating that existing laws, including the one dealing with domestic violence, were sufficient

"The government will consider the issue in a structured manner. A prima facie reading of the judgement makes it clear that the majority (of the five member bench) has held it (the practice of instant triple talaq) as unconstitutional and illegal," Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

Finance and Defence minister Arun Jaitley said the verdict is the law of the land now and a great victory for those who believe that personal laws must be progressive.

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi while welcoming the verdict congratulated the women who fought for justice

Chief Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the verdict was an "affirmation of women's rights" and would give them relief from discrimination.

Union Minister of Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi hailed the judgement as a "giant step" for women, adding that it's about time that women were given the right to equality.

Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore tweeted that it was a "huge step forward" for women's rights.

Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said, "We should not adopt a rigid attitude, but choose a reformist approach towards social evil.

Syed Ahmed Bukhari, the Shahi Imam of the Jama Masjid in Delhi, blamed the AIMPLB over the triple talaq issue, saying it should have acted in a way to avoid the matter reaching the Supreme Court and find a solution to the contentious issue.

Eminent jurist Soli Sorabjee said the verdict was progressive, protecting the rights of the women, and that now no Muslim man can divorce his wife through the controversial divorce practice.

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said nobody should see the verdict through the "prism of religion".

In Mumbai, social activists from the Muslim community described the verdict as "one of the best reforms" in the country after independence

"I am elated to hear about this historical judgement which is not only for the Muslim women, but is one of the best reforms in India after independence," said Zakia Soman, the co-founder of Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, which is also one of the petitioners in the triple talaq case

The All India Muslim Women Personal Law Board and All India Shia Personal Law Board described the verdict as a victory of Islam and Muslim women in the country.

SC to tomorrow pronounce judgement on 'triple talaq'

New Delhi, Aug 21 (PTI) The Supreme Court would tomorrow pronounce a historic judgement on the controversial issue of whether the practice of 'triple talaq' among Muslims is fundamental to the religion.

A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar had reserved its verdict on May 18 after a six-day marathon hearing during the summer vacation.

During the hearing, the apex court had clarified that it may not deliberate upon the issue of polygamy and said it would only examine whether triple talaq was part of an "enforceable" fundamental right to practice religion by the Muslims.

Besides CJI Khehar, the bench also included Justices Kurian Joseph, R F Nariman, U U Lalit and S Abdul Nazeer.

The bench, made up of judges from different religious communities -- Sikh, Christian, Parsi, Hindu and Muslim, had heard seven pleas, including five separate petitions filed by Muslim women challenging the prevalent practice of 'triple talaq' in the community.

The petitioners had claimed that the practice of 'triple talaq' was unconstitutional.

The Muslim women, who had filed the petitions, have challenged the practice of 'triple talaq' in which the husband pronounces 'talaq' thrice in one go, sometimes even by phone or a text message, to get a divorce.

During the hearing, the apex court had observed that the practice of 'triple talaq' was the "worst" and "not a desirable" form of dissolution of marriage among Muslims, even though there were schools of thought which called it "legal".

Several lawyers including noted jurist Ram Jethmalani had attacked the practice on various constitutional grounds including the right to equality and termed it "abhorrent".

It was argued that triple talaq was a discrimination on the ground of sex and this practice was abhorrent to the tenets of holy Quran and no amount of advocacy can save this "sinful" practice which is contrary to constitutional tenets.

The Centre had told the bench that it will come out with a law to regulate marriage and divorce among Muslims if 'triple talaq' is held invalid and unconstitutional by the apex court.

The government had termed all the three forms of divorce among the Muslim community - talaq-e-biddat, talaq hasan and talaq ahsan, as "unilateral" and "extra-judicial".

It has said that all personal laws must be in confirmity with the Constitution and rights of marriage, divorce, property and succession has to be treated in the same class and has to be in conformity with the Constitution.

The Centre had said 'triple talaq' is neither integral to Islam, nor a "majority versus minority" issue but rather an "intra-community tussle" between Muslim men and deprived women.

The apex court had said it was keeping open for adjudication in the future the issues of polygamy and 'nikah halala' among Muslims as the Centre had insisted deliberations on these aspects as well.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), had equated the issue of 'triple talaq' with the belief that Lord Rama was born in Ayodhya and these were matters of faith which cannot be tested on grounds of constitutional morality.

He had argued that triple talaq has been there since 637 AD and cannot be termed as un-Islamic as Muslims have been practising it for last 1,400 years.

Sibal had said that either Parliament can enact a law or it should be left to the community itself to deal and the court should not interfere on the issue.

The apex court during the hearing had asked the AIMPLB whether a woman can be given an option of saying 'no' to triple talaq at the time of execution of 'nikahnama' (marriage contract).

It had asked Muslim bodies how a practice like triple talaq could be a matter of "faith" when they have been asserting that it is "patriarchal", "bad in theology" and "sinful".

The batch of pleas had also challenged the constitutional validity of other practices like 'nikah halala' and polygamy among Muslims.

The bench had taken up the main matter on its own as a petition titled "Muslim Women's quest for equality".

The apex court had on its own taken cognizance of the question whether Muslim women faced gender discrimination in the event of divorce or due to other marriages of their husbands.

Train derailment: Negligence appears to be the cause

Muzaffarnagar/New Delhi, Aug 20 (PTI) Negligence at the local level appeared to have caused the derailment of Utkal Express here, one of the deadliest train accidents in the recent times in which 22 people were killed and over 150 injured, 26 of them grievously, officials indicated today.

A probe has been ordered to ascertain the exact cause of last evening's derailment, with Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu today directing Railway Board Chairman to fix responsibility on "prima facie evidence by the end of day".

The train, which was on its way from Puri in Odisha to Haridwar in Uttarakhand, had 23 coaches, of which 13 derailed, said Divisional Railway Manager, Delhi Division, R N Singh.

Six coaches of the train, which was running at a speed of over 100 kmph, were severely damaged,

he added. One coach crashed into a house.

The railways have deployed high-tech cranes and scores of workers to clear the tracks near Khatauli.

Two 140-tonne cranes were being used since early this morning to clear the derailed coaches, from which survivors had been rescued and bodies pulled out till late last night.

Rescue operation by the National Disaster Response Force got over at around 3 AM.

The death toll in the accident today went up to 22, with one more person identified as Sushil Kumar succumbing to his injuries in a hospital in Ghaziabad, according to District Magistrate of Muzaffarnagar G S Priydarshi. Of them, 15 bodies have been identified.

Principal Secretary (Information) to the UP government Awanish Kumar Awasthi said 156 people were injured in the derailment and many among them remain critical.

A preliminary probe has found that maintenance work was being carried out on the tracks which might have caused the derailment, said Mohd Jamshed, Member Traffic, Railway Board, at a news briefing in New Delhi today.

The senior official, who rushed to the spot in Khatauli in Uttar Pradesh where the accident occurred, said he had seen maintenance tools on the tracks.

"Prime facie, it seems maintenance work was being carried out on the tracks.... Some maintenance work was going on, which might have caused the derailment of Utkal Express," Jamshed said.

He said a probe would reveal if any maintenance work was being done on the tracks without permission.

"Prima facie, the information is that there is divisional responsibility involved if work was being done without seeking permission. By this evening we will know if any of our staff was responsible for this," he said.

It was not "clear" what kind of work was going on at the site, the official said.

"However, any work on tracks has to follow a manual. We have maintenance manuals which lay down guidelines for work on any kind of railway infrastructure," Jamshed said, adding the probe will reveal if the procedures were followed.

The probe, which will begin tomorrow, will be conducted by the Commissioner of Railway Safety, Shailesh Kumar Pathak, who will look into "every angle, be it sabotage, technical lapse or manual fault".

"There is some audio clip of some conversation that we will probe. Also, when we did the site inspection, we saw some equipment the railways use for track repair present there," he said.

"Whenever this kind of a big accident happens, coaches get smashed, toppled, capsized and derailed. In this case, a 200-metre track has been damaged completely. It has to be investigated in detail. All measurements are being taken and every lapse is being taken into account," Jamshed said.

The senior officer also said the Railway Police had lodged an FIR in the case at Khatauli under sections that included mischief causing destruction of railway property, causing death by negligence, causing grievous hurt, endangering life and personal safety.

Explaining the procedure for maintenance followed by the railways, Jamshed wondered if it was followed in this case.

"Fixed infrastructure on which the rail network runs like tracks, overhead equipment and signals are regularly maintained as per schedule. Maintenance of tracks is done during operations by blocking them as per requirement, according to fixed time and schedule. Written permission needs to be taken for this work," he said.

He also said sometimes repair needs to be done on an emergency basis, but even then, if the next station is informed, the consequent trains are stopped.

"Then we get our supervisors on the track which is inspected and repaired after which the trains are allowed to run with a speed restriction. Red flags are also shown to trains in case there is a problem on the tracks," he said.

He said it would be investigated if these protocols were followed this time.

JD(U) under Nitish decides to become part of NDA, denies split in party

Patna, Aug 19 (PTI) The JD(U) headed by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today passed a resolution at its national executive meeting to become part of the NDA.

Making the announcement, party leader K C Tyagi categorically denied that there was any split in the party following differences with senior leader Sharad Yadav.

"The JD(U) national executive meeting chaired by party president Nitish Kumar approved a resolution to become part of the NDA," the principal general secretary told reporters.

The national executive also put its seal of approval on the Bihar JD(U)'s unit decision to walk out of the Grand Alliance with the RJD and Congress and join hands with the BJP to form a government in Bihar, Tyagi said.

"BJP president Amit Shah during a meeting with our (JD-U) president Nitish Kumar recently had urged him to bring the JD(U) into the NDA. The national executive committee approved it and now we have become part of NDA," Tyagi said.

Flanked by the party's senior leaders R C P Singh, Harbansh and Pawan Varma among others, he denied that there was any split in the party.

Sixteen out of 20 state unit presidents, all its 71 MLAs and 30 MLCs in Bihar and all office bearers of the party committees appointed by Nitish Kumar with the consent of Sharad Yadav were present in the national executive and became part of the decision, he said.

"So how can there be split in JD(U)?" 

The party, he said, would wait till August 27, the day of RJD's rally here, before initiating any action against Sharad Yadav.

JD(U) will hold an open session during the day in which chief minister and JD(U) president Nitish Kumar would be present.

Sharad Yadav skipped the national executive committee meeting and attended a parallel programme, Jan Adalat, of those loyal to him, including suspended JD(U) Rajya Sabha MP Ali Anwar Ansari.

The programme promised to continue with the Grand Alliance.

Sharad Yadav fell out with Nitish Kumar over his decision to walk out the Grand Alliance.

Will continue to engage with China for Dokalam solution: India

New Delhi, Aug 18 (PTI) India today said it will continue to engage with China to find a mutually acceptable solution to the Dokalam standoff, asserting that peace and tranquility on the border is an important pre-requisite for smooth bilateral relationship.

"We will continue to engage with China to find a mutually acceptable solution," MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said replying to a volley of questions on the issue.

He said said peace and tranquility in the border areas is an important pre-requisite for smooth development of bilateral relationship.

Asked about incident between Chinese troops and Indian border guards in Ladakh on August 15, the MEA spokesperson said, "Such incidents are not in the interest of either side." 

He said two border personnel meetings (BPMs) had taken place between Indian border guards and Chinese troops recently.

He said one BPM had taken place at Chushul on August 16 and another one at Nathu La a week before.

When asked whether China had shared hydrological data with India as floods have severely hit Assam and Bihar, Kumar said no such data was received from Beijing on Brahmaputra this year.

India and China have an existing mechanism under which both countries share hydrological data.

Kumar said non sharing of hydrological data by China cannot be linked to the current standoff as there can be technical reasons for it.

TRIFED celebrates World Honey Bee Day

 

To create awareness about Beekeeping and uses of its products including Honey, Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Limited (TRIFED) is celebrating World Honey Bee Day (WHBD) on 19.08.2017 in the Country and on 18.08.2017 at all its Regional Offices and 43 Retails Outlets spread in the country. In Delhi, this would be celebrated in TRIBES India Showrooms at Dilli Haat, Mahadev Road and Baba Karak Singh Marg on 18.08.2017. The main theme of celebrating WHBD is to save Indian honey bee.
Beekeeping has been useful in pollination of crops, thereby, increasing income of the farmers/beekeepers by way of increasing crop yield and providing honey and other beehive products, viz. royal jelly, bee pollen, propolis, bees wax, etc. that serves a source of livelihood for rural poor. Therefore, honeybees/ beekeeping has been recognised as one of the important inputs for sustainable development of agriculture/ horticulture.
TRIFED is an apex organisation at National Level and functioning under the administrative control of Ministry of Tribal Affairs. TRIFED is serving the interests of Tribals, who are engaged in collection of NTFP and making of Tribal Art & Handicraft Products for their livelihood so as to ensure better remunerative price for their products as well as for the socio-economic betterment through Self Help Groups, Empanelled NGOs, State level Tribal Development Corporations, Forest Development Corporations for undertaking marketing development of the tribal products.
Honey, being an important Minor Forest Produce, TRIFED is playing and lead role in protecting, promoting and multiplication of Honey Bees by Scientific, Non-destructive collection practices, thereby increasing the livelihood of tribal people living in various forest areas of the country, contributing to the growth of Honey Bees population and reducing the mortality rate of Honey Bees drastically. About 90% of the Scheduled Tribes of the country live in and around forest areas and the forests provide 60% of the food & medicinal needs of tribals and 40% of their income from Minor Forest Produce (MFP) mostly of which come from Honey.

Less pressure in doing multi-starrers: Parineeti

Hyderabad, Aug 17 (PTI) Parineeti Chopra enjoyed working in a multi-starrer like "Golmaal Again" as the actor felt she could go ahead and act without facing any performance anxiety.

The 28-year-old actor, who will next be seen opposite actor Ajay Devgn in the fourth installment of the comedy franchise, said she could concentrate on doing her job as the responsibility of carrying the film was ably shouldered by the huge and supportive cast.

"Sometimes you feel less pressure as you know there are so many stars in the film. It's not you who is carrying the weight of the film on your shoulders. You can just concentrate on what you have to do and have fun with it," Parineeti told the reporters here.

"Golmaal 4" is the actor's first multi-starrer and she said working in a "massy entertainer" like Rohit Shetty's directorial was an education for her.

"It is my first multi-starrer. I got to know you can be in the frame with six-seven characters. The number can also go up to 10-15 till the climax.

"It was very different as I have mostly worked with one- two co-stars in one go. Also, a film like 'Golmaal' requires different acting and dialogue delivery. I learnt a lot." 

Parineeti said she felt like a crazy fan when she first saw the cast of the film together.

"It was a fangirl moment for me when I saw this group together. When the first 'Golmaal' came out, I wasn't even planning to be an actor. Let alone thinking that one day I'll be a part of this franchise.

"But it soon went away as the moment I joined, they treated me like an equal co-star. I was a part of the gang. It became an equal relationship quickly." 

The actor said she could feed off this energy to deliver a better performance.

"All of these people are mad - right from the director to the last crew member. The reason we are able to show all the fun onscreen is only because we have so much fun off-screen. I never thought I'll have so much fun on the set of a movie.

Day after skirmishes, Army officers of India,China meet in Leh

New Delhi, Aug 16 (PTI)

Army officers of India and China met today in Leh's Chusul sector, a day after border guards foiled an attempt by Chinese soldiers to enter Indian territory along the banks of Pangong lake in Ladakh.

Official sources said yesterday's incident at Pangong and ways to maintain peace and tranquility along the Sino-India border in Ladakh were discussed at length at the border personnel meeting (BPM).

Soldiers of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) tried to enter the Indian side in two areas-- Finger Four and Finger Five-- twice between 6 am and 9 am yesterday. But on both the occasions their attempts were thwarted by alert Indian troops.

After Chinese troopers found their path blocked by ITBP personnel who formed a human chain, they began hurling stones, prompting a swift retaliation by Indian border guards.

Personnel from both sides received minor injuries and the situation was brought under control after the customary banner drill under which both sides hold banners before stepping back to their respective positions.

The Chinese troops had managed to enter up to Finger Four area in the region from where they were sent back. This area has been a bone of contention between India and China as both claim it to be a part of their territory.

When asked about yesterday's incident in Ladakh, Defence Minister Arun Jaitley told reporters, "This is not a subject on which the government makes a comment on."

The sources said today's BPM was pre-scheduled and the issues discussed included strengthening of existing mechanism for maintaining peace and tranquility along the border.

Brigadier ranked officers of both sides attended the meeting.

Two thirds of the Pangong Lake are controlled by China while one third of it is controlled by India.

The incidents in Ladakh took place amid a face off between Indian and Chinese armies in Dokalam in India-Bhutan- China trijunction which has entered the third month.

Official sources said notwithstanding the standoff, sweets were exchanged between the Indian Army and PLA troops in multiple border locations including in Dokalam.

Exchange of sweets on Independence Day and Republic Day has been a tradition for last several years.

PM’s Independence Day Speech 2017- Highlights in English

New Delhi -August 15 : The Prime Minster, Shri Narendra Modi today addressed the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the 71th Independence Day. Following are the highlights from his speech: 

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi addressing the Nation on the occasion of 71st Independence Day from the ramparts of Red Fort, in Delhi on August 15, 2017.

1. Greetings to my fellow Indians on Independence Day.

2. For the freedom and glory of the country, those who have contributed, those who suffered and sacrificed their lives, I salute all those noble souls, mothers and sisters on behalf of 125 crore people of the country from the ramparts of the Red Fort.

3. We remember the great women and men who worked hard for India's freedom.

4. People of India stand shoulder to shoulder with those affected in the wake of natural disasters in parts of the country & the death of children in the hospital.

5. This is a special year- 75th anniversary of Quit India, 100th anniversary of Champaran Satyagraha, 125th anniversary of Ganesh Utsav.

6. The Quit India Movement was “Bharat Chhodo,” but the call today is “Bharat Jodo.”

7. We have to take the country ahead with the determination of creating a 'New India'.

8. From 1942 to 1947, the country had demonstrated collective strength, in the coming 5 years, we have to take the country forward with the same collective strength, commitment and hard work.

9. In our nation, there is no one big or small...everybody is equal. Together we can bring a positive change in the nation.

10. We have to move forward for making a New India with the collective strength of 125 crore people without any discrimination of small and big people.

11. 1st January 2018 will not be an ordinary day- those born in this century will start turning 18. They are Bhagya Vidhatas of our nation.

12. We have to leave this 'Chalta Hai' attitude. We have to think of 'Badal Sakta Hai'- this attitude will help us as a nation.

13. The country has changed, is changing and can change. We have to move forward with this belief and commitment.

14. Security of the country is our priority. Internal security is our priority. Whether it is our oceans or borders, cyber world or space for all kind of security India is capable to defeat all such inimical forces.

15. Our uniformed forces have achieved the pinnacle of sacrifice in fighting left-wing extremism, terrorism, infiltration and elements disturbing peace. The world had to recognise the strength of India and it clout in the surgical strike.

16. One rank, One Pension policy has boosted the morale of our security forces.

17. Those who have looted the nation and looted the poor are not able to sleep peacefully today.

18. No law was passed for those having Benami property for years. However after the recent passage of the Benami Act, within a short span of time, government has confiscated Benami property worth Rs. 800 crores when these things happen, common men feel that this country is for the honest people.

19. Today, we are celebrating the “festival of honesty”.

20. GST has shown the spirit of cooperative federalism. The nation has come together to support GST & the role of technology has also helped.

21. Today, the poor of the country is joining the main stream and the country is moving torwards the path of progress.

22. Good governance is about speed and simplification of processes.

23. India's stature in the world is rising. The world is with us in fighting the menace of terror. I thank all nations helping us doing so.

24. We have to work for the progress of Jammu and Kashmir.

25. There is no question of being soft of terrorism or terrorists.

26. Neither by bullet: nor by abuses but by hugging we can solve the problem of Kashmir.

27. Our fight against black money and corruption will continue. We are trying to bring transparency through technology.

28. There is no question of being soft on terrorism or terrorists.

29. People would be the driving force behind the establishment, rather than the other way around – Tantra se Lok nahin, Lok se tantra chalega.

30. New India will be the biggest strength of democracy.

31. Nature of job is changing with changing demand and changing technology.

32. We are nurturing our youngsters to be job creators and not job seekers.

33. I want to mention those women who have to suffer due to 'Triple Talaq'- I admire their courage. We are with them in their struggles.

34. India is about Shanti, Ekta and Sadbhavana. Casteism and communalism will not help us.

35. Violence in the name of 'Astha' is not something to be happy about, it will not be accepted in India.

36. The country is being run by peace, unity and harmony. It is our civilisation and culture to take everybody along.

37. We are taking the nation on a new track (of development) and are moving ahead with speed.

38. We are devoting significant attention to eastern India- Bihar, Assam, West Bengal, Odisha, Northeast. These parts have to grow further.

39. Our farmers have worked hard to ensure a Record foodgrain production.

40. Over 5.75 crore farmers have been covererd under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Beema Yojaana.

41. Under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana, 30 projects have been completed while work is on for 50 more projects.

42. Under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samapada Yojana we are providing handholding to the farmers from availing seeds to accessing the markets for their produce.

43. More than 14000 un-electrified villages have been electrified.

44. 29 crore JanDhan accounts opened.

45. More than 8 crore youth have received loans without any guarantee.

46. We are fighting corruption - for the bright future of India and the wellbeing of our people.

47. Our fight against black money and corruption will continue and move forward and the loot in the country will not be allowed.

48. Our strive for a Corruption Free India has yielded results.

49. Black money worth Rs. 1.25 lakh cror has been unearthed.

50. Over 1.75 lakh fake companies have been shut down.

51. Post GST savings and efficiency in transportation sector has increased. Efficiency has gone up by 30 percent.

52. More money has come to the banks due to demonetization which will give impetus to the economy.

53. Our country has the world’s largest youth population. Today is the era of IT and let’s move ahead on the path of digital transaction.

54. Let us lead from front, promote digital economy and adopt the Bhim App.

55. We have moved from Co-operative Federalism to Competitive Co-operative federalism.

56. It had been said in the old scriptures that if a work is not completed on time, one does not get the desired results.

57. For the Team India it is the right time to commit for a New India.

58. We shall build together an India, where the poor will have concrete houses with water and electricity connection.

59. We will build such an India, where the farmers will have a peaceful sleep without any worry. He will earn double than what he is earning today.

60. Our resolve is to build an India, which provides all the opportunities to the youth and women to fulfil their dreams.

61. Our resolve is to build such an India, free from terrorism, communalism and casteism.

62. We will build together an India, where there will be no place for nepotism and corruption.

63. We will build together such an India, which will be clean, healthy and fulfil the dream of self-rule (Swaraj).

64. We aspire to build a Divya and Bhavya Bharat.


The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi interacting with the children dressed as Krishna after addressing the Nation, on the occasion of 71st Independence Day from the ramparts of Red Fort, in Delhi on August 15, 2017.

Infant deaths: Minister flags corruption in Gorakhpur hospital

Allahabad, Aug 14 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh Health Minister Siddharth Nath Singh today claimed that corruption had been detected in the administration of BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur, where 30 children lost their lives within a span of 48 hours last week.

"As against the demand of Rs 68 lakh for the purchase of oxygen cylinders at the hospital, the Yogi Adityanath government had released Rs two crore on August 5.

"But the hospital administration made payments not before August 11 and even then it spent only Rs 11 lakh. Why? Because of 'commissionkhori' (the practice of seeking commission)," Singh said at a function here.

The minister said he had rushed to Gorakhpur on the instruction of the chief minister soon after the tragedy and had looked into documents relating to the supply of oxygen cylinders at the state-run BRD Medical College.

"The hospital's name is stated as that of the consumer while the supplier happens to be a company based in Nagpur, called Inox. Yet, there is also a dealer by the name of Pushpa Sales. This irregularity is also being investigated," he said.

He said 48 districts in the state had reported incidence of Japanese Encephalitis. At BRD alone, 3,000-4,000 patients complaining of JE symptoms visit daily.

The government is working towards equipping paediatric ICUs at primary health centres and community health centres so that patients "are not forced to rush to cities for treatment", he said.

"For a huge population of 22 crore, health services in UP are in dire straits. Please give me eight to ten months, I promise to bring health services back on track," the minister added.

Singh, who has drawn flak over his statement yesterday that "August sees a high number of deaths", was also shown black flags by student leaders associated with the Samajwadi Party when his vehicle entered the city this afternoon.

The minister, who represents an assembly constituency in the city, was travelling from Lucknow by road.