Message to letter writers as Sonia Gandhi makes key party appointments

News Network
August 28, 2020
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New Delhi, Aug 28: In a clear message to those who recently wrote a dissent letter challenging her leadership, Congress president Sonia Gandhi Thursday formed a five-member panel in Rajya Sabha including her confidants and elevating two young MPs to senior positions in Lok Sabha.

Ahmed Patel, KC Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh will be part of the Rajya Sabha Committee, which will also include Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad and party's deputy leader Anand Sharma.

Azad and Sharma are signatories to the letter that demanded an overhaul of the Congress party and a new "full-time and visible" party president. They were attacked by party leaders in the Congress Working Committee meeting on Monday, where some even sought action against them.

Ramesh has also been appointed the chief whip in Rajya Sabha, a post that fell vacant after Bhubaneswar Kalita quit the party and joined the BJP.

Former minister and Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal, who was also a signatory to the letter, did not find a place in the strategy committee.

The group will take a call on the party's floor strategy with sources saying the idea is to strengthen floor management.

In the Lok Sabha, Gandhi elevated party MP from Assam Gaurav Gogoi and made him the deputy leader of Congress, while Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh Bittu was made the party's whip.

The two, along with leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, chief whip K Suresh and another whip Manickam Tagore would form a five-member Committee of floor leaders in the lower house.

It is a move by the Congress to strengthen its team of floor leaders in the Lower House, party leaders said, adding it is also a message to dissenters like Shashi Tharoor and Manish Tewari in Lok Sabha and Azad and Sharma in the upper house.

Bittu, a three-time MP from Punjab who has been entrusted with the responsibility as the Congress whip in the Lok Sabha, trumps his Punjab colleague Tewari, also a three-time MP.

Currently, Bittu represents Ludhiana, which had earlier elected Tewari, who now is MP from Anandpur Sahib. Bittu had won from Anandpur Sahib in 2009.

Party leaders said Tewari and Tharoor were aspiring for positions in Lok Sabha.

The opposition party did not have a deputy leader in Lok Sabha -- the last was in the previous Lok Sabha when Amarinder Singh was on the post before he became the chief minister of Punjab.

The appointments came ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, which is likely to commence from September 14.

Gogoi hails from Assam, where Assembly polls are due early next year. The MP from the Kaliabor Lok Sabha constituency, he was the party's whip in the House till now and has been elevated.

Gogoi is the son of former Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi.

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News Network
November 14,2024

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The UN special rapporteur for Palestine has slammed Israel’s parliament for passing a law authorizing the detention of Palestinian children, who are “tormented often beyond the breaking point” in Israeli custody.

Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, in a Thursday post on X, characterized the experiences of Palestinian minors in Israeli detention as extreme and often inhumane.

The UN expert highlighted the grave impact of this policy, noting that up to 700 Palestinian minors are taken into custody each year, a practice she described as part of an unlawful occupation that views these children as potential threats.

Albanese said Palestinian minors in Israeli custody are “tormented often beyond the breaking point” and that “generations of Palestinians will carry the scars and trauma from the Israeli mass incarceration system.”

She further criticized the international community for its inaction, suggesting that ongoing diplomatic efforts, which often rely on the idea of resuming negotiations for peace, have contributed to normalizing such human rights violations against Palestinian children and the broader population.

The comments by Albanese came in response to Israel’s parliament (Knesset) passing a law on November 7 that authorizes the detention of Palestinian children under the age of 14 for “terrorism or terrorist activities.”

Under the legislation, a temporary five-year measure, once the individuals turn 14, they will be transferred to adult prison to continue serving their sentences.

Additionally, the law allows for a three-year clause that enables courts to incarcerate minors in adult prisons for up to 10 days if they are considered dangerous. Courts have the authority to extend this duration if necessary, according to the Knesset.

The legislation underscores a shift in the treatment of minors and raises alarms among human rights advocates regarding the legal and ethical ramifications of detaining children and the conditions under which they may be held.

Thousands of Palestinians, including hundreds of children and women, are currently in Israeli jails—around one-third without charge or trial. Also, an unknown number are arbitrarily held following a wave of arrests in the wake of the regime's genocidal war on Gaza.

Since the onset of the Gaza war, the Israeli regime, under the supervision of extremist minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, has turned prisons and detention centers into “death chambers,” the ministry of detainees and ex-detainees’ affairs in Gaza says.

Violence, extreme hunger, humiliation, and other forms of abuse of Palestinian prisoners have been normalized across Israel’s jail system, reports indicate.

Over 270 Palestinian minors are being detained by Israeli authorities, in violation of UN resolutions and international treaties that forbid the incarceration of children, as reported by Palestinian rights organizations.

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News Network
November 27,2024

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Mangaluru: Dakshina Kannada MP Captain Brijesh Chowta recently met with Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnav to discuss urgent concerns regarding the region's railway infrastructure development. Key issues raised during the meeting included the long-pending Mangaluru-Bengaluru connectivity, the Shiradi Ghat stretch, and other vital railway concerns impacting the region.

In addition to discussing these issues, Captain Chowta submitted a letter requesting the Union Minister's intervention and support. The letter emphasized the need to merge Konkan Railway with Indian Railways and called for the doubling of railway tracks between Bengaluru and Mangaluru, which would significantly improve rail connectivity between the state capital and Mangaluru.

Further, Captain Chowta raised concerns about enhancing passenger facilities along the region's rail routes, particularly the need for better services between Subrahmanya and Mangaluru.

To bring more attention to these pressing issues, Captain Chowta took to social media, urging the state government’s support. In a tweet on his official X handle, he requested Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to expedite the resolution of these concerns. “In this direction, I request our Karnataka government led by CM Shri @siddaramaiah to kindly provide the necessary state support for the swift redressal of various concerns pertaining to both Konkan Railways as well as HMRDC to ease movement of both people and cargo in this important stretch between Mangalore and Bangalore,” he posted.

The meeting with the Union Minister was attended by Bengaluru Rural MP Dr. CN Manjunath, Udupi-Chikmagalur MP Kota Srinivas Poojary, and Uttara Karnataka MP Vishweshwara Hegde Kageri, all of whom supported the discussion on enhancing railway infrastructure in the region.

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News Network
November 18,2024

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Mangaluru: The Ullal police have arrested Manohar, the owner of Vazco Beach Resort, and its manager Bharath in connection with the drowning of three college girls from Mysuru at the resort’s swimming pool on November 17.

City Commissioner of Police Anupam Agrawal confirmed the arrests, stating that a case has been registered under Section 106 of BNS. The bodies of the victims, all in their twenties, have been handed over to their parents. The women had arrived at the resort for a weekend getaway on November 16.

Following the tragic incident, the resort was sealed by officials led by Mangaluru Assistant Commissioner Harshavardhan. The trade license of the resort, issued on June 13, 2024, has been suspended, and the tourism department has temporarily revoked the resort's registration. These actions prohibit the resort from engaging in any tourism-related activities until further notice.

Someshwara TMC Chief Officer stated that the suspension was due to the resort's failure to implement adequate safety measures, which resulted in the loss of three lives. Further investigations are underway.

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