MPs can now use iPads with Lok Sabha going Wi-Fi

June 5, 2012

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New Delhi, June 5: Lok Sabha members would soon be able to use iPads in the house with a parliamentary panel clearing Wi-Fi connectivity in the Lower House of Parliament. The facility is already available in the Rajya Sabha.

According to Lok Sabha Secretary General TK Vishwanathan, the National Informatics Centre (NIC) has been asked to extend Wi-Fi facility to the Lower House before the monsoon session, scheduled to begin in July. "We plan to install Wi-Fi at the earliest... we have asked the NIC to do the needful," Vishwanathan told IANS.

The move will help the Lok Sabha secretariat pursue its paperless office plan, which aims to reduce paper use in printing a large number of reports and documents and instead make them available on the website.

The Lok Sabha secretariat had approached the joint parliamentary committee (JPC) on security last year after the Intelligence Bureau raised some objections to extending the facility to the Lower House.

Incidentally, no such permission from the IB was required when the facility was made available to the Upper House, said officials.

Informed sources said the JPC on security, which had been pursuing the matter for about a year, resolved it with the IB last month.

The Wi-Fi facility is expected to help over 300 of the 543 Lok Sabha MPs who have purchased iPads under a scheme in accessing routine information like notices, bulletins, list of business, questions and answers and other reports during the session.

Under the scheme, MPs are provided Rs 50,000 to buy an Apple iPad or Android-based Samsung Galaxy Tab.

The paper used for such communication can be saved if the MPs start checking out this information in a digital format using iPads, officials said.

Congress MP Deepa Dasmunsi told IANS, "It is a good thing...Wi-Fi facility will help me get information quickly... we had asked for it in the lobby and the Central Hall area."

In order to persuade parliamentarians to use the iPads to access various documents supplied to them in hard copy, the Lok Sabha secretariat held a familiarisation workshop last year.

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News Network
October 21,2024

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Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on Monday warned passengers not to fly on Air India flights from November 1 to 19. He asserted that an attack could take place on an Air India flight during the specified dates, which coincide with the "40th anniversary of the Sikh genocide".

The founder of Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), who holds dual citizenship in Canada and the US, had issued a similar threat around the same time last year.

Pannun's fresh threat comes amid several airlines in India receiving multiple threat calls about potential bombings, all of which turned out to be hoaxes. It also occurred at a time when India and Canada are engaged in a murky diplomatic row following Canada's allegations of India targeting Khalistani elements in the country, including the murder of another terrorist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

In November 2023, Pannun released a video claiming that Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport would be renamed and would remain closed on November 19, warning people against flying on Air India that day. The National Investigation Agency charged him with criminal conspiracy, promoting enmity between different groups on the grounds of religion, and various offences under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

In December last year, Pannun threatened to attack the Parliament on or before December 13, following reports of an alleged foiled plot to kill him. December 13 marks the anniversary of the terrorist attack on the Parliament in 2001.

He also threatened to kill Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Director General of State Police Gaurav Yadav on Republic Day this year. He also urged gangsters to unite and launch an attack on Mann on January 26.

Pannun has been designated a terrorist by the Ministry of Home Affairs since July 2020 on charges of sedition and secessionism, as he leads SFJ, a group advocating for a separate sovereign Sikh state. A year prior to this, India banned SFJ as an "unlawful association" for engaging in "anti-national and subversive" activities.

In another development, on October 17, the United States charged a former officer of India's spy agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) for allegedly directing a foiled plot to murder Pannun, a charge New Delhi has rejected as baseless allegations.

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News Network
October 22,2024

Several Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) schools across India were hit with hoax bomb threats on Tuesday, just days after an explosion occurred near a CRPF school in Delhi. The threats, sent via email late Monday night, targeted schools in Delhi and Hyderabad, according to sources.

Earlier this week, a bomb exploded outside a CRPF school in Delhi’s Rohini area, causing significant damage to nearby vehicles and property. Fortunately, no casualties or injuries were reported.

In response to the blast, Delhi Police confiscated CCTV footage from nearby markets as part of their investigation. Sources indicate that surveillance footage captured a suspect at the scene, wearing a white T-shirt, displaying suspicious behavior the night before the explosion.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the explosive device had been hidden in a polythene bag, buried in a shallow pit, and covered with garbage. The blast caused a hole in the school's boundary wall and shattered the window panes and signboards of nearby shops.

Following the incident, the Delhi Police registered a First Information Report (FIR) under Section 4 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, Section 3 of the Indian Explosives Act, and other relevant sections.

The FIR states, "A case of an explosion caused by an unknown explosive substance has been registered, and the investigation continues." It also details the damage, noting that the blast left a hole in the boundary wall and affected nearby structures.

The targeted schools serve children from CRPF and other paramilitary families, and the recent threats have heightened concerns. In response, Delhi authorities have placed the city on high alert, ramping up security measures, especially in markets, ahead of the Diwali festival. 

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