India on Saturday said the arrest of Kashmiri separatist leader Ghulam Nabi Fai in the United States was long overdue as the government had suspected for a long time that he was receiving funds from Pakistani agencies. "Yes, his (Fai) arrest was long overdue," Union Home Secretary R K Singh said when asked about the arrest of the US-based chief of a Kashmir advocacy group in America. "We had a fair degree of suspicion that he got money from agencies in Pak," Singh said.
The government has unleashed hectic behind the scene activity and is lobbying with non-Bharatiya Janata Party parties to break the logjam in Parliament and divide the Opposition ranks, in a bid to ensure there is no repetition of the winter session of Parliament where not a single item of business could be transacted.
Issues such as seat sharing and being part of the DMK led government were not a priority now and that the main goal was to ensure that DMK comes to power.
'An old party like the Congress cannot rely solely on the prescriptions of a 'Doctor' whose motives and intentions are still unknown and that he does not look attached towards any party or ideology,' point out Sunil Gatade and Venkatesh Kesari.
Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad attacked the government for creating fear, alleging that it was just renaming the earlier policies without delivering their benefits to the poor and the needy.
Congress leader Jitin Prasada, one of the 23 leaders who wrote to party chief Sonia Gandhi seeking organisational changes, said the letter was written with the sole purpose of suggesting how to reinvigorate and revitalise the party.
The petition letter, drafted by council member Ghulam Nabi Fai, has signatures of nearly 1400 persons from the Kashmir Valley. However, not one Kashmiri politician has signed it.
The MLAs in the letter said they feel threatened, and requested the police to stop any Congress leader from meeting them.
Violence and militancy were no solution to "political problems," Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari said on Monday, as he sought an "honourable, equitable and peaceful resolution" of the Kashmir issue.
Gandhi had said, "For the first 15 years, I was an MP in the north. I had got used to a different type of politics. For me, coming to Kerala was very refreshing as suddenly I found that people are interested in issues and not just superficially but going into detail in issues."
Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan, who rejoined the party recently, has stoked a controversy when he questioned whether Kashmir was part of India after he said there is only one Muslim minister in the Union cabinet who is not from this country but who is from Kashmir.
India and the US have agreed to set up four working groups to advance cooperation and establish common goals between two countries in health sector.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj briefed them about the operation that destroyed Jaish-e-Mohammed's terror training camp in Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.
Gandhi, who had taken over as the new Congress chief last year from his mother Sonia Gandhi, was designated the sixth row seat during the 2018 Republic Day celebrations
"We want Mahatma Gandhi's India, return of our identity and honour which was given to us by the Indian Constitution and I am sure they have to return it with interest as well," PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti said.
The Act integrates multiplicity of provisions under various food related laws. It will among other things regulate food safety standards and uniform licensing in the country.
"Today, we stand united in solidarity with our security forces in fighting terrorism and in defending the unity and integrity of India."
Only vegetarian dishes were served at the official dinner held at a state-run five-star hotel.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi became emotional in Parliament on Tuesday while talking about Congress veteran Ghulam Nabi Azad during farewell to retiring members of the Rajya Sabha.
The victim, a 14-year-old girl, was admitted to a hospital last month with symptoms of sore throat, runny nose and headaches, a government statement said.
Justifying his demand for the policy during the CMs' meet in New Delhi, Abdullah said: "A pragmatic policy to this effect is the need of the hour. The state government had proposed it after taking into consideration all pros and cons so that it is not misused at any level". He said the Centre and the state governments should work out the policy in a manner without hampering the national interests at any level but pave way for the militants to return to normal life.
Ajit Singh represented a bridge between a constituency that represented a more traditional era in politics and a modern, forward-looking, India, remembers Aditi Phadnis.
The black bands were worn as a mark of protest against the alleged attack on the Constitution of India with the passage of the amended citizenship act by the government, leaders said.
As the prime minister asked the Group of Ministers on Bhopal tragedy to meet immediately, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is a member of the GoM, said on Monday that the panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the punishment for the culprits was reduced.
Having cracked the whip on the scam-tainted Medical Council of India, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has urged the panel of doctors, which has replaced the body, to take transparent and corruption-free decisions. In a letter to Dr S K Sarin, chairperson of the new board, Azad said the government appointed the board of governors to exercise the powers and perform the functions of the MCI after due deliberations.
Rahul Gandhi replied on Twitter, saying, 'Thank you for your greetings @narendramodi ji. I appreciate them.'
Militants attacked Ghulam Nabi Khan, president of the Sopore trader's federation, in the main chowk of the town on Sunday morning. They shot at Khan, who was critically injured, a senior police official said. "Khan was taken to the local hospital at Sopore where he succumbed to his injuries," the officer said. The area was surrounded by the police and paramilitary forces and a massive hunt was launched to nab the killers, said the police.
Arguing that it was very difficult to post MBBS doctors in rural areas, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Wednesday said the proposed Bachelor of Rural Health course was targeted at areas where only nurses and midwives were available and no doctor was willing to go.
With swine flu cases across India rising sharply, the Union Health Ministry on Saturday issued fresh guidelines specifying screening and testing module for patients, to contain the disease in the country. As per guidelines, all individuals seeking consultation for flu-like symptoms would be screened at healthcare facilities -- both government and private -- or examined by a doctor and will be categorised broadly under three categories A, B and C depending on their health.
The People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) on Monday said assembly elections should be held only after restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and asked the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government to honour its commitment made on the floor of Parliament.
The government on Friday assured Parliament that the spread of swine flu was under control due to continuous efforts of doctors and was limited to only a few individuals. "We have managed to limit such cases to a few individuals, considering the size of our population and country," Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad told Rajya Sabha during Question Hour. Seeking to allay fears of the common man about the disease, he said, "There are guidelines and constant reviews."
The three-member panel of Law Minister M Veerappa Moily, Home Minister P Chidambaram and Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad met in New Delhi on Tuesday evening and "critically analysed" the pros and cons of the Delhi High Court judgement legalising gay sex.
If young couples watch the assorted mindless programming on telly till well past midnight, Health Minister Azad believes they will drop off to sleep instead of indulging in sexual hank-panky.
Government on Tuesday said an indigenous Indian vaccine for H1N1 would be ready by the beginning of April, even as it demanded an inquiry into the 'panic' created by international bodies on the scale of the epidemic.
Home Minister P Chidambaram along with his cabinet colleagues Law Minister Veerappa Moily and Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad held a meeting on Friday to analyse the Delhi High Court's judgement decriminalising same gender sex.
'There may be elements in New Delhi, Islamabad and Kashmir, who want to create trouble between both countries. But peace is the best thing for all,' Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai said.
The holiday will not affect quake-relief operations.
"Azad saab (Ghulam Nabi Azad) had spoken on behalf of all of us that we don't accept this timeline -- we don't accept delimitation, election, statehood, we want delimitation, statehood and then election. If you want to hold polls, you'll have to restore statehood first," said Omar Abdullah.
'Priyanka did draw huge crowds and eventually all of those ended up voting for the Samajwadi Party.' 'The voters today are smart enough to vote for the party which they know is going to win or they know this party will come second, but no way will they vote for a party which will come third or fourth.'
'You need a leader whom India can identify with and I cannot think of any other leader except Sachin Pilot in the Congress party.'
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