What kept Prime Minister Manmohan Singh busy after securing minister A Raja’s resignation on the night of November 14 last year? He was writing a reply to National Advisory Council chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s letter on the practice of manual scavenging. On November 15, he wrote to her that he was asking the Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment to “examine how to strengthen” implementation of the Employment of Manual Scavengers and...
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Residents of eastern U.P. to make health an election issue by Aarti Dhar
Encephalitis Eradication Movement planning questionnaire Furious residents of encephalitis-hit eastern Uttar Pradesh have said they intend to make the Central and State governments' poor public health policies an election issue when the State goes to the polls next year. Eminent paediatrician R.N. Singh told The Hindu that the newly formed Encephalitis Eradication Movement — set up in the midst of a devastating epidemic that has claimed over 500 lives, mainly of children...
More »Omar Abdullah defers AFSPA order to buy time by Ishfaq-ul-Hassan
Amid opposition from its alliance partner Congress, the Omar Abdullah-led government on Friday deferred the decision on withdrawal of the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from certain parts of J&K. A cabinet meeting was held here which was presided over by chief minister Omar Abdullah decided that the issue would be taken up in the next cabinet meeting in Jammu after the bi-annual Darbar shifts to the winter capital...
More »Kashmir: why AFSPA must go
-The Hindu More than 23 years after the bombing that signalled the beginning of the murderous insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir, India's strategic establishment is demonstrating a curious unwillingness to grasp the fact that the war to restore peace has been won. Ever since 2009, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has been advocating the withdrawal of the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act from parts of the State, as a first step towards...
More »It is within purview of Home Ministry, says Army Chief
-The Hindu Chief of the Army Staff General V.K. Singh on Thursday refused to be publicly drawn into the debate over withdrawal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) from some areas of Jammu and Kashmir, stating the Army gave its views and the issue fell under the Union Home Ministry. With Chief Minister Omar Abdullah stating that the Act could be withdrawn from some districts of the State, including Srinagar,...
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