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Lieutenant Kanika Rane: Two years after her husband immortalised himself fighting infiltrators at LOC, she pays this fitting tribute to him

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Lieutenant Kanika Rane: Two years after her husband immortalised himself fighting infiltrators at LOC, she pays this fitting tribute to him

Two years after her husband Major Kaustubh Rane martyred in Kashmir, Kanika Kaustubh Rane paid him a fitting tribute. On Saturday, she was commissioned into the Indian Army after completion of her training at the Indian Army’s Officers Training Academy in Chennai.

The 29-year-old Major Rane was martyred during an operation in Kashmir in August 2018 with three other Indian soldiers — rifleman Hameer Singh (28), rifleman Mandeep Singh (26) and Vikramjeet Singh (25). The soldiers had laid down their lives in an attempt to foil an infiltration bid near the Line of Control near Gurez Sector in Bandipora district, about 125 km from Srinagar.

In a video shared by Journalist Shiv Aroor on Saturday, Lieutenant Kanika Rane said, “I would not say it was an easy choice…But I knew that had our places been switched, he would have also done the same for me. I am here to fulfill his objectives and the dreams he has left behind by being in his place.”

Speaking on the training, Kanika Rane said that it requires more mental strength than physical endurance. “If you have mental strength and stamina, you can overcome anything. I had never even run 100 metres before coming here, and now I am running 40 km” she said.

Major Kaustubh Rane, who was first inducted into Garhwal Rifles, was then transferred to 36 Rashtriya Rifles. Major Rane had completed six years of service in the Army. He is survived by his parents, his wife Kanika and their young son Agastya.

Last year, at an investiture ceremony held earlier this year in Udhampur, Kanika had collected a gallantry award on behalf of her husband.

“This became an inspiration and motivation for me to don the uniform and join the Army. He was my inspiration and I wanted to move ahead with that inspiration and follow his footsteps,” she had said.

Kanika, who earlier worked as a project manager in an MNC, cleared the Service Selection Board (SSB) exam last year. In October 2019, she went to the Officers Training Academy (OTA) in Chennai for her 49-week course.

On Saturday, two hundred and thirty officer cadets – 181 men and 49 women, passed out from the Officers Training Academy in Chennai.

Actress Sana Khan who quit bollywood for Islam marries a Muslim cleric who was introduced to her by hatemonger Ajaz Khan

OpIndia Staff
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Actress Sana Khan who quit bollywood for Islam marries a Muslim cleric who was introduced to her by hatemonger Ajaz Khan

Former Bollywood entertainer Sana Khan, who participated in reality show like Bigg Boss and had acted in Salman Khan movies like Jai Ho has now married a Surat-based Muslim Cleric, Mufti Anas. She had earlier quit the glamour world for Islam.

As per reports, Bigg Boss 8 contestant Ajaz Khan, who regularly posts communally sensitive remarks on social media, introduced her to her husband. In the videos that have surfaced online, she is wearing a white bridal gown and her husband is also wearing white outfit. She married the Muslim cleric in a small intimate ceremony in Surat. The newly married couple also cut a cake after the wedding.

Sana was earlier in a relationship with choreographer Melvin Louis. She later accused him of cheating on her as well as indulging in domestic violence. However, in a sudden turn of events, last month Khan announced her retirement from showbiz to follow ‘rules of Allah’. She had quit Bollywood to make her afterlife better, she had said in an Instagram post. Prior to her, Bollywood actress Zaira Wasim had quit Bollywood for Islam.

Marriage between first cousins per se illegal under the Hindu Marriage Act, observes Punjab and Haryana High Court

OpIndia Staff
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Marriage between first cousins per se illegal under the Hindu Marriage Act, observes Punjab and Haryana High Court

The Punjab and Haryana High Court during the hearing of an anticipatory bail application of a petitioner, who was in live-in relationship with his minor first cousin and wanted to marry her after she turned 18, observed that the marriage between first cousins was per se illegal. A Bench of Justice Arvind Singh Sangwan was hearing the anticipatory bail application on November 19 filed by the petitioner who was facing charges under section 363 (kidnapping) and section 366A (procuring of minor girl) of the Indian Penal Code.

During the hearing, the court noted, “I find that in the present petition also, the petitioner has not disclosed about the fact that he is the first cousin of (the minor) and therefore the submission in the present petition that as and when she attains the age of 18 years, they will perform marriage is also per se illegal”.

Advocate CS Rana appearing for the petitioner submitted before the court that the petitioner and the minor were in a live-in relationship. He brought on record a criminal writ petition filed in the High Court seeking protection for the couple in which the minor had submitted that she was living with the petitioner, whom she described her ‘friend’, out of her own free will and that she feared that her parents would harass her and disturb her ‘peace of mind’. The petitioner had promised in the petition to marry the minor on her attaining majority. The said writ was disposed off with a direction to police to decide the petitioner’s plea for protection.

State opposed the petition on the ground that the petitioner and the minor were ‘Sapindas’

Appearing for the state, DAG Joginder Pal Ratra opposed the current petition submitting that the petitioner and the minor were in fact first cousins as their fathers were siblings. He submitted that the petitioner and the minor were not allowed to marriage by virtue of being ‘sapindas’ under the Hindu Marriage Act and therefore the question of there being a live-in relationship did not arise. He said that the live-in relationship was per se immoral and not acceptable in society.

The petitioner’s counsel sought more time to present arguments to show that the relationship/marriage between the petitioner and the minor was not illegal. The next hearing of the matter has been scheduled on January 11, 2020.

Who are ‘Sapindas’ under the Hindu Marriage Act

Section 5 (v) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 states that a marriage may be solemnised between any two Hindus if the parties are not sapindas of each other, unless the custom or usage governing each of them permits a marriage between the two. Section 3 (f)(i) of the same Act defines sapinda relationship as including up to three generations in the line of ascent of through the mother and up to five generations in the line of ascent through the father. The line is traced upwards in each case from the person concerned who is counted as the first generation. Section 3 (f)(ii) states that two person will be considered sapindas if one is the lineal ascendant of the other within the limits of sapinda relationship or if the two persons have a common lineal ascendant who is within the limits of sapinda relationship with reference to each of them. Section 11 of the Act declares a marriage between sapindas as null and void.

Read- A Hindu conservative argument against same sex marriages: Religious sanction, dictatorship of the minority, and where does it end?

In simple words, under Hindu Marriage Act, a person cannot marry another person within three generations on the side of mother (counting upwards) and a person within five generations on the side of father (counting upwards). So as per law, a person cannot marry another person if he or she falls within five generations upwards on his/her father’s side (e.g. father’s offspring. grandfather’s offspring and so on) and if he or she falls within three generations upwards on his/her mother side (e.g. mother’s offspring, mother’s sister’s offspring and so on). There are several other degrees of prohibited relationships in which marriage cannot be take place .

OTV MD Jagi Mangat Panda seeks probe by a national agency on charges against the channel, alleges harassment with false cases by BJD govt

OpIndia Staff
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OTV MD Jagi Mangat Panda seeks probe by a national agency on charges against the channel, alleges harassment with false cases by BJD govt

The Naveen Patnaik govt in Odisha has registered around 20 cases against Odisha TV (OTV), its sister companies, employees and family members, including the 84 years old father of Jagi Mangat Panda, the managing director of the company. This was revealed in a press release issued by Jagi Mangat Panda today, who said that the channel is being harassed with false cases as part of a conspiracy orchestrated at the behest of BJD government in Odisha because of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s personal vendetta. Due to the continuous harassment, the media house has demanded a probe into allegations against it by a national agency.

Saying that the false cases include several criminal cases, Panda said that they vehemently deny these allegations. She said that there has been no wrongdoing by them and they are confident that this will be proved in the courts. It may be noted Jagi Mangat Panda is the wife of BJP leader Baijayant Panda, who was earlier in BJD, and currently the primary challenger to CM Patnaik.

“We assert that these cases are being orchestrated by the 21-year-old BJD government in Odisha, because of CM Naveen Patnaik’s personal vendetta against us,” the managing director of the media house said. “It is no secret that ever since my husband Jay Panda started speaking out about the BJD’s widespread corruption five years ago, and thereafter joined the BJP, the Odisha government and BJD have been targeting and harassing our family members and organisations and entities connected with us, as well as actual violence against us on several locations,” the statement alleged.

Jagi Mangat Panda informs that five of their employees have been arrested, two of whom were forced to resign from the channel while in custody. She said that the channel is been cooperating with the authorities, & large numbers of our employees have been going to police stations for interrogation as and when summoned.

Saying that they will continue to cooperate with state authorities, she demanded a probe into cases against the channel by a neutral national agency. “Because of the biased behaviour of the Odisha authorities, it is high time that these allegations are investigated by a neutral national agency,” the press release issued by Jagi Mangat Panda said.

She also appealed the national media to cover full facts of the issues, and not just focus on “just the allegations and developments from one perspective which suits the BJD.”

Odisha Government vs OTV

We have earlier reported how OTV MD Jagi Mangat Panda has alleged that her organisation is being targeted for coverage of the Naveen Patnaik Government’s alleged corruption. Recently, on November 10, Randhir Singh, father of Jagi Mangat Panda had issued a video appeal to the Union Home Minister of India, Amit Shah, seeking protection from the excesses of the police officials against his family and employees at the channel’s studio in Sarua, Khordha, under the pretext of carrying an investigation into a land issue.

It is pertinent to note here that OTV Sarua Studio Manager Anirudhha Panda was arrested by a group of policemen at 3 AM on 10th November. The posse of about 15-20 police officials had reportedly climbed the boundary walls of the studio and hustled away Panda in the dead of the night without offering any reason.

Last month, Ramesh Rath,  a senior reporter with Odisha Television (OTV) was allegedly arbitrarily picked up by a group of policemen barely a few hundred metres from his residence and was not allowed any communication, even with his family members. The channel had dubbed the arrest as a fallout of Rath reporting about Naveen Patnaik’s chopper run to assess the flood situation in the state. The Odisha police excesses, however, did not stop at this. A day after Rath’s arrest, a team of police had reportedly arrived at the office of the channel to search without warrants for the same, OTV had stated.

Before this other two employees working for the channel were also arrested. Rath and the other two were arrested in as many as 20 cases, leaving little doubt amongst many of the state-sponsored harassment against the company employees.

The Odisha Government has levelled a host of allegations against OTV and its affiliate organisations. OTV MD Jagi Mangat Panda had in a press release earlier, asked the Odisha government to investigate all the allegations levelled against them but asked them to stop harassing the employees, forcing them to tender their resignations. 

Uttar Pradesh: How the govt utilised the MGNREGA to revive a river and improved the lives of scores in the process

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: How the govt utilised the MGNREGA to revive a river and improved the lives of scores in the process

The Uttar Pradesh Government, for quite some time, has planned on rejuvenating rivers and in the process, generate employment under the MGNREGA. Numerous rivers are under the radar for rejuvenation and the state government under Yogi Adityanath and Minister for Rural Development Rajendra Pratap Singh are attempting to utilise the opportunity to provide employment to those currently in need of it. One river that has already been rejuvenated is the Odi river.

The Odi river originates in Madanpur village in Lalitpur and travels a distance of 20 kms across 8 revenue villages. The construction of 10 check dams on the river, over a period of time, resulted in choking of the river as a consequence of siltation. It eventually resulted in the drying up of the river leading to loss of vegetation, drying up of wells and agricultural prospects in the region appeared bleak as well.

A document prepared by Yogesh Kumar, additional commissioner of MNREGA, noted, “The total of 4 gram panchayats including the Gram Panchayat Madanpur, Didaunia, Hansera and Paharikala are situated in the basin of this river. Because of the formation of excessive check dams on river Odi and due to the accumulation of the silts, the river’s water source had ceased and the river also lost its original form. This river had completely disappeared for the last several years and the geographical and vegetative balance of the river started to deteriorate, due to which the revival of the river Odi was extremely important.”

The local administration became aware of the plight of the river, and after much deliberation, the task of reviving it was taken up under MGNREGA. According to the plan, 42 locations were selected in a distance of 14 Kms from Madanpur to Jamni Dam for work related to water conservation. In 33 of these places, the work was completed between April to June 2019. The work in the remaining 9 were started in March the same year and additional 5 spots were identified.

The work started with the process of de-siltation of the water way and involved the repair of the check dams. 25000 saplings were planted on either side of the river. A total of 70,666 person-days of work was generated in the process and 558 families were benefitted as a consequence. Desilting work was carried out at Madanpur, Didoniya, Hashera and Pahadikala.

On the completion of the work, the lost river resumed its flow and the entire stretch was flush with the water. The vegetation in the area revived as well and about 250 dried-up wells were recharged. It benefitted 3500 families through irrigation with an area of 9600 acres being irrigated by the Odi river. The rejuvenated river helped improve the lives of the people in the region to a great degree and also improved the ecosystem in the area.

Where water was available only for 5 months earlier, water is now available throughout the year. 700 acres of barren land were converted into agriculture land in the process and consequently, the farmers are available to double the crop from the land. It has enhanced their income and has reduced migration from the region. The effort has been awarded by the Government of India with the National Water Award.

Pakistan: Deaf-mute minor Christian girl abducted by son-mother duo, forcefully converted, married, and gang-raped by 5 men for 2 months

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan: Deaf-mute minor Christian girl abducted by son-mother duo, forcefully converted, married, and gang-raped by 5 men for 2 months

On March 16 this year, a 17-year-old Christian girl Komal, who is reportedly deaf and mute, was kidnapped from her house and forcefully married to a Muslim man in her neighbourhood in Lahore in Pakistan, reported British Pakistani Christian Association (BPCA).

As per reports, a First Information Report (FIR) was filed on March 17 by the Sandha police in connection to the abduction of the minor girl. However, the police did not take any action against the accused. It was after the intervention of local MP Tariq Gill that the police started to trace the last call which the victim’s mother Rubina received before she went missing. During the probe, the suspects were identified as Ali Mubashir and Mohammed Azeem. The police found that the duo was around the location of the victim’s house when she went missing.

When police contacted Azeem, he decided to come for questioning but later became untraceable for two months along with Mubashir. On April 10, Rubina received another call where she allegedly heard the voice of her daughter. On being reported to the police, the number was traced to their neighbour Kashif Ghulam Rasool. Besides Rasool, three others including Muhammed Azeem, Mubashir Ali and one Ali Abbas were found to have forced the victim into a van. One of the accused, however, remains unidentified. The Sandha police then arrested the trio from a house in Deepalpur in Okara district while Kashif Ghulam Rasool remained on the run.

Victim is the property of abductor Kashif, claims his paternal uncle

Later, the paternal uncle of Kashif turned up at the police station of June 5 and produced the victim, who had been missing for 2 months. He produced a fake Islamic marriage certificate and a birth certificate that claimed that her age was 18. He had also produced a certificate that showed that she had willingly accepted Islam. While he allowed the victim to meet her parents, he cautioned that she would not be returned to the family. He claimed that the victim was the property of her husband and should be returned to her husband following the meetup.

Police refused to give the custody of the victim to the parents

On meeting her daughter, Rubina said that Komal was in a distressed state during their communication in sign language. The victim had communicated that she was raped regularly by 5 Muslim men and longed to be in their custody, instead of her abductor. However, when Rubina said the same thing to the police, they refused to grant her permission to take her daughter with her. Later, MP Tariq Gill visited the police station and demanded the release of the victim and a further probe into the matter. During a medical examination on June 6, conducted by Dr Tauqir Asifa, it was confirmed that the victim was subjected to both physical and sexual abuse. The medical test, conducted at the Health Department of the Government of Punjab, found multiple scars on the left foot and wounds on her right forearm.

Komal narrates her ordeal

While communicating via sign language at the District Education Officer (Special Education) in Lahore, she narrated, “I was cleaning the floor of my house at around 1:30 pm. Suddenly Kashif Ghulam Rasool and her mother Raqiya came and dragged me out of my house by my arm. I’m deaf-mute so I could not make any noise to catch the attention of family members. They took me into a car and drove me to the other side of the River Ravi. On 19th March they took me to Jamia Nameea Lahore and was converted to Islam, Kashif made me do it. Kashif Ghulam Rasool forced me to marry him. After that, my husband took me to different places to avoid arrest by the police and he often beat me.”

Prime accused granted pre-arrest bail, victim still recovering

Kashif and his mother Raqiya, who also assaulted the victim, applied for a pre-bail arrest and Additional Sessions Judge Lahore, Ch. Zulfiqar Ali, granted bail to the duo on a surety bond of 30,000 PKR each. Later, Qari Muhammad Saeed of Dar-Ul-Aloom Jamia Naeemia gave a statement saying that Komal had converted without any fear or duress on the March 19 and that her marriage was legal. The father of the victim, Patras Masih, has lamented about the poor policing in the case. Following a protest outside Lahore Press Club, DSP Javed Sadiq of Central Investigation Agency assured the victim’s parents of a fair investigation on 4th November 2020. reportedly, the victim is in a secret place now and recovering from the trauma.

Chairperson for the British Asian Christian Association,Juliet Chowdhry, stated, “This young woman has suffered the vilest and horrid attack. “There are few women my age that could survive such an ordeal and yet despite her young years, she has shown a strength and faith in God that is remarkable. She prayed and trusted in God – knowing full well he was going to set her free. My daughter Hannah is the same age as Komal and also understands British Sign Language, she hopes to communicate with her soon to share prayers and to encourage her. When she heard of these horrors she wept – all Christian women should be moved to tears at the base cruelty faced by our sisters in Pakistan. This story should be a wake-up call – but how many of you will actually actively get involved in eradicating this evil?”


“We are not here to promote American values”: Airbnb co-founder to company top executive over the company sharing user data with China

OpIndia Staff
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“We are not here to promote American values”: Airbnb co-founder to company top executive over the company sharing user data with China

In an explosive new report published in The Wall Street Journal, a top executive at the American behemoth Airbnb had revealed that he had resigned last year over the company’s dubious data-sharing practices in China. The executive, who resigned barely after six months into service, had alleged that Airbnb shared details such as phone numbers, email addresses with the Chinese government when the users booked a rental.

Sean Joyce, a former deputy director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, was hired in May 2019 by the home rental service Airbnb as its first “chief trust officer”, a role which involved safeguarding users’ safety on the platform.

However, six months later, he expressed concerns over the organisation’s practice of sharing data on millions of its users with the Chinese authorities. Joyce was alarmed that the organisation was not fully transparent about the data shared with the Chinese Communist Party, including details of Americans who used the company’s services in China.

“Joyce also objected to the scope of the data shared, such as messages sent between guests and hosts,” the report published in the WSJ said.

Though Airbnb had told users since 2016 that it shares their details with the Chinese government as per the review of its communications, Joyce believed that most of the users were not aware of the scope of their details shared, which included phone numbers, email addresses, transcripts of the chat messages between the guests and the hosts, the article said.

When contacted by the Wall Street Journal, Mr Joyce responded that he has “differences in value” with Airbnb.

Joyce resigned in 2019 after Airbnb leadership defended its compliance of China’s data-sharing requirements

According to the report, Joyce confronted the organisation leadership in summer 2019 after Chinese officials sought more details such as “real-time” data of the users seeking rental services. In the meeting, which was attended by Chief Executive Brian Chesky and co-founder Nathan Blecharczyk, who leads Airbnb’s China unit, Joyce accosted the leadership about the organisation’s willingness to share users’ private data with China.

“We’re not here to promote American values,” Mr Blecharczyk reportedly told Mr Joyce. Weeks later, Joyce tendered his resignation.

Airbnb did not respond to the report, most likely because it is in a “quiet period” after announcing it is going public with an IPO.

Company says it could lose its ability to operate in China if it didn’t comply with their demands

“When it filed to go public this week, Airbnb Inc. that its ability to continue doing business in China is a risk factor for its brand and profitability,” the report said. It added that the company could lose the ability to operate in China if it refuses to comply with the country’s data-sharing requirements.

Rad- Chinese firm with military and communist party links caught collecting personal information of 2.4 million people globally, including 10,000 from India

“Operating in the country has sparked debate among the home-sharing startup’s senior leadership for some time, leading a top executive to depart abruptly last year, according to people familiar with the company,” it added.

However, Airbnb’s readiness to divulge data to the Chinese authorities has paid rich dividends to the home-rental organisation. “Airbnb’s business in China has grown astronomically in recent years, rising from several thousand listings at the end of 2014 to about 372,000 active listings in September,” the report mentioned.

‘References to Kashmir by Biden campaign attempts to garner votes’, ‘India has to highlight Pakistan’s 1947 invasion’: Speakers at webinar discuss Kashmir

OpIndia Staff
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‘References to Kashmir by Biden campaign attempts to garner votes’, ‘India has to highlight Pakistan’s 1947 invasion’: Speakers at webinar discuss Kashmir

Dr. Michael Kugelman, Deputy Director of the Asia Program at the Woodrow Wilson Center, observed that the incoming Joe Biden administration is unlikely to permit the Kashmir issue to deteriorate the improving relationship between India and USA.

He said, “The incoming Biden administration may be more willing to talk about the Kashmir issue privately but the issue will not be a high priority. There has been very little said by the Biden-Harris camp about the Kashmir. All references made by the Biden-Harris camp have been attempts to garner votes at home before the election rather than concrete promises of action.”

The comments were made at a webinar hosted by the Usanas Foundation. The webinar focused on Pakistan’s invasion of Kashmir in 1947 and Lt. General Ata Hasnain, Kashmiri politician Mir Junaid and Professor Amitabh Mattoo were the other eminent speakers.

“The only way that Kashmir is currently seen by the US is as a stability issue, Kashmir has been the spark of multiple wars between India and Pakistan. Kashmir will not be a big priority and the incoming administration will more likely focus on domestic problems such as the ongoing pandemic and socio-economic troubles,” Dr. Kugelman added, emphasizing that Joe Biden “sees India-US relationship above all as a counter-terrorism partnership and countering China is a secondary aspect.”

Dr. Kugelman also predicted that in case of another Pakistan-sponsored terror attack against India like Pulwama, Joe Biden will firmly side with India. The other speakers focused on the brutalities that were committed by Pakistan-backed tribals in Kashmir in 1947.

Lt. Gen. Ata Hasnain highlighted the need to emphasise the brutalities that were committed in 1947. Failure to do so has permitted numerous false narratives regarding Kashmir to become engrained, he argued.

Mir Junaid stated, “The main point of interest is not the Accession of Kashmir by India, but the invasion of Kashmir by Pakistan backed tribals.” Professor Mattoo highlighted the manner in which the residents of Kashmir trained themselves in arms to fight the invasion.

TMC MP Saugata Roy refutes claims that he is resigning from the party to join BJP, says BJP IT Cell is spreading fake news

OpIndia Staff
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TMC MP Saugata Roy refutes claims that he is resigning from the party to join BJP, says BJP IT Cell is spreading fake news

Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy today refuted the claims of BJP MP Arjun Singh who had said that Roy only pretended to be a TMC leader in front of the camera and that he would soon resign from TMC. Singh had claimed that five TMC MPs were likely to submit their resignations from the party to join the BJP.

On being asked whether Roy was included in BJP’s list, Singh said that Roy pretended to be TMC leader. “Saugata Roy pretends to be TMC leader and Mamata Banerjee’s mediator in front of the camera. He also communicated with Suvendu Adhikari. But once the camera moves, you can include Saugata Roy’s name also”, said Singh. However, lashing out at the BJP, Saugata Roy denied the claims of Arjun Singh. Roy said that this was BJP IT Cell Head Amit Malviya’s technique of spreading fake news.

Trouble brewing in Mamata’s nest

Rebellious voices have emerging in the TMC ahead of the Assembly elections to be held in 2021. Few days ago, senior party leaders had voiced their grievances against election strategist Prashant Kishor was roped in by CM Mamata Banerjee to manage her party’s campaign in the upcoming elections. The rebel leaders including TMC legislators Mihir Goswami and Hariharpara, Niamot Sheikh had said that Banerjee was losing control of the party.

This came after TMC’s heavyweight legislator Suvendu Adhikari openly revolted and launched veiled attacks at the party leadership during his election rallies. There were speculations that he might quit the party and join BJP.

Hospitals in rural and tribal areas to be handed over to Red Cross: Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope

OpIndia Staff
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Hospitals in rural and tribal areas to be handed over to Red Cross: Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope

Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Saturday said that the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in the state will decide in the next two weeks on the transfer of the hospitals in the tribal and rural areas of the state and the primary health centres under them to the Red Cross society or other charitable organisations.

Tope announced this while he was on his visit to a rural hospital in Mahabaleshwar. MLA Makrand Patil was also present on the occasion. Citing the shining performance of the Mahabaleshwar hospital and primary centres in the region which have been under the control of Red Cross Society management, the Maharashtra Health Minister said that other hospitals in tribal and rural areas should also be handed over to the Society.

“The rural hospital in Mahabaleshwar is an example of a change in management that brings good results. Providing advanced health care in this region was an uphill task. So recently, the state government handed over all the primary health centres in the region to the Bell Air Hospital run by the Red Cross Society. The performance in the hospitals and primary centres have seen a dramatic improvement. Mahabaleshwar Rural Hospital and Primary Health Center are at the top of the list. The new management effectively implemented several schemes of the state government such as maternity care. Due to its excellent performance, this hospital has achieved the highest number in the district,” Tope told reporters.

For 5 years, Red Cross will own the rural hospitals and primary health care centres: Tope

Tope further added that despite the change in guard of the hospital and primary health centres in Mahabaleshwar, the salaries of the charitable organisations, medicines for the patients, electricity bills and other miscellaneous expenses have been borne by the state government.

Talking about improving the medical facilities in the state, Tope said that 500 ambulances numbered 102 will be procured by the state government. Many Ambulances will be provided to Mahabaleshwar as it witnesses a large number of tourist visits, the minister added.

“Where there is a rural hospital but there is no intensive care unit, the intensive care unit would be started and the institutions would be allowed to charge for providing the services. The administration and the rural hospital have an agreement for only one year. During this one year, the administration will facilitate the hospital management in improving medical facilities in the villages. But for the next five years, the hospital will be owned by the Red Cross Society and the organization,” he said.

However, handing over of the medical facilities in rural and tribal regions of the state have engendered alarm among many people who have taken to social media platforms to condemn the Maharashtra Health Minister’s decision.

Netizens condemn the Maharashtra government’s decision to hand over rural hospitals to Red Cross

Legal activist group ‘Legal Rights Observatory’ took cognisance of Tope’s announcement and tweeted that handing over the tribal and rural health centres to foreign groups like Red Cross could be suicidal considering that India is plagued with Naxal and Maoists issues with foreign involvement in the rural areas. The group asserted that legal intervention would be in order if Tope went ahead with his announcement.

Another Twitter user said that granting health care centres to Red Cross would mean a free pass for the religious conversion of tribal and rural population.

One of the Twitter user called the decision announced by Maharashtra Health Minister a “dangerous move”.

Red Cross might act as a front for evangelism and funding of Naxalism

The apprehensions harboured by Indians about foreign organisations running medical facilities in the country are not entirely unfounded. In the past too, many foreign groups, most notably Christian missionaries, operated under the cover of providing subsidised and even free health care services, but in reality, were involved in carrying out their evangelistic activities. 

The Red Cross Society, an international organisation involved in relief work, is therefore seen with the same suspicion by the wary Indians. The fact that Maharashtra is one of the states racked with the menace of Naxalism and Maoism and the discovery of the foreign involvement in supporting this insurgency has only added to the apprehensions. 

Besides, several cases of lack of transparency by Red Cross Society in dispensation of its relief work have come to the fore. A scam was unearthed in 2016 in which an amount of nearly Rs 16 lakh was embezzled from the Red Cross India Fund. 

More recently, a report published in January 2020 states that the audit report of the Indian Red Cross Society from April 1, 2015, to March 31, 2018, obtained by The Tribune under the RTI Act has revealed a number of irregularities in various projects of the society, including sale of food packets, income from cinema halls of Chandigarh and income from ambulances and funeral vans. 

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