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Rajasthan government extends help to ailing Mehdi Hassan
Jaipur, January 16, 2012: The government of Rajasthan has extended a helping hand to
ailing ghazal maestro Mehdi Hassan. As a token of support, the Rajasthan
govt has offered to bear all the medical expenses incurred by Hassan and his family.
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot spoke to Hassan’s son Asif Mehdi about the
veteran’s health condition and offered monetary and treatment in India.
Gehlot also directed the chief secretary of Rajasthan to keep in touch with Hassan’s family across the border.
Hassan is currently in the ICU of a private hospital in Karachi since
Tuesday after he complained of breathing problem. The 84 year old singer, who was born in Rajasthan had to leave for
Pakistan post partition.
Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas NRIs cheering Narendra Modi
JAIPUR, January 10. 2012: Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot
abruptly left a session of the Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas here on Monday after he found a gathering of NRIs cheering Gujarat
chief minister Narendra Modi for his barbs at Congress leaders and
UPA. Modi was his usual self, hitting out at UPA for its "step-motherly
treatment" of Gujarat, and the audience lapped it up, clapping at regular intervals, forcing an
embarrassed Gehlot to rise abruptly and grab the microphone from
Modi.
"Aapko jitna bolna hai bolo... main jaa raha hoon.", he said. However, the two did shake hands
and exchanged smiles before Gehlot left the dais.
The response that Modi received from the delegates also left the
moderator of the session, overseas Indian affairs minister Vayalar Ravi
fuming. Ravi vented his anger at NRIs who were keen on showering praises and
extending support to the Gujarat chief minister. He snapped at one of
the NRIs, not allowing him to speak further, when the delegate commented
that Rajasthan needed a Modi clone. Earlier, making his introductory
sppech, Ravi had targeted Modi, saying, "Everybody copies success models, even Modi does. And, then he claims he
is the best.''
While Gehlot talked about support from the
Centre, Modi took the
opportunity to harp on "step-motherly" treatment. "The Rajasthan CM was
taking about how much he had got from the Centre. I am not that fortunate. Gujarat gets nothing from the
Centre, it's a self-made
state,'' he said. "I don't have the facts and figures like Gehlot had,
but in 2001 my state had 11 universities. Today there are 41, many of
them for specialized subjects like forensic science.'' He then went on
to list projects in Gujarat which the Centre 'liked' but failed to respond to.Offering to host the 2015 Pravasi Bhartiya Divas, Modi sought Ravi's
consent. He said, "You (Ravi) had awarded PBD to Jaipur last year in New
York in a minute but why not now?" But the latter remained quiet. A few minutes earlier, Gehlot had heaped lavish praise on Ravi recalling
how the latter had asked him to host PBD at a gettogether of people of
Rajasthan origin in New York last year. Source: Times of India
10th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas to begin today in Pink City
Jaipur January 07, 2012: The city of Jaipur is all set to host the three-day 10th
Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD), beginning Saturday. Over 1,300 delegates who have come from over 54 countries expects to attend the annual congregation
of non-resident Indians (NRIs) and persons of Indian origin. According
to the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, India has the second-largest
diaspora in the world. The overseas Indian community is estimated at around 25 million.
Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Kamla Persad Bissessar, will be
the chief guest of this year?s PBD, which has been given the theme of
"Global Indian-Inclusive Growth". The annual flagship event will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh on Sunday. President Pratibha Devisingh Patil will deliver the
valedictory address on January 9 and confer the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman
Awards.
The highlights of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas are expected to be the
three plenary sessions which will begin on Sunday. The first of the session, titled "Two decades of
liberalisation", will be moderated by
the Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi and will have environment minister Jayanti Natarajan and road transport and highways
minister CP Joshi as participants. Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee
will present the keynote address. The second plenary session, "partnering for prosperity", will have speakers such as former minister
of state for external affairs Shashi Tharoor, CPI(M)'s leader Sitaram
Yechury and minister for corporate affairs Veerappa Moily. The last plenary session, "Shared connections: Message of Mahatma
Gandhi", will be moderated by Sam Pitroda, adviser to the Prime Minister, public information infrastructure and innovation.
Ashram owner arrested for sexual exploitation
Jaipur, January 04, 2012 (IANS) : Rajasthan police have arrested the owner of an 'ashram' on charges of sexually exploiting
children belonging to poor families, police said on Wednesday. Ram Singh, 35, the owner of Eklavya Ashram in Hanumangarh town, some 400
km from Jaipur, was arrested late on Tuesday after the parents of
several children approached the district administration accusing him of
sexually exploiting their wards. "The ashram has been operating for the past 15 years. Children from poor
families live here and study. Of the 84 children studying in the ashram
currently, 26 are orphans. Lot of people in the town used to give hefty donations for the ashram," a police officer said.
"Family members of some children approached the District Collector
recently and alleged that Ram Singh was sexually exploiting their wards. An enquiry was ordered and a team of police and administration officials
took the statements of the children," said the officer. He said the children confirmed they were sexually abused.
"A first information report was registered against Singh and he was arrested on Tuesday night," said the officer.
The police have got some of the children medically examined. "Singh is being interrogated. The statements of other staff at the
ashram are also being recorded," said the officer.
Rajasthan doctors end strike, health facilities normalise
JAIPUR, January 02, 2012 (IANS): Healthcare services have started to normalise in
Rajasthan after remaining badly affected for 11 days as around 10,000 government doctors
joined duty on Sunday after ending their strike the day before.
Over 500 doctors were arrested across the state for violating the
Rajasthan Essential Services Maintenance Act (RESMA) clamped by the government during the doctors' strike.
"During negotiation on the doctors' demands Saturday night, the state government agreed to lift the RESMA and to look seriously into their
demands," a health department official told IANS. He added that all the doctors have been released from jail.
At Sawai Man Singh Hospital in Jaipur, almost all resident doctors numbering around 360 have joined duty.
Over 3,500 resident doctors and 6,000 in-service doctors have stayed away from work since Dec 21, demanding a hike in salaries and parity
with central government employees. At least 60 patients died in hospitals across the state allegedly due to
absence of doctors during the 11-day strike, official said.
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