Communal message being circulated using Vartha Bharati's name, mobile number; complaint filed
Mangaluru: A WhatsApp message with communally sensitive content was being circulated on social media by miscreants using the name of Vartha Bharati and the mobile number of VB’s in charge. Reacting to the development, a complaint to Mangaluru Police Commissioner was filed by Vartha Bharati citing miscreants were using the name of the organization to spread hatred and communal tension.
In the complaint, Vartha Bharati urged the police commissioner to identify the people behind the move and to initiate strict action against them.
In the message that is doing rounds across social media platforms, people have been urged to contact to conduct funeral rites of Muslim COVID fatalities. Apart from a leader of a political party, the message has contact details of VB’s CEO urging people to contact them for funeral rites of Muslims and not hand over Muslim bodies to Hindus.
The communal message has nothing to do with the VB newspaper. VB has no relationship with the person mentioned in the message. Neither the newspaper nor any of its representatives have made any such messages and VB strongly condemns messages like these.
The newspaper has filed a complaint with the Mangalore Police Commissioner on Monday, demanding that legal action be taken against the perpetrators of misleading and hate-provoking messages in the society by misusing the mobile number of those in a responsible position.
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Anbumani asks PM Modi to ban sale of cigarettes for those born after 2009
Chennai (PTI): PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss on Saturday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take legislative measures to prohibit smoking and the sale of cigarettes to individuals born on or after January 1, 2009, thereby creating a smoke-free generation.
Anbumani, former Union minister for health and family welfare, said, "Once implemented, it (ban on cigarettes) will ensure that future generations are legally prevented from ever accessing tobacco products", he said in a letter to Modi.
"I write to you with a deep sense of urgency and responsibility, drawing your kind attention to a critical public health issue that continues to endanger the lives of millions of Indians, particularly among the younger generation who are affected by cigarette smoking", he claimed.
Stating that India unfortunately bears a disproportionately high burden of tobacco-related morbidity and mortality, he said, adding that, according to global health estimates, nearly 267 million Indians, approximately one in five citizens, use tobacco.
"Each year, tobacco consumption directly accounts for over 1.35 million deaths, while exposure to second-hand smoke contributes to a total of approximately 2.3 million deaths annually", he said, adding, "these figures are alarming and reflect a public health crisis of immense magnitude".
He pointed out that Scientific evidence unequivocally establishes tobacco use as a leading cause of cancer and numerous non-communicable diseases, including cardiovascular ailments, chronic respiratory diseases such as COPD, and multiple forms of malignancies. "In India alone, tobacco is responsible for nearly 40–50 per cent of all cancer cases, with over 4.7 lakh deaths annually attributed to tobacco-induced cancers", he added.
"In this context, I strongly urge the Union government to consider enacting a transformative law similar to that of the United Kingdom, that permanently prohibits the sale and consumption of tobacco products for individuals born on or after a specified year (such as 2009). Such a generational ban would mark a decisive step towards eliminating tobacco use in India over time", he said.
