Mangaluru: Karnataka govt 'lifeless', says KPCC working president Saleem Ahmed
Mangaluru, Jul 20: The BJP-led government in Karnataka has become 'lifeless' and 'totally failed' in tackling the Covid-19 pandemic, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) working president Saleem Ahmed said on Tuesday.
At a time experts were warning of a third wave of the pandemic, the BJP was seriously discussing replacing the Chief Minister, he said, addressing reporters here.
No action was taken against officials when 36 people died due to lack of oxygen at Chamarajanagar and the Chief Minister did not bother to visit the place, Ahmed alleged.
Ahmed further alleged that the government is directly responsible for the majority of deaths during the pandemic.
Several deaths are not being properly reported to avoid giving compensation to the kin of victims, he claimed.
Accusing the BJP of turning into 'Brashta Janata Party' with corruption in all sectors, he said even the partys central leadership does not have faith in the CM.
Denying reports of groupism in the Congress, he said the party is focusing on the next elections and will come back to power with the backing of a mass leadership.
Ahmed said AICC general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala will tour Karnataka for five days from July 23 and conduct meetings with Congress leaders of 25 districts.
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Organisation urges Centre to set up National Widows' Rights Commission
Mumbai (PTI): A Maharashtra-based voluntary organisation has appealed to the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development to establish an independent National Widows' Rights Commission to address "systemic and lifelong injustices".
Mahatma Phule Samaj Seva Mandal (MPSSM) said widowed women in India face social ostracisation, denial of property and inheritance rights, economic insecurity, psychological trauma, and heightened sexual vulnerability.
These issues are not adequately addressed by existing institutional mechanisms, it said.
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In its representation to the ministry, the organisation stated that despite Constitutional guarantees of equality and dignity under Articles 14, 15 and 21, there is no exclusive statutory body that focuses specifically on the unique and long-term vulnerabilities of widows.
The proposal notes that while women's commissions function at the national and state levels, their broad mandate limits focused attention on widows' issues, leading to gaps in grievance redressal, monitoring and accountability.
Calling widowed women a "structurally vulnerable group" comparable to other constitutionally recognised categories, MPSSM has proposed the creation of National and State Widows' Rights Commissions with the power to inquire into complaints, summon reports from police and administrative authorities, and make time-bound recommendations, including registration of FIRs and legal action where required.
It demanded that the commission be empowered to suggest rehabilitation measures, financial assistance schemes and amendments to existing laws, and submit annual reports to Parliament or state legislatures.
MPSSM president Pramod Zinjade said the establishment of a dedicated Widows' Rights Commission was a "constitutional necessity and moral obligation" to restore dignity, security and human rights of widowed women and to eliminate regressive social practices.
Zinjade said he has also written to the United Nations seeking the establishment of an International Widows' Rights Commission (IWRC).
He has been leading a campaign in rural Maharashtra to eradicate evil customs related to widows. Several villages have passed unanimous resolutions banning such customs.
