Canada's Trudeau invokes emergency powers to quell protests
Ottawa(AP): Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he has invoked emergency powers to try to quell the protests by truck drivers and others who have paralysed Ottawa and blocked border crossings in anger over the country's COVID-19 restrictions.
Trudeau ruled out using the military and said Monday that the emergency measures will be time-limited, geographically targeted, as well as reasonable and proportionate to the threats they are meant to address.
For the past two weeks, hundreds and sometimes thousands of protesters in trucks and other vehicles have clogged the streets of Ottawa, the capital, railing against vaccine mandates and other virus precautions and condemning Trudeau's Liberal government.
Members of the self-styled Freedom Convoy have also blockaded various US-Canadian border crossings, though the busiest and most important the Ambassador Bridge connecting Windsor, Ontario, to Detroit was reopened over the weekend.
The prime minister met virtually with the leaders of Canada's provinces and planned to address the nation late in the afternoon.
In recent days, Trudeau rejected calls to use the military but otherwise said all options are on the table to end the protests, including invoking the Emergencies Act, which gives the government broad powers to restore order.
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Puttur: BJP expels leader PG Jagannivas Rao for not getting accused son to marry victim
Mangaluru: BJP District President Satish Kumpala has stated that Puttur leader PG Jagannivas Rao is being expelled from the party for failing to ensure his son, Shrikrishna J Rao, who is charged with impregnating a girl, marries the victim.
Shrikrishna, who was accused of having sexual intercourse with a classmate on the pretext of marriage and abandoning her after finding that she was pregnant, has been released on bail. The DNA test report of the child, meanwhile, confirmed that the blood samples showed Shrikrishna to be the father of the child.
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Speaking at a press meet on Monday, Kumpala said that immediately on learning of his son’s misconduct, Rao was issued a notice and distanced from the rest of the party. “In response, Rao had assured that if the DNA test proved his son to be guilty of sexual intercourse on the pretext of marriage, he would take the initiative of getting the young couple married in Puttur. Rao had also promised to do so to Puttur MLA Ashok Kumar Rai,” he added.
“Rao, however, has failed to fulfil his promise. We have, therefore, decided to expel him from the party,” said Kumpala, adding that the party members would fight till the victim gets justice in the matter.
Former Mangaluru City Corporation Mayor Sudheer Shetty Kannur and leaders Vasantha J Poojary and Arun G Shet were among those present at the press meet.
