Be patient till May 3; MEA making best efforts: Muraleedharan to Indians stranded abroad
New Delhi: The rules of the lockdown do not allow for bringing back stranded Indians and getting them held up at various airports, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said on Thursday, urging citizens abroad who want to return to be patient till May 3.
The lockdown was imposed in the country from March 25 to April 14, but was extended to May 3 to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Muraleedharan, speaking at a video conference session organised by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said his ministry was definitely concerned about Indians stranded abroad and was making efforts to bring them back at the earliest.
Asked about Indian students stuck in the US, Muraleedharan said Indian students were stranded across the globe from the Carribean to New Zealand and Australia in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The Ministry of External Affairs is working on that. Of course everyone understands that the present situation where there is a lockdown...the spirit and rules of lockdown do not allow us to bring anyone to the country and then get them stranded in India at the airports," he said, highlighting that there was a travel ban between states, some districts and many hotspots were completely sealed.
"So I am expecting up to 3rd May, please be patient. We are definitely concerned about the situation of not only the students, but also many who have gone on tourist visas or on business visits, all those who are and are stranded," Muraleedharan said.
Speaking about the economic impact of COVID-19 and the steps taken by the Centre, he said the government is aware of the economic impact of the pandemic and hence, it has transitioned from "Jaan hai toh jahaan hai" to "Jaan bhi jahaan bhi", emphasizing the need to work on all frontiers.
"It is our duty to support the collective global efforts to mitigate disruptions in the global supply chains by increasing supplies of products where we have available capacity and to ramp up capacity where we can become market leaders," he said.
Muraleedharan advocated a two-fold strategy in the current scenario under which capacity must be built up especially in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, textiles, manufacturing and electronics where India could have some relative advantage over the rest of the world.
"This will help in reducing our over dependence on China for raw materials as well as for diversifying global supply chains by offering an alternative to the world," he said.
The second part of the strategy should be to partner with industries and businesses of other countries both through inward and outward foreign direct investment, the minister said.
This will help Indian businesses generate economic expertise, he said.
Muraleedharan said nine ministries have been working on these lines and stand ready to assist Indian businesses in their strategies.
"One such opportunity lies in our healthcare sector. India can emerge as the healthcare hub of the world in the near, medium to the long term for the development of hospitals and provisioning of equipment and supplies like PPE, ventilators etc, as well as for training of healthcare professionals," he said.
The government has set aside Rs 10,000 crore for shifting the entire manufacturing supply chains for pharmaceuticals to India and to boost domestic manufacture of active pharmaceutical ingredients.
In line with the government's vision towards enhanced economic development, the MEA is already pursuing a multi-pronged effort to improve India's global bilateral trade and regional connectivity.
"These efforts hold greater importance in post pandemic times. The MEA will be working with missions and posts to promote the 3Ts -- trade tourism and technology into India," Muraleedharan said, asserting that efforts are on for ramping up exports.
"COVID-19 is shaping to be the first major disruption in the global economy since the 2008 financial crisis," he said.
"Let me assure you that the government of India has not only been proactive but also pre-emptive in its strategy in controlling the pandemic. That is why a lockdown has been in force when India was in the early stages of the outbreak," Muraleedharan said.
The government's relief measures are focussed on protecting the vulnerable sections of the population by employing targeted relief measures , including food security and cash transfers, he said.
"We have also announced measures on working capital support, loan restructuring and credit term alteration, and stimulus to increase spending power of consumers to assist Indian companies specially MSME," Muraleedharan said.
The RBI has also announced a slew of measures to ensure adequate liquidity in the system, he added.
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BJP worker’s 16-year-old son allegedly casts eight votes in Uttar Pradesh’s Farrukhabad; Video viral
Lucknow (Farrukhabad): A viral video has surfaced showing a 16-year-old son of a BJP worker allegedly casting eight votes to the saffron party during the ongoing general elections in Uttar Pradesh. The video has sparked controversy, and the opposition has urged for prompt action from the Election Commission of India, reports scroll.in.
The video shared by the Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav on micro-blogging site ‘X’, showed the youngster recording himself while casting multiple times in a series of instances. The incident reportedly took place in Khiri Pamaran village, which falls under the Aliganj Assembly constituency within the Farrukhabad parliamentary seat. Mukesh Rajput, the sitting MP, is the BJP candidate in this constituency. Polling in Farrukhabad occurred on May 13 during the fourth phase of the general election.
In the viral video, the youngster is seen casting eight votes in total, all for the BJP, one by one with different clippings.
The youngster in the video has been identified as Rajan Singh Thakur, confirmed his father, Anil Singh Thakur to the Scroll.in. Anil Singh Thakur is the gram pradhan (village head) of Khiri Pamaran and a member of the BJP.
Anil defending his son told the Scroll that the ‘Video misrepresented his son,’ and claimed that the voting was done when the machine was being tested in some instances and other clipping of him voting on behalf of mentally and physically disabled voters was merged and made into a video.
Despite the Anil's caims, the video has drawn significant criticism. Subhash Chandra Prajapati, the additional district magistrate of Farrukhabad, confirmed to the Scroll that the administration will file a case soon. He mentioned that the returning officer is investigating the matter following a directive from the chief electoral officer in Lucknow.
The opposition has been vocal in its criticism, with Akhilesh Yadav demanding action from the Election Commission. In his social media post, Yadav accused the BJP of undermining the electoral process and described the party's booth committee as a "loot committee." The Congress party also called on the Election Commission to take action, in a ‘X’ post the party wrote, “Dear Election Commission…are you watching..a boy is voting 8-8 times ... .at least wake up now.”
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, took to ‘X’ to express, “Fearing and seeing their defeat, the BJP is attempting to undermine democracy by pressuring government machinery to deny the mandate. The Congress expects all officers performing election duties to remember their constitutional responsibilities despite any pressure from those in power. Otherwise, once the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc government is formed, actions will be taken to ensure that anyone will think ten times before violating their 'Oath to the Constitution'."
Following the video's circulation, Naval Kishor Shakya, the Samajwadi Party candidate in Farrukhabad, filed a complaint with the district election officer. Shakya's complaint alleges that Rajan Singh Thakur cast votes after snatching voter information slips from other voters and that he was assisted by Dinesh Thakur, the local police station's station house officer. Shakya has called for re-polling at the affected polling center.
In a related incident earlier in May, Gujarat Police arrested two BJP workers for allegedly casting bogus votes and live-streaming the act on social media in the Dahod constituency. The Election Commission conducted re-polling at the affected booth following the incident.
The opposition INDIA bloc, including the Congress and the Samajwadi Party, has repeatedly accused the Election Commission of failing to take prompt action against election model code of conduct violations.
अपनी हार सामने देख कर भाजपा जनादेश को झुठलाने के लिए सरकारी तंत्र पर दबाव बना कर लोकतंत्र को लूटना चाहती है।
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 19, 2024
कांग्रेस चुनावी ड्यूटी कर रहे सभी अधिकारियों से यह अपेक्षा करती है कि वो सत्ता के दबाव के सामने अपनी संवैधानिक ज़िम्मेदारी न भूलें।
वरना INDIA की सरकार बनते ही ऐसी… https://t.co/fk4wXL8QZy
