Centre saffronising news by appointing Sangh backed agency as Prasar Bharati's news source: Pinarayi
Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 26: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday accused the Centre of "saffronisation of news" by designating an allegedly Sangh Parivar-affiliated media agency as the sole news source of state-run broadcaster Prasar Bharati.
The Chief Minister was referring to the Centre's decision to appoint Hindustan Samachar as the sole news source for Prasar Bharati which operates the Doordarshan TV network and Akashvani, also called All India Radio.
Vijayan contended, in a statement issued by the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), that appointing Hindustan Samachar as the news source for the state-run broadcaster by terminating services of agencies like PTI and UNI amounted to "saffronisation of news".
He alleged that this was a move to bring Doordarshan and Akashvani into the folds of the Sangh Parivar and was therefore a threat to democracy.
Hindustan Samachar was founded by RSS leader Shivram Shankar Apte, also the founder general secretary of Vishwa Hindu Parishad and it has always worked for the Sangh Parivar, Vijayan claimed in the statement.
The Sangh Parivar has been trying to keep Prasar Bharti under its control ever since it came to power, he further claimed.
This, he said, was evident from the Centre's 2020 decision to appoint Jagdish Upasana, the group editor of RSS publications Panchajanya and Organiser, as the chairman of Prasar Bharti's recruitment board.
Besides that, Prasar Bharti showed live RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's Vijayadashami speech, but did not broadcast the Independence day speech of the Chief Minister of Tripura, he claimed.
All this indicates the implementation of the fascist desire that no voice of dissent should be heard, Vijayan alleged and urged the secular democratic society of the country to recognise and protest against this threat to democracy.
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SC asks states, UTs to prepare action plan to implement guidelines for intensive care services
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court has asked all the states and Union Territories to prepare a "realistic and practical" action plan to implement the guidelines necessary as a minimum standard for intensive care units.
The apex court was informed that "Guidelines for Organisation and Delivery of Intensive Care Services", on which there is consensus and which is practical, implementable and necessary as a minimum standard for an ICU, has been prepared.
A bench of Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and R Mahadevan said copies of the guidelines should be shared with all the states and UTs.
"Moving further, as an immediate measure, let all the additional chief secretaries/secretaries ... heading the department of health and medical education in the states and the UTs, convene a meeting of all experts involved in this exercise to prepare an action plan for implementation of the guidelines. Such a plan shall be realistic and practical," the bench said in its April 20 order.
The top court was hearing a matter relating to healthcare services, including guidelines for the treatment of patients in the ICU or critical care unit.
The bench said five basic issues shall be identified and prioritised in the first instance.
"The challenge ... lies in determining what ought to be treated as absolutely essential and mandatory; accordingly, an initial list of five basic requirements, in terms of priority, relating to both manpower and equipment/logistics, shall be prepared," it said.
It said a methodology should also be formulated for implementation on the ground, and more importantly, a mechanism to ensure compliance and monitoring of the implementation.
"We expect the exercise to commence immediately and the first meeting to be held within one week from today. We direct that the meeting shall be attended personally by the concerned additional chief secretary/secretary ... heading the department of health and medical education in the states and the UTs," the bench said.
It said the report prepared pursuant to the deliberations should be forwarded by the respective states and UTs to the Secretary of the Department of Health, Government of India, who in turn would circulate it to all the states and UTs.
The bench said thereafter, a meeting of all concerned should be convened where a final common agreed draft shall be prepared and circulated.
"A final report/blueprint/recommendation shall be prepared, which shall be placed before this court on the next date," it said, adding that the entire exercise should be completed within three weeks.
"Let the Ministry of Health, Government of India, formally issue the guidelines placed before us today, to the states and UTs concerned by way of an advisory. A copy of it shall also be uploaded on the website of the Ministry of Health, Government of India," the bench said, while posting the matter for further hearing on May 18.
During the hearing, it was suggested that for future requirements, the nursing staff should be trained to handle such situations since they remain with the patient round the clock, unlike doctors who may visit periodically.
"We fully endorse the suggestion, which is not only pragmatic but also imperative. Accordingly, the Indian Nursing Council and the Para Medical Council of India are impleaded as party respondents," the bench said.
It said on the next date, the newly added respondents shall come up with a plan indicating how they propose to augment the courses or curriculum and training imparted by them so that persons emerging from institutions recognised by them are capable of managing and handling situations in the ICUs.
