Congress being run by gang of urban Naxals, alleges PM Modi
Washim (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday alleged that the Congress is being run by a "gang of urban Naxals", and asked people to unite to defeat the "dangerous agenda" of that party.
He also accused the Congress of looting the poor and not improving their condition for its selfish politics.
"They (Congress) think that if we all unite, then their agenda to divide the country will fail," Modi said, addressing a rally in Washim district of Maharashtra after launching various projects.
"Congress only knows how to loot the poor and keep them poor for its selfish politics. It only knows how to divide people. We have to be alert and remain united. Congress is run by a gang of urban Naxals," he alleged.
Everyone can see how closely Congress stands with those people who do not harbour good intentions for India, Modi said.
"Drugs worth thousands of crores of rupees were seized in Delhi recently. A Congress leader is suspected to be the kingpin. Congress wants to contest elections from the money it gets by pushing the youth towards drugs," he said.
Modi alleged that Congress' thinking has been foreign from the very beginning.
"Like the British rule, this Congress family also does not consider Dalits, backward and tribals as their equals. They feel that India should be ruled by only one family. That is why they have always maintained a derogatory attitude towards the Banjara community," he said.
"Saints from the Banjara community inspired culture and spiritualism. Britishers harassed the community, but when they left, successive Congress governments continued the trend and prevented the community from coming into the mainstream," the PM alleged.
The PM also accused the Congress of leaving no stone unturned to make the lives of farmers miserable.
"The governments run by the Congress used the money meant for farmers and irrigation schemes for corruption," he alleged.
Modi asked people to beware of the Congress propaganda of false assurance of farm loan waiver.
"People in Telangana are still waiting for the loan waiver. In Karnataka, the Congress government stopped the irrigation schemes started by the BJP regime," he said.
Stating that Maharashtra has the capacity to lead the country to economic progress, Modi said the state government was giving double benefit to farmers in terms of financial assistance, in addition to what the central government was providing.
When the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government was in power, it put a speed breaker in the work of the Poharadevi pilgrimage centre upgradation, which was started during the chief ministership of Devendra Fadnavis. But it has now been completed at a cost of Rs 700 crore, he said.
As long as MVA was in power in Maharashtra, it worked with only two agendas - to stop the projects related to farmers and to commit corruption in the money of these projects. The funds sent by the Centre were being diverted away from the beneficiaries by that government, he claimed.
The prime minister, who launched various initiatives of Rs 23,3000 crore related to agriculture and animal husbandry sectors, expressed happiness over the completion of the Banjara Virasat Museum in Poharadevi.
This museum would introduce future generations to the ancient culture and vast heritage of the Banjara community, he said.
"Our Banjara community has played a big role in India's social life and journey of development," he said.
Modi paid tributes to several revered figures from the Banjara community, including Raja Lakhi Shah Banjara and Sant Sevalal Maharaj.
"The Banjara community has given many such saints who have given immense energy to the spiritual consciousness of India," he said.
The PM highlighted their efforts in preserving and nurturing the country's cultural legacy over centuries and lamented that during British rule the entire Banjara community was branded as criminals.
"Our government's every decision, every policy is committed to Viskit Bharat, and our farmers are a major foundation of this vision," PM Modi said.
Farmers in Maharashtra, especially Vidarbha, faced big hardships for many decades, he said.
On the disbursal of the 18th instalment of the PM-KISAN Samman Nidhi worth about Rs 20,000 crore to around 9.5 crore farmers, the prime minister said the state government strives to provide double benefits to its farmers.
Speaking about providing assistance to beneficiaries of Ladki Bahin Yojna, the PM said the scheme is empowering the capabilities of 'nari shakti' (women power).
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'Low-quality' catheters supplied to West Bengal govt hospitals at high price, probe ordered
Kolkata (PTI): The West Bengal health department has launched a probe into the supplies of allegedly low-quality and locally made catheters at a high price to several government hospitals, posing a risk to the lives of patients undergoing treatment in these facilities, officials said.
Such central venous catheters (CVCs) were allegedly supplied to at least five medical colleges and hospitals in the state, defying allocation of international standard-compliant CVCs, they said.
The distribution company, which has been accused of supplying these catheters to government hospitals, admitted to the fault but placed the blame on its employees.
"We started checking stocks some time back and found these locally made CVCs in my hospital store. These catheters are of low quality as compared to those allocated by the state. We have informed the state health department," a senior official of the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital told PTI.
Low-quality catheters were also found in the stores of other hospitals, which indicates "possible involvement of insiders in the scam", a health department official said.
The low-quality CVCs were supplied by a distributor in the Hatibagan area in the northern part of Kolkata for the last three to four months, he said.
"Such kinds of local CVCs are priced around Rs 1,500 but the distributor took Rs 4,177 for each device," the official said.
A CVC is a thin and flexible tube that is inserted into a vein to allow for the administration of fluids, blood, and other treatment. It's also clinically called a central line catheter.
"An initial probe revealed that the distribution company Prakash Surgical had supplied the low-quality and locally manufactured catheters to several government hospitals instead of the CVCs of the government-designated international company.
"All the units will be tested and a proper investigation is on to find out who benefited from these supplies," the health department official said.
The distribution company blamed its employees for the supply of inferior quality catheters.
"I was sick for a few months. Some employees of the organisation made this mistake. We are taking back all those units that have gone to the hospitals. It's all about misunderstanding," an official of the distribution company told PTI.
According to another state health department official, a complaint was lodged with the police in this connection.
Asked about how many patients were affected by the usage of such low-quality CVCs, the official said, "The probe would also try to find that out".
According to sources in the health department, some of the staff of the hospitals' equipment receiving departments and some local officials of international organisations might be involved in the alleged irregularities.
