Congress spokesman seeks Centre's attention over fake news
New Delhi, July 6 : Congress spokesman Randeep Singh Surjewala on Friday sought the Centre's attention towards the menace of fake news circulating on social media that maligns the image of reputed persons.
"Modi Govt needs to crackdown on this ‘Fake News Factory' that is unleashed on SM (social media) by BJP supporters. Lies and photoshop driven fakery are being spread that violate 153 A, 295 A, 500 and 505(2) of the IPC (Indian Penal Code)," Surjewala tweeted.
Through his tweet, the leader also urged Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to curb the peril. "Hope @HMOIndia and @DelhiPolice under Rajnath Singh ji will act against culprits."
Surjewala's remarks come after Indiaflare.com published a manufactured quote attributing to the Congress leader.
It said: "Mohammed Irfan (Mandsaur rapist) cannot be considered a rapist because Islam permits the rape of women from other religion. He should be released."
This was the same narrative pushed by the fake news website in its article on 'Muslims demanding the release of Mandsaur rapist', Surjewala said.
He said the fake quote was shared on "Join and Support PM Modi 2019" by one Anurag Tiwari, whose account seems fake as there is no activity on the profile.
It has more than 500 shares, added Surjewala.
Earlier, another Congress spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi was misquoted in a fake news circulated on social networking sites and then threatened along with her 10-year-old daughter through a vicious message posted by a person, now in police custody, on his Twitter handle.
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Karnataka Health Minister Rao hopeful of resolving issues raised by docs, health staff
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao on Tuesday expressed hope to find a solution to the issues raised by KGMOA and other health department employees' associations as they have called for a statewide strike.
As part of the phased statewide agitation by Karnataka Government Medical Officers’ Association (KGMOA), all Outpatient Department (OPD) services will be affected from March 11.
From March 16, doctors plan a complete boycott of duties, including emergency services, if the government fails to act.
"We have discussed with doctors and healthcare workers. We have spoken to them twice. Yesterday, we communicated the government's actions to them through our commissioner," Rao said in the Legislative Assembly.
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He said, "Their demands include issues pending for several years, such as Cadre and Recruitment Rules, the seniority list, and discrepancies in the last counselling, among others."
"We plan to resolve them. There are several other issues, I don't want to discuss now. We have called them for a meeting with the chief minister today. We will discuss and resolve what we can in the interest of the department and most importantly the public. I'm confident that the issue will be resolved soon," he added.
The minister was replying to a question raised by three MLAs, including BJP's Sunil Kumar during the question hour.
"With various demands, doctors across the state have called for an indefinite strike starting tomorrow. Supply of medicines, transfer policy and filling vacancies are the major issues they have raised," he said.
Noting that the doctors and healthcare staff have threatened to stop OPD operations from March 11 and emergency services from March 16, he said, "This is worrying. The heads of the doctors' and healthcare staff associations told the media that although they brought their issues to the government's attention a month ago, they have not been called for discussion to resolve the issue."
He further urged that the government should not take any drastic measures, like imposing Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA), to curtail the strike. "The government should adopt negotiation instead of conflict. They should call them and resolve the issue immediately."
Congress MLA and chief whip Ashok Pattan said the strike by doctors and healthcare staff will affect the poor.
"The government should call the representatives of doctors and healthcare staff for a meeting and resolve their issues that can be solved immediately. They should also convince them that other issues would be addressed in stages," he said.
Another Congress MLA, Hampanagouda Badarli, also made a similar demand.
