First woman chief of Maharashtra poll panel dies of COVID-19
Mumbai: Former Maharashtra State Election Commissioner Neela Satyanarayan died of COVID-19 at a hospital here on Thursday morning, hospital authorities said.
She was 72. The 1972-batch IAS officer was the state's first woman election commissioner.
She died at Seven Hills Hospital in suburban Andheri around 4 am, the medical facility's dean Dr Balkrishna Adsul said. Her husband and son are also undergoing treatment for COVID-19 at the hospital, he said.
The Seven Hills Hospital is a dedicated facility for coronavirus treatment. Satyanarayan retired as additional chief secretary of the state's revenue department in 2009.
After retirement, she served as the State Election Commissioner between 2009 and 2014. She authored several books and was also a singer.
While serving as a bureaucrat, she had raised her voice against women IAS officers not being given important postings in the state secretariat.
Later, she was posted in the state revenue and Home departments. During her posting in the Home department, she handled administration of prisons where she encouraged artistic skills of women inmates.
Political leaders, including Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and NCP president Sharad Pawar, paid glowing tributes to Satyanarayan.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said apart from her duties as a bureaucrat, she also carved a niche for herself in the field of literature.
Maharashtra will remember her forever as someone who left a stamp on her administrative career, the field of literature and art and for being a sensible personality, Thackeray said in his message.
He noted that Satyanarayan was born in a Marathi family in Mumbai and was an inspiration for the youth looking to join the administrative services.
Thackeray also praised her stint as the election commissioner, saying she made the panel more people-oriented.
Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said he was shocked to know about Satyanarayans death. Her contribution in the states administrative service and field of literature will be remembered forever. Tributes to her, Pawar tweeted. NCP chief Sharad Pawar also expressed grief over Satyanarayan's demise.
We have lost a humane and empathetic ex-officer. May her soul rest in peace. Condolences to her family members, the veteran leader tweeted.
Maharashtra minister and state Congress chief Balasaheb Thorat also took to the micro-blogging site to pay respects to her. She was a diligent official and a sensible writer. Tributes to her! he tweeted.
State NCP president Jayant Patil lauded Satyanarayan for serving the country as an administrative service official and guiding the society through her literature.
Maharashtra BJP head Chandrakant Patil also paid homage to Satyanarayan, and in a tweet said, Prayers to the god that her soul rests in peace."
Maharashtra ministers Ashok Chavan, Nawab Malik, Dhananjay Munde and Anil Parab, and NCP MP Supriya Sule also expressed grief over the former state election commissioners death.
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Cong leader Prithviraj Chavan defiant after facing verbal missiles on Op Sindoor remarks
Mumbai (PTI): Despite facing criticism, senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan on Wednesday stood by his controversial comments that India faced a "total defeat" in aerial fight with Pakistan on the first day of Operation Sindoor on May 7.
The former Union minister refused to apologise for his comments on the Indian military operation against terror hubs in Pakistan and PoK in aftermath of massacre of tourists at Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir in April.
Talking to reporters in Pune on Tuesday, Chavan claimed India faced a "total defeat in the aerial fight (with Pakistan) on May 7 which lasted for half-an-hour".
"One may believe this or not. After that the Indian Air Force got grounded and not a single aircraft took flight that day.... be it Gwalior, Bhatinda or Sirsa, there was a possibility of aircraft being shot down, so our complete Air Force was grounded," the former Maharashtra chief minister had said.
Hitting out at Chavan, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde accused the Congress of speaking the language of Pakistan. He said questioning the military action was akin to demoralising the morale of armed forces.
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"The criticism does not stem from the love of the nation, but love for Pakistan," said the chief leader of the Shiv Sena, a key constituent of the BJP-led NDA.
Chavan, however, remained defiant.
"There is no question of apologising. The Constitution has given me the right to ask questions," the Congress veteran asserted.
Chavan also questioned the need of having a 12-lakh strong Army when future wars will be about aerial combats and missiles. "During Operation Sindoor we saw that there was no movement of the Army even for a kilometre," he had said.
BJP Lok Sabha MP and spokesperson Sambit Patra said Chavan's remarks are loaded with sedition.
"He (Chavan) has refused to apologise. The Indian armed forces struck 100 kms inside the Pakistan territory and destroyed 11 air strips (of the Pakistani Air Force). He made remarks that the Indian Army did not even move an inch (during the military operation). This is nothing but a statement full of sedition, a statement of a traitor," Patra said, lashing out at the Congress leader.
The BJP spokesperson maintained the Congress appears to be standing with Chavan and alleged the Opposition party is playing into foreign hands.
Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra should apologise for it, he added.
Union minister Giriraj Singh of the BJP insisted it was not right to devalue the valour of Indian armed forces.
Samajwadi Party MP Virendra Singh suggested that wherever armed forces are concerned, every Indian should be mindful of statements they make and ensure their comments do not demoralise the military.
Operation Sindoor was a result of "mistakes of politicians", he claimed.
TDP MP Krishna Devraylu said after the poll defeat in Bihar, the Congress is rattled and their leaders have been talking absurdly.
"Chavan's remarks are a prime example of this. This kind of disrespect to our armed forces is not necessary. If the Congress is angry with the NDA, it should show it in a different way and not drag armed forces into it," Devraylu opined.
AAP MP Ashok Mittal said such statements should not be made by any senior politician, especially by someone who has been a former chief minister.
The Indian armed forces registered a strong victory and destroyed terror launchpads in Pakistan during Operation Sindoor, Mittal added.
