Bengaluru: The Congress party has formally lodged a complaint with the Election Commission against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament Tejasvi Surya on Tuesday, alleging that he made inflammatory remarks regarding a recent loudspeaker controversy in Nagarathpete, Bengaluru, thereby exacerbating communal tensions during the Lok Sabha elections.
Surya Mukundaraj, the General Secretary of Congress's legal wing, filed the complaint, accusing BJP leaders of adding a communal angle to an incident involving an attack on a shopkeeper in Nagarathpete.
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The complaint highlighted how Tejasvi Surya, along with Basavanagudi MLA Ravi Subramanya, purportedly gathered a crowd before the shop on March 18. Allegedly, they raised religious slogans and urged the gathered crowd to chant the Hanuman Chalisa at 12 PM on March 19. The complaint asserted that such actions contravene the directives of the Supreme Court and the Election Commission, which deem it an offense to incite communal or religious sentiments during electoral campaigns.
The complaint urged the Election Commission to take strict action against Tejasvi Surya for purportedly violating the model code of conduct by instigating protests with communal undertones.
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Satna/Bhopal (PTI): Four children suffering from thalassemia have tested HIV positive at Satna District Hospital in Madhya Pradesh allegedly due to contaminated blood transfusions, officials said on Tuesday.
The case is four months old and an investigation is underway into it, an official said.
Officials suspect the use of contaminated needles or blood transfusions for the spread of infection to the children.
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MP Health Minister Rajendra Shukla told reporters in Bhopal that he has ordered a probe into the matter and sought a report.
“It is also being investigated whether the blood transfusion took place in other hospitals also or only in the government hospital,” he said.
The affected children, aged between 12 and 15 years, received blood transfusions from the hospital's blood bank, as per an official.
Devendra Patel, in-charge of the blood bank at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel District Hospital in Satna, said four children have tested HIV positive and an investigation is underway to determine how they got infected.
"Either an infected needle was used or a blood transfusion occurred. These are the two main reasons I believe. Blood transfusion seems to be the most likely cause," he told PTI Videos.
All these children suffer from thalassemia, and some have received 80 or 100 blood transfusions, he said.
A family member of one of the affected children said that their child was found to be HIV positive during a routine checkup about four months back, and he has been receiving medication, but it had proven to be of no use.
After taking the medication for HIV, the child starts vomiting, feels low and becomes ill, he said.
After the four children were detected with HIV infection, their family members were also tested and the results came out negative, he added.
The Opposition Congress targeted the government over the matter and demanded the resignation of Health Minister Shukla.
Speaking to reporters in Bhopal, Congress MLA and former minister Sachin Yadav claimed such incidents were continuously occurring in Madhya Pradesh.
Earlier, a case of toxic cough syrup came to light in Chhindwara, followed by incidents of rat bites at hospitals in Indore and Satna, and now children have been given HIV-infected blood, he said.
"The health minister is unable to manage the department. He should resign. A murder case should be filed against those responsible for the Satna incident," Yadav said.
Senior Congress leader Sajjan Singh Verma termed it a failure of the government. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav's government has no connection with ground realities, he charged.
"Somewhere rats are roaming in hospitals, somewhere children are being given HIV-infected blood. Instead of preventing HIV, you are spreading it. Mohan Yadav should wake up from his slumber. Children are the nation's heritage and should be taken care of," he added.
