Iyer out of ICU, remains stable
New Delhi (PTI): India's ODI vice-captain Shreyas Iyer, who suffered a ruptured spleen and rib cage injury during the third match against Australia, has been moved out of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a Sydney hospital and is now in a stable condition, the BCCI said on Tuesday.
Iyer sustained a lower left rib cage injury while attempting a difficult running catch to dismiss Alex Carey off Harshit Rana's bowling. Though he initially walked off the field with assistance from the physio, his condition later deteriorated as his vital parameters dropped, prompting immediate hospitalization.
Subsequent tests revealed internal bleeding caused by a laceration in the spleen, following which he was admitted to the ICU for close monitoring.
"The injury was promptly identified, and the bleeding was immediately arrested. His condition is now stable, and he continues to be under observation. A repeat scan done on Tuesday, 28th October, has shown significant improvement, and Shreyas is on the road to recovery.
"The BCCI Medical Team, in consultation with specialists in Sydney and India, will continue to monitor his progress," said the BCCI in a statement.
India T20 skipper Suryakumar Yadav said he was glad to know about Iyer's improving health on the eve of the series opener against Australia.
"Now see, we are not doctors. When we saw from outside, when the catch was taken (by Shreyas), it looked like it was normal," he said in Canberra.
"But none of us were there, only those who were there can tell what actually happened. So they said after going inside it was felt you will have to pay good attention (to him). Then he was rushed to the specialist, and we were told about what happened.
"After that we talked to him, when he was talking normally, we felt that it is a little better now, because doctors and physios told us that it was an unfortunate incident, which happens rarely. But sometimes rare incidents happened to rare talent."
It is understood that BCCI's head of medical services, Dr. Dinshaw Pardiwala, in his communication to the board, commended the on-field medical staff for their swift and efficient response, which helped avert a potentially critical situation.
"God is with his side, he is recovering really well, doctors are supporting him, BCCI is in full support, he will recover soon and then we will take him home with us," Suryakumar said.
Meanwhile, sources indicated that Iyer's family members are expected to travel to Sydney soon to be by his side as he continues to recover.
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Ex-PM Devegowda warns opposition of electoral losses if they continue to allege 'vote chori'
New Delhi (PTI): Former Prime Minister H D Devegowda on Monday said the Opposition parties would "suffer" if they continue to raise allegations of "vote chori" and create suspicion in the minds of voters by blaming Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government.
Participating in a discussion on election reforms in the Rajya Sabha, he criticised the Opposition for making a mockery about the Prime Minister "in the streets and on the public platform".
"This (India) is a very big country. A large country. Congress may be in three states. Remember my friends please, by using the words 'vote chori' you are going to suffer in the coming days. You are not going to win the battle," Devegowda said, referring to the Opposition members.
He asked what the Opposition is going to earn by "blaming Narendra Modi's leadership and creating a suspicion in the mind of the voters" through the claims of "vote chori".
"What has happened to their minds? Let them rectify," Devegowda said.
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The former prime minister said that during his over seven decades of public life, he has never raised such issues of vote theft despite facing defeat in elections.
He also cited a letter written by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru regarding inclusion of "18,000 votes" (voters) in Kerala.
"Why I am telling this (because) during the Nehru period also, there were certain lapses in the electoral system," said Devegowda, who was the prime minister between June 1, 1996 and April 21, 1997.
He said that the Congress party faced defeat in the recent Bihar elections despite raising the issues of mistakes in the electoral rolls.
"What happened after that even after so much review (of voters list). Think (for) yourself! You got six MLAs," the senior Janata Dal (Secular) leader said.
Devegowda questioned the Opposition as to why they want to make allegations against the prime minister on the issue of the voters list?
"Election Commission is there. Supreme Court is there. The Election Commission has given direction to all the state units to rectify all these things," he said.
Devegowda said people of the country have full confidence in Narendra Modi's government and it will come back to power after the next Lok Sabha elections as well.
K R Suresh Reddy, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) party's Rajya Sabha member from Telangana, said that electoral reforms are the backbone for a healthy democracy.
He said a large and diverse nation like Indi needs clean electoral rolls.
Asserting that strict re-verification should not become a mechanism for exclusion, Reddy said no eligible voter should lose their right to vote simply because accessing paperwork is difficult.
He said while the concern definitely is on the voters' exclusion, "we should also be equally concerned about the percentage of voting."
"What is happening in voting today? Once the election ends, the drama begins. The biggest challenge that the Indian democracy has been facing in spite of two major Constitutional amendments has been the anti-defection. Anti-defection is the name of the game today, especially in smaller states, especially where the legislatures are small in number," Reddy said.
The senior BRS leader suggested creation of a parliamentary committee "which would constantly look into the defection" and "ways and means to cutting that".
AIADMK's M Thambidurai raised the issues related to election campaigning.
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"Election campaigns are one of the important election processes. In that, political parties must be given the proper chance to campaign," he said and cited problems faced by his party in Tamil Nadu in this regard.
Thambidurai said political parties were facing hardships in Tamil Nadu to conduct public meetings and to express their views to the public.
YSRCP's Yerram Venkata Subba Reddy stressed on bringing electoral reforms at both the state and national levels.
He also suggested replacing Electronic Voting Machines with paper ballots in all future elections.
"EVM may be efficient but can't be trusted. Paper ballot may not be efficient but can be trusted. You need trust in democracy," Reddy added.
