Year: 2022

NEW DELHI (TIP): In a dramatic turn of events on Thursday, September 29, Congress veteran Ashok Gehlot walked out of the party presidential race and chose to stay as the Chief Minister of Rajasthan amid the organization’s insistence on one person, one post rule. Gehlot opted out of the race “taking moral responsibility for failing as CM to get a one-line MLAs’ resolution passed authorizing Congress president Sonia Gandhi to take a decision on state leadership issue” and said he had apologized to Sonia for the same. Gehlot is learnt to have submitted a written apology for the turn of events in Jaipur on Sunday where 92 MLAs loyal to him boycotted an official legislature party meeting choosing to attend an informal meeting which ended with all pro-CM loyalists tendering resignations to Speaker CP Joshi. After meeting Sonia Gandhi today, Gehlot said Sonia would decide on the issue of state leadership. Sources, however, indicated that Gehlot’s apology could be seen as a face saver for the party to let him keep his CM’s chair.

Asked if he would contest in the party chief’s elections, Gehlot said, “I earlier requested Rahul Gandhi in Kochi that everyone wants him to be party president but he said he would not fight. I had then said I will contest elections because everyone wants me to contest. But after the Sunday episode in Jaipur, I have decided not to fight elections for the party president’s post in the current circumstances.” On the CM-ship, Gehlot said, “Sonia Gandhi will decide.”

I have spoken at length with Sonia. Over the past 50 years, I have worked as a faithful soldier of the party and I was always trusted with responsibilities and given roles as Union Minister, state unit chief, three-time CM, with the blessings of Sonia ji. What happened on Sunday shook us all. Only I know the pain I felt. I have regretted to Sonia and apologized to her. A one-line resolution is a tradition of the party. That is the convention in all meetings whether in elections or CM-ship. Unfortunately, that resolution could not be passed. I take moral responsibility that despite being CM, I was unable to get the resolution passed for the first time. I have said sorry to Sonia that I could not succeed in this.”

Gehlot’s apology is being seen in party circles as the middle path between the two sides to buy peace.

It gives Sonia Gandhi a face saver after a humiliating rebellion of sorts by the Rajasthan MLAs on Sunday and it allows Gehlot to stay in the post, even when the latter said Sonia would decide on CM-ship.

It is unlikely the party will oust a sitting CM with Assembly elections due in late 2023, knowing well the open support he enjoys of ministers and lawmakers.

The Congress can’t afford to stake its government in a bid to replace Gehlot with Sachin Pilot, whose bid for the CM’s post appears to have been stalled once again. Meanwhile, as the race for Congress president heats up, G-23 leaders met in Delhi. Prithviraj Chavan, Bhupinder Hooda, Manish Tewari and others meet at the Sources said Tewari was keen to file his nomination papers for the election but there was no confirmation on the same.

Shashi Tharoor, who was part of the G-23, will be filing his nomination papers for the top party post on Friday.

Tewari later told reporters that no one has filed the nominations yet and things will be clear only after tomorrow. He said they sat for deliberations and discussed the situation.

Chavan also said it was good that internal polls were being held in a democratic manner and stated that they had earlier thanked Congress chief Sonia Gandhi for the free and fair elections.

“Let us see who files the nominations and we will support the best candidate in the fray,” he said after the meeting.

The G-23 grouping had written to Sonia Gandhi seeking organizational overhaul and internal polls at all levels.

• Acting President of the Republic of Guatemala Inaugurated the Exhibition in the presence of diplomats from various countries

I.S. Saluja in Guatemala City

CAYALA CITY, GUATEMALA (TIP): The Embassy of India in Guatemala. hosted an impressive trade exhibition of Indian handicrafts from September 22 to September 24, 2022, in Cayala City, Guatemala. The 3-day exhibition, organized by B &S foundation and Export Promotion Council of Handicrafts, India was inaugurated on September 22 by the acting President of the Republic of Guatemala, Mr. Guillermo Castillo Reyes who, in his brief address congratulated India’s ambassador to Guatemala Mr. Manoj Kumar Mohapatra for having gotten the artisans from India to showcase their talent and products in Guatemala. Present on the occasion were elected representatives and officials of Guatemala government, and diplomats from various countries.

The exhibition was a part of the celebration of India’s 75 years of independence which is being observed as Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.

10 Master artisans arrived from India to give a live demonstration of their art and craft. They all were national award winners. They included Mrs. Bharti Dayal who won the National Award in 2006 for the craft of Mithila Painting, Mr. Kalyan Prasad Joshi who got a National Award in 2010 for the craft of Phad Painting, Mrs. KanukubenAmrutlalVankar who won a National Award in 2011 for the craft of Kutchi Vegetable Indigo Cotton Silk Saree, Mr. LacchiRam who won a National Award in 2006 for the craft of Terracotta, Mr. Mohammad Nasir who won a National Award in 2017 for the craft of Hand Block Print, Mr. Mohammad Haroon who won a National Award in 2007 for the craft of Wood Carving, Mr. Poonam Arjan Vankar who won a National Award in 2013 for the craft of woolen RabariKheshado shawl, Mrs. Pushpa Harit who won a National Award for the craft of Tribal Beads Jewelry, Mr. Roop Kishore Soniwho won a National Award in 2015 for the craft of Silver Engraving, and Mr. Vivekananda Bagchi who won a National Award in 2010 for the craft of Cane and Bamboo.

The acting president Guillermo visited each of the   booths and looked at the magic of the gifted hands that had woven magic andspoke with the artisans about their art and craft. He was gracious enough to spend time at each of the booths and interact with the artisans and also let them have a photograph with him. The artisans presented him with souvenirs. India’s ambassador to the Republic of Guatemala Mr. ManojKumar Mohapatra. suggested to the acting president to send to India artisans from Guatemala to interact with the artisans in India and to explore a market for their products.

The acting President also visited the booth of the Eye Foundation of Americawherehe was informed about the great humanitarian work being done by the Eye Foundation of America, which was founded byDr. V. K. Raju, an eminentophthalmologist based in Morgantown, West Virginia.Introducing the Eye Foundation to His Excellency, the acting President, Prof. Indrajit Saluja said that Dr. Raju’s vision is to have a world without childhood blindness. The foundationhas been providing eye care in many parts of the world like Africa, India and India’s neighboring countries. Prof. Saluja said that Ambassador Mohapatra was keen to have the Eye Foundation of America to provide eye care to Guatemala children, and work towards a Guatemala without childhood blindness Professor Saluja pointed out that the Eye Foundation of America has performed close to 400,000 surgeries and corrected or restored the vision of thousands across the world. Allthis is pro bono the Eye Foundation does notlook atthe work it is doing as a commercial proposition but as a humanitarian service.  His Excellency was very pleased and said he would welcome the Eyefoundation to Guatemala.Ambassador Manoj Mohapatra also spoketo the acting President about the Eye Foundation of America and informed his excellency that Dr.V.K. Raju, the president of the Eye Foundation of America would soon be visiting Guatemala to assess and determine thekind and extent of the services required in Guatemala.

A day before the trade exhibition embassy of India hosted a fashion show in which the modelsdisplayedIndian textiles and dresses. The two-hour fashion show was immensely appreciated by the gathering which included, among others, Ava Arevalo, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs for Cultural Matters, and diplomats from a number of countries. A day after the inauguration of the Trade Exhibition, Ambassador of India, Mr. Manoj Kumar Mohapatra hosted a dinner at which the acting president of Guatemala was the chief guest. The guests included ministers and officials of Guatemala government and diplomats from variouscountries, the artisans who had come from India and the Indian origin community members.

Addressing the gathering, India’s ambassador spoke aboutthe areas of cooperation between India and Guatemala and invited the government of Guatemala for and mutually beneficial alliance in the areas of trade and commerce.

The Embassy of India in Guatemala also organized a Yoga session for schoolchildren. In the scenic City of Panajechel on September 24. About 40 excitedstudents participated in the Yoga session. I was quite surprised to have found Yoga making way into the Guatemala schools. Ambassador Mohapatra told me that the Embassy organized Yoga camps on a regular basis. It was evident that the Embassy of India had popularized Yoga in Guatemala.

NEW DELHI (TIP): In a significant ruling on reproductive rights of women, the Supreme Court held on Thursday, September 29 that all women are entitled to safe and legal abortion till 24 weeks of pregnancy under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act and making any distinction on the basis of their marital status is “constitutionally unsustainable”. The top court also said that the meaning of offence of rape must include marital rape for the purpose of the MTP Act.

A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud, JB Pardiwala and AS Bopanna said the rights of reproductive autonomy give similar rights to unmarried women as that to married women. The bench, in its verdict, said the distinction between married and unmarried women under the abortion laws is “artificial and constitutionally unsustainable” and perpetuates the stereotype that only married women are sexually active. Under the MTP Act provisions, the upper limit for the termination of pregnancy is 24 weeks for married women, special categories including survivors of rape and other vulnerable women such as the differently-abled and minors. However, the time period is 20 weeks for widows and unmarried women, who are or were in consensual relationships, for allowing abortion under the statute.

The bench delivered the verdict on the interpretation of the MTP Act and whether unmarried women or single women can be allowed like their married counterparts the benefit of abortion up to 24 weeks.

The bench, on August 23, had reserved its verdict on interpretation of the MTP Act provisions which makes a distinction between married and unmarried women on the issue of abortion. Observing there is a need to “fine-tune” the provisions in the MTP rules, the top court had also said it would like to add a category of women, who suffer desertion irrespective of marital status, to the seven categories of women eligible to seek abortion till 24 weeks of pregnancy.

The Centre, represented by Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, had told the top court that discrimination, if any, is not in the Act passed by Parliament and if the court is willing to intervene, then it should do so in the MTP Rules, 2003.

Bhati, appearing for the Centre and assisting the court on the issue, had said there is no discrimination under the MTP (Amendment) Act of 2021 and that categorization has been provided in the relevant rules under the Act.

She had said experts have their own views on these issues and according to them categorization has been done to avoid the misuse of laws including the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PC-PNDT) Act due to sex determination of the fetus. “One thing, we should make it clear that we are going to draft our judgement in such a way that we are not going to dilute the provisions of PC-PNDT Act”, the court had said.On July 21, the top court had expanded the scope of the MTP Act to include unmarried women and allowed a 25-year-old to abort her 24-week pregnancy arising out of a consensual relationship. “A woman’s right to reproductive choice is an inseparable part of her personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution and she has a sacrosanct right to bodily integrity,” it had said. “Denying an unmarried woman the right to a safe abortion violates her personal autonomy and freedom. Live-in relationships have been recognized by this Court,” it had added.

(Source: PTI)

• Ian’s tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 415 miles, drenching much of Florida and southeastern Atlantic coast

TALLAHASSEE (TIP): Hurricane Ian left a path of destruction in southwest Florida, trapping people in flooded homes, destroying the only bridge to Sanibel Island, damaging the roof of a hospital intensive care unit and knocking out power to 2.5 million people as it dumped rain across the peninsula on Thursday, September 29.

One of the strongest hurricanes to ever hit the United States threatened catastrophic flooding around the state. Ian’s tropical-storm-force winds extended outward up to 415 miles, drenching much of Florida and the southeastern Atlantic coast. With no electricity and patchy cellphone coverage, many calls for help weren’t getting through, even as emergency crews sawed through toppled trees to reach people in flooded homes.

“If the line is busy, keep trying,” the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post early on Thursday.

The National Hurricane Centre said Ian became a tropical storm over land early Thursday and was expected to regain near-hurricane strength after emerging over Atlantic waters near the Kennedy Space Centre later in the day, with South Carolina in its sights for a second US landfall. A stretch of the Gulf Coast remained inundated by ocean water, pushed ashore by the massive storm. “Severe and life-threatening storm surge inundation of 8 to 10 feet above ground level along with destructive waves is ongoing along the southwest Florida coastline from Englewood to Bonita Beach, including Charlotte Harbor,” the Miami-based hurricane center said.

A chunk of the Sanibel Causeway fell into the sea, cutting off access to the barrier island where 6,300 people normally live.

How many heeded mandatory evacuation orders was impossible to know in the storm’s immediate aftermath.

In Port Charlotte, the storm surge flooded a hospital’s emergency room even as fierce winds ripped away part of the roof from its intensive care unit, according to a doctor who works there.

Water gushed down onto the ICU, forcing them to evacuate their sickest patients—some on ventilators — to other floors, said Dr. Birgit Bodine of HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital.

Staff members used towels and plastic bins to try to mop up the sodden mess.

The medium-sized hospital spans four floors, but patients crowded into two because of the damage, and more were expected with people injured from the storm needing help.

“As long as our patients do OK and nobody ends up dying or having a bad outcome, that’s what matters,” Bodine said.

Law enforcement officials in nearby Fort Myers received calls from people trapped in flooded homes or from worried relatives.

Pleas were also posted on social media sites, some with video showing debris-covered water sloshing toward the eaves of their homes. Brittany Hailer, a journalist in Pittsburgh, contacted rescuers about her mother in North Fort Myers, whose home was swamped by 5 feet of water.

“We don’t know when the water’s going to go down. We don’t know how they’re going to leave, their cars are totaled,” Hailer said. “Her only way out is on a boat.”          Hurricane Ian turned streets into rivers and blew down trees as it slammed into southwest Florida on Wednesday with 150 mph winds, pushing a wall of storm surge.

Ian’s strength at landfall was Category 4, tying it for the fifth-strongest hurricane, when measured by wind speed, ever to strike the US. Ian’s center came ashore more than 100 miles south of Tampa and St. Petersburg, sparing the densely populated Tampa Bay area from its first direct hit by a major hurricane since 1921.

Ian dropped to a tropical storm early on Thursday over land but was expected to intensify again once its center moves over the Atlantic Ocean and menace the South Carolina coast Friday at near-hurricane strength before moving inland.

At 5 am on Thursday, the storm was about 40 miles southeast of Orlando and 35 miles southwest of Cape Canaveral, carrying maximum sustained winds of 65 mph and moving toward the cape at 8 mph, the center said.

Hurricane warnings were lowered to tropical storm warnings across the Florida peninsula, with widespread, catastrophic flooding remaining likely, the hurricane center said. Storm surges as high as 6 feet were still forecast for both coasts.

“It doesn’t matter what the intensity of the storm is. We’re still expecting quite a bit of rainfall,” Robbie Berg, senior hurricane specialist with the National Hurricane Centre, said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Up to a foot of rain forecast for parts of Northeast Florida, coastal Georgia, and the Lowcountry of South Carolina.

As much as 6 inches could fall in southern Virginia as the storm moves inland over the Carolinas, and the center said landslides were possible in the southern Appalachian Mountains.

No deaths were reported in the United States from Ian by late Wednesday. But a boat carrying Cuban migrants sank on Wednesday in stormy weather east of Key West.

The US Coast Guard initiated a search and rescue mission for 23 people and managed to find three survivors about two miles south of the Florida Keys, officials said.

Four other Cubans swam to Stock Island, just east of Key West, the US Border Patrol said. Air crews continued to search for possibly 20 remaining migrants. The storm previously tore into Cuba, killing two people and bringing down the country’s electrical grid. The hurricane’s eye made landfall near Cayo Costa, a barrier island just west of heavily populated Fort Myers. As it approached, water drained from Tampa Bay.

More than 2.5 million Florida homes and businesses were left without electricity, according to the PowerOutage.us site. Most of the homes and businesses in 12 counties were without power.

Sheriff Bull Prummell of Charlotte County, just north of Fort Myers, announced a curfew between 9 pm and 6 am “for life-saving purposes”, saying violators may face second-degree misdemeanor charges. “I am enacting this curfew as a means of protecting the people and property of Charlotte County,” Prummell said. Life-threatening storm surges and hurricane conditions were possible on Thursday and Friday along the coasts of northeast Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina, where Ian was expected to move inland, dumping more rain well in from the coast, the hurricane center said. The governors of South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia and Virginia all preemptively declared states of emergency.