Left rules out third Rajya Sabha term for Sitaram Yechury
NEW DELHI: A top CPI(M) leader on Tuesday ruled out chances of party general secretary Sitaram Yechury’s name being proposed for a third Rajya Sabha term, saying the Left cannot seek the help of Congress as the party does not align with its political agenda.
Yechury’s name for election from West Bengal came up for discussion during the Left party’s on-going central committee meeting in the capital. “The unit feels you cannot have party’s top leader getting elected with the help of another party and that too a rival party. This also goes against the politicaltactical line of the party,” the leader said.
At least four members spoke on the proposal, forwarded by the CPI(M)’S West Bengal unit, after it was mooted in the morning session of the three-day meeting. He said that the 91-member central committee stands divided on the proposal. The Kerala unit in particular is opposed to the idea of sending Yechury to the Upper House again and that too with the support of Congress.
According to a CPI(M) norm, none of its leaders can have more than two terms in the Upper House. Yechury himself has already stated that he will stick to the norm being party’s general secretary. The second term of Yechury, a Rajya Sabha member from West Bengal, ends next month.
The election for the seat is scheduled on August 8 and the deadline for filing nomination is July 28.
“So, the central committee will have to take a decision before that deadline. The issue came up for discussion in the morning session. More discussion is expected on the proposal in the second half. Voting will be held on the proposal, if need be,” the leader said.
The Congress has been the arch rival of the CPI(M)-LED Left Democratic Front in the southern state.
The West Bengal unit of the party had in June this year recommended another term for Yechury. This was after the central leadership of Congress reportedly offered its support to Yechury, considered as one of the effective opposition voices, to get him re-elected to the Rajya Sabha from West Bengal. NEW DELHI: The Congress on Tuesday blamed the government for the agrarian crisis in the country and said that fixing of import-export levies on foodgrain was one of the biggest scams impacting the farmers.
Initiating a short-duration discussion on the “farmers’ distress leading to rise in the incidents of their suicide” Digvijay Singh (Cong) accused the government of being “insensitive” to plight of the agriculturists.
He said farmers in Mad- hya Pradesh had faced bullets recently on the centenary of Champaran agitation in which Mahatma Gandhi had raised his voice against British exploitation. He termed the imposition of import-export duties on foodgrains as one of the biggest scams. NEW DELHI: The Union health ministry has directed all hospitals, including privates ones, to follow its February notification on capping the prices of stents.
The move comes after the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir vide order dated May 8 directed the health ministry to issue a circular clearly indicating that all hospitals should abide by the notification.
The government on February 13 slashed by up to 85 per cent the prices of life-saving coronary stents, tiny metal tubes inserted into the narrowed coronary arteries.
In a circular addressed to the principal/health secretaries of all the states, the government directed them to “abide by the notification dated February 13 relating to the capping of prices of stents issued by the National Pharmaceuticals Pricing Authority, Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers”.
According to the notification, the ceiling price of bare metal stents has been fixed at Rs 7,260 per unit and that of drug eluting variety has been fixed at Rs 29,600 per unit.
A coronary stent is a tubeshaped device placed in the arteries that supply blood to the heart. It keeps the arteries open during the treatment of coronary heart diseases.
The move of the government is aimed at stopping the menace of over-pricing of coronary stents in various hospitals.