Hindustan Times (Delhi)

Gujarat battle

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Singh pointed out that Modi went to Pakistan “uninvited” after the terror attacks in Udhampur and Gurdaspur.

“Let him also tell the country the reason for inviting the infamous ISI of Pakistan to our strategic Air Base in Pathankot to investigat­e a terror attack that emanated from Pakistan,” he said.

Meanwhile, the BJP questioned why it took the Congress 48 hours to admit to the meeting at Aiyar’s residence.

“Why was this a ‘hush hush’ meeting? Why was the MEA (Ministry of External Affairs) India not in the loop? Why do Congress leaders meet China and Pakistan envoys secretly?” party spokespers­on GVL Narasimha Rao asked on Twitter.

The Congress’ president-elect Rahul Gandhi, too, stepped into the debate. “The Prime Minister talks sometimes about Pakistan and sometimes about China and Japan. Modiji, this is the election for the future of Gujarat. Talk something about Gujarat too,” he said at a rally in the state’s Banaskanth­a district.

But Modi pressed on with his Pakistan references. At Nadiad, he said in a rally that money that was being routed from Pakistan to fund terrorists in India had stopped after last November’s demonetisa­tion.

The BJP has governed Gujarat for 22 years but the Congress is hoping to unseat it by tapping anger over the agrarian crisis and the implementa­tion of the Goods and Services Tax, and on the strength of a partnershi­p with Patidars, some backward classes, and Dalits. The BJP is counting on its record in the state and the Modi magic to see it through. within a certain number of weeks and ensuring there is referral, if needed,” said Anjali Nayyar, executive vice president with Global Health Strategies.

The draft bill for the Medical Terminatio­n of Pregnancy Act, 2014, proposes relaxing the upper limit of legal abortion from 20 to 24 weeks for “vulnerable” groups and permitting trained healthcare personnel, including midwives and Ayush doctors, to offer medical methods of abortion for pregnancie­s up to seven weeks.

Absence of safe, legal abortion services force women to seek help from untrained pharmacist­s, chemists and informal vendors.

“The study indicates there is need for improved contracept­ion services to help couples prevent unplanned pregnancie­s,” Nayyar said. respective areas. “We have told our officers to keep a watch on whether they have the means of livelihood to buy such a motorcycle, since this is the preferred vehicle of snatchers,” he said.

This year, at least one person has been killed and several others injured when they resisted snatching attempts. In a few cases, the victims were pulled out of moving auto rickshaws or dragged on the road by snatchers. Explaining how the police are acting against different gangs, Patnaik said, “Every police station now has an antisnatch­ing team and the district deputy commission­er of police reviews the team’s performanc­e every week.” tions. They will have an emphasis on multi-disciplina­ry initiative­s, high-quality research, global best practices and internatio­nal collaborat­ions,” said a senior HRD ministry official, who asked not to be identified.

The institutio­ns will be evaluated by a panel of experts and the names of the selected institutes of eminence are expected by March 2018.

Government institutio­ns which are ranked among the top 50 by the HRD ministry in their respective categories such as engineerin­g, general universiti­es or management are eligible to apply for the status. The institutio­ns were all asked to present a report on how they plan to achieve excellence over the next 15 years. absence of political consensus.

Naidu also suggested that maintainin­g quorum in the House — minimum number of members present — shouldn’t be the responsibi­lity of the government and the ruling party alone, but other parties should pitch in too. He sought minimum attendance for all parties.

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