The Delhi High Court, on December 11 has stayed the Central Information Commission’s (CIC), order directing the Indian Air Force (IAF) to disclose information about Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s entourage on foreign trips.

According to LiveLaw, Justice Navin Chawla granted interim stay to the Indian Air Force on its plea against an order dated July 8, 2020 directing the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO), Directorate of Personal Services, Air Headquarters, Indian Air Force, to provide details of the Prime Minister’s Special Flight Returns-II to an RTI applicant Commodore Lokesh K Batra (Retd.)

Justice Chawla observed that under the provisions of the Right to Information Act, the CPIO could not provide details of anything more than the number of passengers accompanying the Prime Minister on the flight. However, this too was disputed by the CPIO.

The Single Bench after hearing the IAF counsel Rahul Sharma, issued a notice to Retd. Commodore Batra, and asked him to file a reply within four weeks. “There shall be a stay on the impugned order till further orders,” said the court, as reported by the Indian Express.

Background

On July 8, 2020 the CIC had directed the Indian Air Force to provide certified copies of available and relevant Special Flight Returns-ll to RTI applicant Commodore (retd) Lokesh K Batra. He had sought certified copies of SRF-I and SRF-II with regard to each foreign visit of the former and the present Prime Minister from April 1, 2013 onwards.

On hearing his plea, the CIC had directed the CPIO to provide the certified copies of available and relevant SFR II as sought in the RTI Application “after severing the name and other relevant identifying particulars of the security/SPG personnel figuring therein.”

It further directed that the said information will be provided free of cost to Mr. Batra within 15 days from the date of receipt of this order and a compliance report to this effect be duly sent to the commission by the CPIO.

While putting a stay on the operation of the CIC order, Justice Chawla further observed that CIC could have been “very clear” about which information could have been disclosed, after Mr. Batra’s counsel argued that there are private persons and other people not connected to the security apparatus who accompany the Prime Minister on these trips.

The Indian Air Force, in its plea before the High Court against the CIC order, had submitted that “The information so sought includes details related to the entire entourage, names of Special Protection Group (SPG) personnel accompanying the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India on foreign tours for his personal safety, and the same, if disclosed, can potentially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the State.”

The matter is expected to be heard after 4 weeks.

Related:

Cannot disclose PM’s entourage details for security reasons: IAF plea in Delhi HC
Will Revealing Costs of PM Modi’s ‘Phoren’ Travel affect National Security? Yes, says CIC

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The youth are on the streets, not beating thaalis, not lighting diyas. They are on the streets demanding jobs, and risking a police beating for doing so. Videos of a massive protest at Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, against the policies of “Modi-Yogi” rather the lack of policies were shared on social media all day. The protest came together, and grew to massive proportions as the ‘joblessness’ situation in the state, and the country shows no signs of abating, and the youth are rightly worried.

Add to that the fears generated by the proposed ‘contract’ employment proposed by the Adityanath led-Uttar Pradesh government. The UP government may soon bring about major changes for Group B and Group C state government employees, who will then be recruited on contract basis for five years. These employees will not be entitled to allowances and other benefits like the permanent employees. The contract can be terminated after ‘scrutiny’ at the end of the five years. According to news reports, UP’s Department of Personnel has initiated the consultation process with other stakeholders and the proposal is likely to be placed before the state cabinet soon.

This proposed move, has now forced a large group of young protesters to gather at Prayagraj, and other areas of the state. They shared videos of the protest, and images of injured protestors who were hit even though they were just demanding permanent jobs and assurances of a secure future. This is perhaps the first major student , and youth led protest that has been seen in Uttar Pradesh in recent months. There was blood on the streets today. And those supporting the protest hoped it would bring about a revolution.

ये खून लिखेगा, बदलाव की इबारत l#17Baje17Minute pic.twitter.com/nQ57Pc65xP

— Surya Pratap Singh IAS Rtd. (@suryapsingh_IAS) September 17, 2020

Soon enough, social media trends showed the hashtag #NationalUnemploymentDay  

trending with around 4.16M Tweets. Clearly, social media users wanted to send a message to the governments that young citizens were increasingly feeling frustrated and angry. It was also Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 70th birthday, when social media users took upon themselves to remind him of the mood on the streets.

Then there were protests on the ground, such as the one in Prayagraj, and a series of protests that have already been carried out across the country by trade unions,  Left parties, Congress, Samajwadi Party,  and all of them found a place online today. The trend was fuelled by individual users, and propelled further by political parties and leaders with large online presence. Soon enough “National Unemployment Day” was a thing no one could ignore, along with hashtags such as  ‘#17Sept17Hrs17Minutes’.

The young are asking ,pleading for employment,give it to them it was your promise ,what’s the disrespect here #17Baje17Minute

— Juhie Singh (@juhiesingh) September 17, 2020

Respect the youth then we will respect our PM#17Baje17Minute pic.twitter.com/tdhVeK2g95

— #17Baje17Minute (@AishwaryVerma9) September 17, 2020

“Protests across the country on National Jumla and unemployed day. How long will we keep people from getting off the streets by keeping a lockdown,” asked one.

17/9/2020#NationalUnemploymentDay pic.twitter.com/egizX78m0n

— Ali Khan Mahmudabad (@Mahmudabad) September 17, 2020

Youth members of the ⁦@samajwadiparty⁩ raising their voices for the nation’s youth.

As a return gift for coming to this ‘birthday party’ they are arrested and beaten. #NationalUmemploymentDay pic.twitter.com/cxdPIE9boq

— Ali Khan Mahmudabad (@Mahmudabad) September 17, 2020

“Massive unemployment has forced the youth to call today #NationalUnemploymentDay.

Employment is dignity.For how long will the Govt deny it?,” said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

यही कारण है कि देश का युवा आज #राष्ट्रीय_बेरोजगारी_दिवस मनाने पर मजबूर है।
रोज़गार सम्मान है।
सरकार कब तक ये सम्मान देने से पीछे हटेगी?

Massive unemployment has forced the youth to call today #NationalUnemploymentDay.
Employment is dignity.
For how long will the Govt deny it? pic.twitter.com/FC2mQAW3oJ

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) September 17, 2020

Only peacocks are celebrating Mr. @narendramodi‘s birthday as students, farmers and migrants have been decimated. The oppressive policies of BJP have wrecked havoc with lives of Indians.#NationalUnemploymentDay pic.twitter.com/nFbzXwkM9N

— NSUI (@nsui) September 17, 2020

Recently, the Minister of Labour and Employment was grilled by Members of Parliament on subjects like unemployment and plight of migrant workers on the opening day of the first session of Parliament after the Covid-19 pandemic. The minister submitted that as many as 1,04,66,152 persons migrated back to their hometowns when asked about labourers who had migrated back from their cities during the nation-wide lockdown, during the monsoon session of Parliament on September 14, 2020. In light of the recent migrations by daily wage workers, Members of Parliament Syed Imtiaz Jaleel and Asaduddin Owaisi asked Labour and Employment Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar about the condition of the labour force. Firstly, they asked for a confirmation that the unorganised sector was the worst-affected section of society due to the lockdown. Secondly, members asked for State-wise figures of labourers who had migrated due to loss of jobs. Thirdly, they enquired whether the Central government offered any assistance to states with large migration-intake to rehabilitate these labourers and give them employment. Fourthly, members asked how many people had been repatriated to their work-place during the reverse migration process.

In response, the government presented state-wise figures of migrants who had returned to their home states. However, it failed to confirm the condition of the unorganised sector.

The presented data showed that Uttar Pradesh had the highest intake of migrants with over 32 lakh people followed closely by Bihar that recorded the return of over 15 lakh people. 

Related:

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MGNREGS under microscope: Members of Parliament ask for detailed performance 
Railway privatisation could lead to loss of at least 3.5 lakh jobs!
1 crore unemployed labourers in India: Ministry of Labour and Employment
Job Crisis: Uphill fight for young cinema artists

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The Network of Women in Media, India (NWMI) has condemned Uttar Pradesh police’s “malafide FIR against Supriya Sharma, the executive editor of Scroll.in, targeting her for her report recording the loss of livelihood and hunger suffered by residents of Domari, a village near Varanasi adopted by the Prime Minister in 2018.”

The NWMI stated that the “stringent lockdown ordered to check the spread of the novel coronavirus has led to deep distress and uncertainty for contractual and daily wage workers, in both urban and rural India. Reportage from rural areas and among vulnerable communities is crucial to inform public debate and policy at a time like this. Yet, the government and police departments across India, and in Uttar Pradesh in particular, have targeted journalists doing essential work, registering at least 55 police complaints against journalists since the lockdown in March.”

The UP police FIR targeting Sharma, an award-winning, senior journalist, is the latest instance of this. The NWMI has demanded that “the FIR be withdrawn and Sharma be protected from arrest.” The network has stated that it “strongly condemns such attempts to muzzle the press and to prevent it from carrying out its duty to report on the condition of the most deprived sections of society.” 

The FIR dated June 13 names Mala Devi, one of the residents interviewed by Sharma, as a complainant, and states that Mala Devi denies having complained about going hungry during the lockdown. In the FIR, Devi alleges that Supriya Sharma did not truthfully represent her job and her lockdown experience in the story. The complainant stated in the FIR that she worked for the civic body; in Ms Sharma’s report she stated that her son worked for the civic body, while she worked as a domestic worker. 

The police have booked Sharma, and the Scroll’s chief editor under Sec 501 IPC (defamation), and also under sections of The Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (PoA). This, stated the NWMI, is “intended to have a chilling effect on the journalistic community.” However, the network added a fact check that “the two sections of the PoA cited in the FIR, have no connection with Ms Sharma’s report. Nor do they reflect anything Mala Devi says in her complaint. The police have also, inexplicably, invoked Sec 269 IPC – ie, negligent act likely to spread infection – in the FIR.”

“None of these sections have anything to do with Sharma’s report,” stated the NWMI, adding “the PoA amendments of 2015 and 2018 have come after years of mobilizations by Adivasi and Dalit activists. While the police continue to routinely intimidate these communities, and act hostile to them,  refusing to file FIRs on serious crimes against Dalit and Adivasis, the use of the law against a journalist reporting on their vulnerability marks a dangerous new trend in police excesses and intimidation of reporters.” 

The NWMI said that such police cases, “drain a journalist, and small media organisations such as Scroll.in, of their  financial resources.” Scroll has already stated that it stands by the article. The organisation published this statement: 

“Scroll.in interviewed Mala in Domari village, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, on June 5, 2020. Her statements have accurately been reported in the article titled, ‘In Varanasi village adopted by Prime Minister Modi, people went hungry during the lockdown.’ Scroll.in stands by the article, which has been reported from the Prime Minister’s constituency. This FIR is an attempt to intimidate and silence independent journalism, reporting on conditions of vulnerable groups during the Covid-19 lockdown.”

The Delhi Union of Journalists has expressed its shock that Scroll Executive Editor Supriya Sharma has been booked for reporting on hunger during the lockdown in villages around Varanasi. “It is regrettable that the state has chosen to misuse the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 to charge the journalist,” stated the DUJ. The DUJ, has strongly condemned “the use of FIRs to intimidate journalists valiantly doing their job during the current pandemic and economic crisis. Journalists run incredible risks to their own health and safety by reporting from the field. We expect governments to respond to such reports and critiques by taking measures to alleviate distress among the people, instead of shooting the messenger.”

“Sharma’s record speaks for itself. In 2014-15 she won the Chameli Devi Jain Award for Outstanding Woman Journalist. We note with dismay the growing tendency to victimise journalists,” the DUJ added.

Noted social activist Bezwada Wilson who is the National Convener, Safai Karmachari Andolan stated: “It is not merely touching an untouchable, reporting about their sorrows also become a crime in democratic India. This is a Threat for people who highlight poverty, hunger & discrimination. What an irony, using shoulders of the victim to shoot the messenger.”

It is not merely touching an untouchable, reporting about their sorrows also become a crime in democratic India. This is a Threat for people who highlight poverty, hunger & discrimination. What an irony, using shoulders of the victim to shoot the messenger https://t.co/R5nRwgQNhm

— Bezwada Wilson (@BezwadaWilson) June 19, 2020

Strong words condemning the FIR also came from Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, General Secretary, Indian National Congress, who has extensively worked in Uttar Pradesh and was herself at loggerheads with the UP government during the Migrant Workers were stranded on the state’s borders during the Covid-19 lockdown exodus. She posted: “The UP government cannot cover the truth by filing an FIR.  During this disaster on the ground there are severe disturbances. Corrections are possible by showing the truth, but the UP government is getting FIRs made on journalists, former officials, opposition to bring out the truth. “ 

यूपी सरकार एफआईआर करके सच्चाई पर पर्दा नहीं डाल सकती।

जमीन पर इस आपदा के दौरान घोर अव्यवस्थाएं हैं।

सच्चाई दिखाने से इनमें सुधार संभव है लेकिन यूपी सरकार पत्रकारों पर, पूर्व अधिकारियों पर, विपक्ष पर सच्चाई सामने लाने के लिए FIR करवा दे रही है।

शर्मनाकhttps://t.co/nvmKkB907U

— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) June 19, 2020

Activist Umar Khalid who has also been booked under various acts of the Indian Penal Code when he was a student leader at the Jawaharlal Nehru University also questioned why a journalist reporting from the ground had been targeted. He stated, “While multi-millionaire hate mongers spew venom from their AC studios, real journalists who bring out the truth from ground, face threats and fabricated cases. Not surprising that India has fallen down on the Press Freedom Index. In solidarity.”

According to writer and activist Natasha Badhwar who worked with Supriya Sharma in the early days of her career, “Her voice stands out for its clarity, courage, compassion. 

Supriya’s work is sharply focussed on the story, never making it about herself, never sliding into editorialising, always looking for the patterns and reporting them, whether they suit our fragile imagination or not.”

“Independent journalism,”  wrote Natasha on her Facebook wall, “has suffered many setbacks in the last few years, but Supriya’s personal commitment is an inspiration for everyone else in the fraternity.”

Supriya Sharma is the winner of the Chameli Devi Jain Award for an Outstanding Woman Journalist for 2014-15 and has also been conferred the prestigious Ramnath Goenka award for Reporting on Politics and Government for 2014.

“This has gone much beyond what we have come to expect from BJP governments, even from the Bisht government in Uttar Pradesh,” said veteran journalist and activist John Dayal. “There is also an element of revenge. A complaint under the SC anti atrocity act is a very serious matter. The Modi government changed the rules to keep the big fish out of it. This needs to be challenged. I stand in solidarity with Supriya who has done excellent work reporting human rights and exposing persecution of religious minorities, Dalits and Tribals in Scroll,” he added.

The First Information Report (FIR) was filed in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, Supriya Sharma days after her news reports from Varanasi on the effects of the Covid-19 lockdown on common people began appearing on the news portal. 

The FIR, dated June 13, and filed at nearly 11 P.M, also names Scroll’s chief editor (though it does not record his name) as a co-accused. As SabrangIndia had reported earlier, the Rights and Risks Analysis Group (RRAG) report has listed about 55 journalists who were targeted for doing their jobs during the Covid-19 lockdown. The most cases are in Uttar Pradesh (11 journalists March 25 to May 31 2020). Supriya sharma is the latest journalist to have been targeted for doing her work. As the trends show, she may not be the last.

Related: 

UP Police book FIR against senior journalist, under multiple sections including SC/ST act

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The Prime Minister held a video conference with Chief Ministers of nine states today repeating his new favourite catch-phrase “Do gaz doori” for good measure. Chief Ministers of Meghalaya, Odisha, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are reported to have been in attendance.

While five of these states, viz; Meghalaya, Odisha, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat and West Bengal appeared to bat for an extension of the lockdown in some form in their respective states. The Prime Minister reiterated the importance for states to enforce guidelines strictly in the hotspots i.e. the red zone areas. He stated that the efforts of the states should be directed towards converting the red zones into orange and thereafter to green zones.

Already in states like Maharashtra, Health Minister Rajesh Tope has hinted at the possibility of extending the lockdown in Mumbai and Pune to May 18. Tope told LiveMint, “The main objective of implementing the lockdown was to stop the spread of covid-19 pandemic and if the spread is not getting contained, we will have to extend the lockdown.” Mumbai alone has over 700 containment zones and the high population density of the metropolis with some of the most prohibitively expensive real estate prices forces millions to live cheek-by-jowl in low-income neighbourhoods that have now become the worst affected red zones.

Tope added, “At present, the issue is only with the slums where positive cases are increasing rapidly. We have to ensure that all the containment zones are completely cordoned off. We will extend the lockdown for 15 more days after 3 May only for the containment zones, if not for the entire Mumbai and Pune.”

But controversy surrounding the faulty rapid-testing kits, oddly never became part of the interaction between the PM and CMs. The official press release of the PIB about the PM’s meeting did not mention this at all.

The entire press release may be read here: 

The ICMR controversy was left entirely to be tackled at the daily press briefing by the Press Information Bureau. But here, the entire communication focused on hammering the point that not a single rupee had been spent, so there was no loss. In a separate press release the PIB reiterated this point saying, “It needs to be stressed that ICMR has not made any payment whatsoever in respect of these supplies. Because of the due process followed (not going for procurement with 100% advance amount), GoI does not stand to lose a single rupee.”

In a communique to Chief Secretaries of all states and Union Territories, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) that had acquired the faulty kits re-affirmed, “ICMR advocates that RT-PCR throat/nasal swab is the best use for diagnosis of Covid-19. RT-PCR test detects the virus early and is the best strategy to identify and isolate the individual.” But it goes on to ask the states and UTs to return the kits procured from two Chinese firms; Guangzhou Wandfo Biotech and Zhuhai Livzon Diagnostics. These kits had shown wide variation in their sensitivity and questions were subsequently raised about how their purchase was greenlighted in the first place.

The entire communique by ICMR may be read here:

Meanwhile, allegations were also made of two middlemen; importer Matrix Labs and distributor Rare Metabolics pocketing a sweet margin on the deal. The Delhi High Court has already stepped in and capped the price per kit at Rs 400/- per piece. But the government had fixed the price at Rs 600/-.

According to Business Today, Matrix Labs reportedly sold to Rare Metabolics at Rs 400/- a per piece, but Rare Metabolics sold it to the government for Rs 600/- per piece. Additionally, Matrix was to directly supply 50,000 pieces to the Tamil Nadu Government at Rs 600/- per piece.  

But the PIB tried to explain away the matter saying, “… this was the first ever effort by any Indian agency to procure such kits and the rate quoted by the bidders was the only reference point.”

This rather curious press release may be read here: 

Meanwhile, a discrepancy was found in the number of infected people as reported by ICMR and the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC). While NCDC recorded India’s confirmed cases at 26,496 as of 8 am on April 26, ICMR said the number is 27,583 — a difference of 1,087 patients. Th ematter was red-flagged in a meeting with state secretaries chaired by Union Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba this weekend.

The Indian Express reported that a presentation to the states made during this meeting showed that data from NCDC and ICMR matched in only eight regions — five states from the Northeast and the Union Territories of Dadar and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu and Lakshadweep. However, in 21 states and UTs, the numbers of confirmed cases are higher in the ICMR records as compared to NCDC as of data collected by 8 am on April 26. The highest difference is registered in Maharashtra, Gujarat and West Bengal where the ICMR data shows 8,848, 3,809 and 770 confirmed cases, respectively, while the NCDC data puts the case count at 7,628, 3,071 and 611, respectively. The highest difference among these 21 states is in Maharashtra — 1,220 cases!

However, the reverse is true in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. For instance, while Delhi’s NCDC count is 2,625, the ICMR number is 2,155. The corresponding numbers for MP are 2096 (NCDC) and 1778 (ICMR), and 1793 (NCDC) and 1572 (ICMR) for Uttar Pradesh. This discrepancy has not been explained so far and was also apparently not raised during the PM’s video-conference with CMs.

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The national lockdown announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is fast reaching its April 14 deadline. Modi is expected to have a video conference meeting with all Chief Ministers on April 11. Any formal announcement is only likely after this.

While no official decision has been taken yet about the continuation of the lockdown on the national level, Odisha became the first state in the country to extend the lockdown by 5 days. Many other state governments are likely to push for either an extension of the lockdown, or a staggered lifting of it. 

With a spike in fresh cases in many states like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Telangana and a few others, there is a strong case for continuing the lockdown.

Odisha

On Thursday, Odisha became the first state in the country to announce an extension of the lockdown in the state till April 30. Also, schools and educational institutions will remain closed till June 17. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik told reporters on Thursday, “At this crucial juncture one has to decide between protecting lives of people and economic activity. The state cabinet, which met today, decided that saving the lives of our people is the topmost priority at this juncture.” The state government has also urged the center not to start rail or air services till April 30. Odisha is home to 4.5 crore people and so far, has 49 Covid-19 positive cases.

Maharashtra

In Maharashtra where 1,297 cases have been confirmed Covid-19 positive so far, talks are on to extend the lockdown in Mumbai and Pune, from where maximum number of cases have been reported. CM Uddhav Thackeray and his cabinet are expected to make an official announcement after closely monitoring the situation between April 10 and 14. Wearing masks in public has already been made mandatory in Mumbai, Pune, Nashik and Nagpur. Already 381 containment zones and 10 hot zones have been identified and isolated across Mumbai where 143 new cases were reported on just Thursday, taking the tally to 839. It is highly unlikely that the lockdown would be lifted here.

Tamil Nadu

Chief Minister K Palaniswami has yet to take a formal decision about extension of the lockdown in Tamil Nadu. “A 19-member committee of medical experts has been set up and their advice will be solicited and also the government 12 panels on tackling COVID-19 scenario will be consulted and then a decision will be taken,” he told reporters on Thursday.

This state has the highest number of Covid-19 positive cases after Maharashtra at 738. Just on Wednesday 48 new cases were reported, 42 of these from a single source that has not been revealed officially yet. TN Health Secretary Beela Rajesh said that the state was still in stage two of the pandemic and efforts were on to ensure matters did not escalate to stage 3.

Delhi

The lockdown in Delhi could well be extended after April 14 if the current situation persists, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia told reporters on Wednesday. Delhi currently has 699 Covid-19 positive cased. Already 20 areas, including 13 identified on Wednesday, have been identified as hot zones and completely sealed off in Delhi. Meanwhile, 22 areas in Noida and 13 in Ghaziabad, next door were also sealed off on Wednesday.  

Telangana

In Telangana, Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao is in favour of extending the lockdown. On Monday, April 6, he formally requested the PM to extend the lockdown. “I am for the lockdown of the country furthermore after April 15. Because, we can recover from the economic problem. But, we cannot recover lives. We cannot recover the lives of the people,” he told reporters in Hyderabad.

Meanwhile Telangana High Court has not only sacrificed its summer vacation (May 1 to June 5), but has also extended their own lockdown till the end of April. 49 new cases were reported on Wednesday alone, and at the time of publishing this piece, total number positive cases in Telangana stood at 453, with 175 reported from Hyderabad alone.

Jharkhand

Doctors in Jharkhand have urged Chief Minister Hemant Soren to continue with the lockdown given how there are only 150 ventilators in the entire state, reporter The Telegraph. Soren was meeting Indian Medical Association (IMA) members, Ranchi-based doctors and representatives of city hospitals on Wednesday. Dr Pradeep Kumar Singh, secretary of the state IMA, told the CM, “We lack proper health infrastructure and we are not in a position to tackle a mass explosion of patients if it happens. What we can do at this moment is to focus on prevention including lockdown and social isolation.” Withdrawing the lockdown on April 14, Dr Singh said, “will be disastrous”.

Karnataka

The Karnataka government is expected to finalise a lockdown exit strategy by April 13. State Medical Education Minister Sudhakar K told Economic Times that a final decision will be taken after a videoconference with the Prime Minister on April 11. The publication also reported that Chief Minister BS Yedyurappa was in favour of lifting the lockdown in districts from where no positive cases had been reported. Currently the number of infected people stands at 181 with 6 new cases reported yesterday.

Related:

Covid-19: This is what happens when an area is sealed
Dharavi a ticking bomb after two fresh cases

The post Covid-19: Decision pending on extending nationwide lockdown appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who has served as  under Secretary General of the United Nations, has continued to keep the spotlight on India’s export of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), and other drugs, to the United States of America, in face of a possible ‘retaliation’ if the earlier ban continued.

Today, on April 8, Tharoor bounced the ball back in the court of  US President Trump and asked him to give something back in return for HCQ, “Mr President @realDonaldTrump, since India has selflessly agreed to give you the supply you seek of hydroxychloroquine, will you grant India first priority in sharing with us any #COVID19 vaccine that might be developed in US labs?”

Mr President @realDonaldTrump, since India has selflessly agreed to give you the supply you seek of hydroxychloroquine, will you grant India first priority in sharing with us any #COVID19 vaccine that might be developed in US labs? @USAndIndia @USAmbIndia @PMOIndia https://t.co/M7Pze4d9CC

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) April 8, 2020

On April 7, he had  also taken on Trump’s claim on the medication,  “Never in my decades of experience in world affairs have I heard a Head of State or Govt openly threatening another like this. What makes Indian hydroxychloroquine ‘our supply’, Mr President? It only becomes your supply when India decides to sell it to you.” he said.

Senior Congress leader and its working committee member  Randeep Singh Surjewala, had reflected a collective ire against the Centre’s decision to restart exporting hydroxychloroquine after  US Presidents said he may ‘retaliate’ if India did not comply. Surejewala’s short video that he posted on social media sums up the collective reaction Of the Opposition, as well as many citizens who were taken aback at how swiftly the ban was lifted on the slightest pressure from Trump.

Dear Prime Minister,

“India First” & “Indians First” is the “Raj Dharma” before you open the export of life saving drug, hydroxychloroquine!

Follow Smt. Indira Gandhi’s template.#COVID2019
Our statement-: pic.twitter.com/Wn3NVHnsSz

— Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) April 7, 2020

Lifting the ban, Opposition parties have said that was a betrayal of Indians whose needs for medicines should be priorities before any exports are allowed. “No one can browbeat, pressurize or intimidate India. Smt. Indira Gandhi laid the template for future governments. In fight against #COVID, Indian have a first right over life saving drug hydroxychloroquine! Time to follow “Raj Dharma” & “India First” policy!” posted Surjewala. 

Prime Minister Modi’s quick response to the US President’s statement is seen as a sign of weakness by many. Indian political leaders have said that the PM should have, in fact, stood up to the US president’s intimidating words. According to CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, the statement by the US President was unacceptable and PM Modi had, “succumbed to the threat by allowing the export. That this happened after an expensive gala was organised for him by Modi, instead of preparing to contain Covid-19, shows how this government has let down India.”

The statement by US President is unacceptable. But Modi govt has succumbed to the threat by allowing the export. That this happened after an expensive gala was organised for him by Modi, instead of preparing to contain Covid-19, shows how this govt has let down India. https://t.co/3g1K4Q0bfi

— Sitaram Yechury (@SitaramYechury) April 7, 2020

According to news reports, Yechury also said that India should prioritise the medical  requirements of Indians first as the nation is fighting against Covid-19 pandemic. He said that India could not afford to risk any “shortages of crucial drugs here. There are no compromises in this struggle to protect Indian lives.”

Senior leaders, who themselves have been at the forefront of fighting the pandemic in their own states have also criticised the fact that the ban was lifted without even consulting state governments. According to a report in the Hindu, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has criticized the export of HCQ and said PPEs and other lifesaving equipment has also been exported by the Indian government recently. “A huge number of PPEs and ventilators were exported in the last few days. No details of this have been provided by the Centre yet. This is beyond our understanding,” he said. All the equipment, specially PPEs need to be stockpiled as the Coronavirus pandemic progresses to the next stages across India. According to Gehlot, the Rajasthan government may have to import  PPEs from China to combat the shortfall. “It is a question of life and death. The Centre will have to consider all the aspects. We have to save the lives of people. That should be the first priority,” he said.

Prime Minister Modi and President Trump have always showcased their interactions at massive political events, in India recently and in America before that, as ‘friendship’ between two nations. However is this the time to be friendship, or responsible leadership, is what many are asking. 

Why would Trump even mention ‘relailation if he was a friend of India?’ was a point raised. Congress’s media in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala had said Trump has no right to threaten India or put pressure on Prime Minister Modi to lift the ban on import. “We hope Modi will take diplomatic measures against such language used by the US President and ensure the safety of Indians,” Surjewala said.

News reports quoted Congress leader and Member of Parliament, Rahul Gandhi saying that  retaliation should not be a factor, “India must help all nations in their hour of need but lifesaving medicines should be made available to Indians in ample quantities first,” he said.

The demand for the drug in the US has been fueled by the president himself mentioning it as a possible cure. However, leading american scientists, including White House coronavirus task force member Anthony Fauci, said the reports that the drug might work were “anecdotal, and said there needs to be further study before its use is encouraged.”

According to Bloomberg Indian manufacturers exported and fulfilled around 47%  of hydroxychloroquine requirements of the U.S, last year. This would have come to a standstill after the ban on the anti-malaria drug that had been “touted by President Donald Trump as a “game changer” for treating the coronavirus” said the report.

India’s export ban, it explained, was aimed at ensuring enough domestic supply for Indians to use. Trump’s personal endorsement of HCQ had set off a massive stockpiling of the anti-malaria medication around the world, said another Bloomberg report. Many countries had banned exports of various items, from food grains, to masks, to certain medication and equipment, to prioritise and meet domestic needs and demands first.

Related:

Shortage of PPEs, asymptomatic patients putting healthcare staff at risk?
ICMR revises Covid-19 testing protocol

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Who could have been the best prime minister of independent India?
Nehru or (Vallabhbhai) Patel?

For more than last five years, we have been a witness to this manufactured debate—courtesy Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has tried all the tricks in its kitty to create a false binary between these leading stalwarts of independence movement, who called themselves ‘Gandhi’s sipahis’.

Anyway, thanks to the differences of perception within the saffron fraternity, a new competitor to Sardar Patel seems to have emerged from within the Hindutva Brigade who is being projected as someone who would have been a “better PM”.

Uddhav Thackreay, chief of Shiv Sena and at present, a junior ally of the BJP in Maharashtra, recently made his choice clear by stating that if Veer Savarkar would have become the prime minister, “Pakistan would not have come into existence”. At a book release event, he even refused to call Nehru a Veer (courageous), making a rather provocative statement: ‘I would have called Nehru brave if he would have survived jail for 14 minutes against Savarkar who stayed in the prison for 14 long years.’

Definitely, the fact that Nehru spent more than nine years in different jails of the colonialists without ever compromising his basic principles—whereas, the 14 years spent by Savarkar were interspersed with mercy petitions sent by him to the British, wherein he had even expressed his readiness to ‘serve the government in any capacity they like’—did not bother him at all.

What is rather worrisome is that it was no mere expression of an alternate viewpoint. Thackeray even asked the gathering  ‘to beat [Mani Shankar Aiyar] with shoes for showing disrespect to Savarkar’. Senior Congress leader Aiyar had openly said last year that it was Savarkar who himself had proposed the two-nation theory and had coined the term ‘Hindutva’. This had infuriated Uddhav Thackeray to no end. However, it is a fact that Savarkar, in his presidential address in Ahmedabad at the 19th session of the Hindu Mahasabha in 1937, had openly declared that India comprises of two nations. According to him,

“..[T]here are two antagonistic nations living side by side in India, several infantile politicians commit the serious mistake in supposing that India is already welded into a harmonious nation, or that it could be welded thus for the mere wish to do so.These our well-meaning but unthinking friends take their dreams for realities. That is why they are impatient of communal tangles and attribute them to communal organizations. But the solid fact is that the so-called communal questions are but a legacy handed down to us by centuries of cultural, religious and national antagonism between the Hindus and Moslems … India cannot be assumed today to be a unitarian and homogeneous nation, but on the contrary there are two nations in the main: the Hindus and the Moslems, in India..”

(V.D.Savarkar, Samagra Savarkar Wangmaya Hindu Rasthra Darshan (Collected works of V.D.Savarkar) Vol VI, Maharashtra Prantik Hindusabha, Poona, 1963, p 296)

A year later, he said: “The Hindus are the nation in India—in Hindusthan, and the Moslem minority a community’(Page 25, Savarkar and Hindutva, A G Noorani, Leftword, 2003). Remember Jinnah propounded his two-nation theory in 1939—exactly two years after Savarkar presented it. It was a reflection of the political ambience then that R C Majumdar, a historian with pro-Sangh parivar views, acknowledged that there was ‘one important factor which was responsible to a very large extent for the emergence of the idea of partition of India on communal lines. This was the Hindu Mahasabha.” (R C Mazumdar (General Editor), Struggle for Freedom, Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, Mumbai, 1969, p. 611)
It would be political naivety to think that this euologisation of Savarkar by the Shiv Sena supremo on the eve of elections was spontaneous. On the one hand, it was an attempt to raise an emotive issue to garner a few more votes and on the other hand, this projection of a Marathi icon was Shiv Sena’s oblique way of getting even with its ‘senior ally’ BJP, which has used name of Sardar Patel—a Gujarati—to further its anti-Nehru propaganda. This, in a way, also conveys discreetly that BJP’s “love” for Savarkar has been a very recent phenomenon.

It should be recalled that Savarkar’s plaque was removed from Port Blair’s cellular jail (in 2004) where Savarkar had served his jail term. Vikram Savarkar—Savarkar’s own nephew—in an interview to a national daily had exposed BJP’s lack of interest in his uncle and had castigated them for their sudden love for him. The report read: “It may be noted that he had accused the senior leaders of the BJP for ‘keeping mum despite noticing the removal of his uncle’s quotations from Port Blair’s Cellular Jail’. According to him, Ram Kapse, the then incumbent Lt. governor of Andaman and Nicobar and former M.P Ram Naik ( both BJP workers) ‘did not utter a word when the plaque was removed’.”

The report further says that he is not surprised at the BJP’s lack of interest in Savarkar. “We know very well that the BJP and RSS did not appreciate his (Savarkar’s) philosophy.” Vikram then claims that BJP’s sudden love for the legend is an eyewash. “It is an effort to woo voters for the Assembly elections in Maharashtra,” he is quoted as saying.  (Savarkar nephew hits out at BJP, August 30, 2004, Indian Express)
No doubt the debate around Savarkar’s ‘greatness’ cannot be reduced to the internecine squabbles within the Hindutva fraternity and there is an urgent need to unpack the whole issue for a wider interaction.

One can clearly see two phases in his life.

First phase which lasted till a few years after he was transported for life to Andamans, when he was all for Hindu-Muslim unity. However, in the second phase, he emphasised Hindu unity and propounded the theory of Hindu nation.

Born on May 28, 1883, to a Marathi Brahmin family, Savarkar was attracted towards anti-British movements and was even instrumental in establishing Abhinav Bharat Society (Young India)—drawing inspiration from Mazzini’s ‘Young Italy’ during school days. He went to England to study law where he got further involved in radical political activities. Inspired by the 1857 uprising against British and with the aim to communicate with the dormant masses he even a wrote a book in Marathi titled ‘The Indian War of Independence of 1857’, which talked in glowing terms about the Hindu-Muslim unity displayed during this war. Later, he was arrested for instigating radical/violent activities in London as well as for his connection to the similar activities back home in India and was sentenced to two life sentences and was sent to Cellular Jail in Andamans. It appears that the tough life in the jail—which was endured by other prisoners without any compromise—broke his spirit and he sent petitions to the British government for early release. After a long time, British government conceded to his request and sent him home, put restrictions on him and asked him to not to participate in political activities. He was finally released when there were provincial elections in India and Congress party-led government came to power in the then Mumbai province.

Coming back to the present debate about whether there is any merit in Thackeray’s claim that India would have remained united if Savarkar would have become PM. Question immediately arises whether Savarkar was really for united India. Definitely not. This original proponent of the two-nation theory had this to say at a media conference in August 1943 which was quoted by Congress on its official Twitter handle shedding its normal ambivalence about Savarkar:

“For the last 30 years we have been accustomed to the ideology of geographical unity of India and the Congress has been the strongest advocate of that unity but suddenly the Muslim minority, which has been asking one concession after another, has, after the Communal Award, come forward with the claim that it is a separate nation. I have no quarrel with Mr Jinnah’s two-nation theory. We, Hindus, are a nation by ourselves and it is a historical fact that Hindus and Muslims are two nations.”

Thus, Uddhav’s hypothesis is itself superfluous/meaningless. It is like saying that Jinnah could have led a united India after independence.
But what was Savarkar’s own situation in early 1940s when anti-imperialist forces led by Congress and other radical sections of society were waging a ‘do or die’ struggle against the British? It is now history how the formations espousing the cause of Hindutva adopted a compromising attitude. It is worth noting that while the RSS preferred to keep itself aloof from the ‘Quit India Movement’ and concentrated on its divisive agenda, Savarkar, the pioneer theoretician of the project of Hindu Rashtra went one step further. He toured India asking the Hindu youth to join the military with a call ‘Militarise the Hindus, Hinduise the nation’—thus strengthening efforts of the British to suppress the rising tide of the people’s movement.

When Congress party asked the state governments led by it in different provinces to resign, Hindu Mahasabha under Savarkar’s leadership had no qualms in running coalition governments in Sind and Bengal sharing power with Muslim League and justifying this compromise.

“..in practical politics also the Mahasabha knows that we must advance through reasonable compromises.” (V.D.Savarkar, Samagra Savarkar Wangmaya Hindu Rasthra Darshan ( Collected works of V.D.Savarkar) Vol VI, Maharashtra Prantik Hindusabha, Poona, 1963, p 479-480
What is interesting to note is that despite the fact that Hindu Mahasabha was sharing power with Muslim League and a few other parties to run provincial governments in Bengal and Northwest province, and despite the services offered to the British empire, he was a ‘spent force’ for the British. A G Noorani, constitutional expert and political commentator, in his book ‘Savarkar and Hindutva’ (Page 92, Left Word, 2002), shares details of the minutes of the then Head of the Political Department in the India Office named John Percival Gibson. According to him, he minuted on August 1, 1944 that ‘he did not consider it necessary to acknowledge’ a cable Savarkar had sent to the Secretary of State for India, Leopald S Amery on July 26, 1944. It had claimed that the Mahasabha was ‘the only all-India representative body of Hindus’. Noorani notes that Savarkar adopted the same tactics normally adopted by fading politicians to remain in the news, which comprised not only issuing regular statements to the press, but to see to it that they are more and more rabid.

Definitely, the present Shiv Sena supremo would not be even aware of the fact that Savarkar had no qualms in hurriedly applauding Aiyar, the Dewan of Travancore, when he had exhibited the audacity of declaring the state independent. Qutoed in Frontline, A.G.Noorani says:
Sir C.P.Ramaswamy Aiyar, the Dewan of Travancore, had declared the state independent of India! The perfidy did not stop there. He gallantly and speedily appointed an ambassador from Travancore to Jinnah’s Pakistan, thus affirming once more his credentials as an inveterate enemy of India free and whole.And, for this treason, who lustily applauded Aiyar in all of India? Who else but “Veer” Savarkar?

And last but not the least, this iconisation of Savarkar by the Shiv Sena appears at variance with the own track record of the first government led by Shiv Sena-BJP in mid nineties, (with Shiv Sena as the senior partner) when Uddhav’s father Bal Thackreay used to boast that he has the remote control of the government with him. Uddhav will have to explain why never once they (neither Shiv Sena nor BJP) thought of putting Savarkar’s portrait in the state assembly.

Why were they careful enough to keep themselves aloof from Savarkar’s now ‘cherished legacy’?

Subhash Gatade is the author of Pahad Se Uncha Aadmi (2010) Godse’s Children: Hindutva Terror in India,(2011) and The Saffron Condition: The Politics of Repression and Exclusion in Neoliberal India(2011). He is also the Convener of New Socialist Initiative (NSI) Email :
subhash.gatade@gmail.com

Originally published in NewsClick
 

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A high-level meeting of India’s top rights  group, mines, minerals and People (mm&P), has decided to represent to President Pranab Kumar Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to implement the concept of "intergenerational equity” to make sure that the next generations are equal shareholders of the natural resources.

This unique concept, which is directed against corporate houses and other business interests seeking to mine away the natural wealth, has been coined by Goa Foundation, a Goa-based voluntary organization. The concept states, those who depend on natural resources alone are their rightful owners.

Participated by 236 activists, experts, grassroots workers and bureaucrats, the meeting at Kotagiri, Nilgiri Hills, Tamil Nadu, saw Rahul Basu of the Goa Foundation state that society and the government “must not forget that they are just trustees of natural resources and not their owners.”

Referring to what he called “aggressive mining activities and profit mongering crony capitalists' hunger for profit out of natural resources”, Basu stressed on the "public trust" doctrine and the "intergenerational equity" concept – which, he claimed, has been recognized by the Supreme Court as part of the Right to Life.

"The concept of "intergenerational equity would make sure that the next generations are also the equal shareholder of the natural resources”, he said, adding, "As a result of the recommendation from the Goa Foundation, the Supreme Court of India directed that the creation of the Goa Iron Ore Permanent Fund meant to be utilized for the future generations as equal shareholders of the natural resources.”

Following his intervention at the mm&P, the meeting passed a unanimous resolution on "intergenerational equity based on the understanding on public trust doctrine, calling for declaring minerals as shared inheritance.”

Addressed to the President and the Prime Minister of India, participants from all the 20 states signed the resolution, demanding for "intergenerational equity" policy in each and every mining area, and ensuring that it is implemented.

Participated, among others, by former deputy director, Geological Survey of India (GSI), Krishna Murthy, waterman of Rajasthan Rajendra Singh, and Gujarat’s veteran Gandhian tribal leader Ashok Choudhury, the meeting saw the participants regret that the concept of community rights over natural resources was “dying down.”

Krishna Murthy, former deputy-director of GSI expressed his concern over the impact of coal mining on environment and wildlife, saying, the growing demand for electricity for commercial purpose has led to corporate greed for more coal-based power plants, and this is “uprooting millions of lives and livelihoods.”

Speaking the way natural resources are being fleeced, Singh said, while the poor are forced to migrate due to the scarcity of water, private companies are granted permission to extract as much water as they can for their commercial use.

Choudhury regretted that both the Central and state governments are not respecting the rule of law and implementing the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA, 1996) in the tribal areas to empower tribals to have a complete say over natural resources.Speaking on the occasion, environmental activist CR Bijoy reminded the participants that only five out 17 states with sizable tribal population have so far framed PESA rules, while the rest are hesitant. “Most states are in fact displacing tribals from their lands", he added.
 

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A delegation of Jamiat Ulama-e Hind (Mahmood Madani group) met the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday (May 9) at the Prime Minister's official residence. The large delegation included some persons from outside Jamiat also like Prof. Akhtarul Wasey (VC, Maulana Azad University, Jodhpur), Dr. Zahir I Kazi (President of Anjuman-i-Islam, Mumbai and PA Inamdar (Chairman, Azam Campus, Pune).

According to a press release issued by the Jamiat, the meeting lasted for about two hours. Later, talking to media, Mahmood Madani, General Secretary of his group of Jamiat, described the meeting as "satisfactory and positive". He said, "the PM heard us passionately and agreed with our concerns."

Madani further said, "Our meeting with the PM was mainly for opening the door of mutual communication and closer understanding that would lead to further opportunities and all of us will be able to play our role in the development of our country." Madani added that he asked the Prime Minister to create a mechanism for further dialogue between the PM and the Indian Muslim community.

This was the first such high-level meeting of leaders of the Indian Muslim community with Prime Minister Narendra Modi who came to power three years ago but was shunned until now by the Muslim community. A few days earlier Mahmood Madani group had said that it has asked for time to meet the PM.

Soon after Modi's coming to power, at least three high-level meetings were held by Muslim community leaders including one called by Maulana Mahmood Madani himself in his Masjid Abdun Nabi office in Delhi, in which it was decided unanimously that no Muslim group will meet Modi who was held responsible not only for Gujarat 2002 riots, fake encounters but also for creating in the country an atmosphere of hate against the Muslim community.

The leaders had decided that should a need arise to meet the PM, it should be a joint delegation that will go to meet him. Today’s delegation did not include any leader of leading Indian Muslim organizations like Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat, Jamaat-e Islami Hind and Markazi Jamiat Ahl-e Hadees or institutions like Muslim Personal Law Board or Darul Uloom Deoband.

By meeting the PM today with only a Jamiat delegation, Mahmood Madani group has broken the Muslim ranks.  
 

Maulana Madni and others who met PM speak to the media

Following is the full unedited text of the press release issued Jamiat Ulama-e Hind after this meeting:

Delegation of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind consisting of a galaxy of religious scholars, Educationists and Social leaders led by Maulana Qari Mohammad Usman Mansurpuri, President Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind met Prime Minister Narender Modi today at his residence in New Delhi. The delegation discussed with the PM several issues including the current communal situation of the country.

Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind president Maulana Qari Usman and its general secretary Maulana Mahmood Madani while speaking to the media after conclusion of the meeting that continued for about two hours, said that the meeting was satisfactory and positive. Maulana Mahmood Madani said the PM heard us passionately and agreed with our concerns. He said, PM also appreciated our stand that the divorce was internal issue of the Muslim community and the community itself should take reformative steps.

Our meeting with the PM was mainly for opening the door of mutual communication and closer understanding that would lead to further opportunities and all of us will be able to play our role in the development of our country. We requested from Honorable PM to create mechanism for access to him or his appointee for continuing dialogue and closer understanding so that Muslim community is assured of its role and share in the development of our country. Maulana Madani
said PM was apprehensive about growing hatred in the name of cow protection and he assured us that he would not let this trend prosper.

On this occasion, the delegation submitted a memorandum which text is hereunder.

To the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India

We are very grateful to you that you granted this opportunity to the delegation of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind consisting of a galaxy of religious scholars, educationists and social leaders led by Maulana Qari Mohammad Usman Mansurpuri, President Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind to meet their Prime Minister.

The basic objective of the meeting is to establish closer interaction between the government and the Muslim community on issues of larger national interest which has been highlighted by the Honorable Prime  Minister himself through the slogans like “Sab ka Sath Sab ka Vikas and Meri Sarkar Sabki Sarkar’’. We are of the opinion that most important national issues can be solved through mutual dialogue.

Supremacy of Rule of Law is must for the security, integrity and development of our country. No one is above the law. It must be administered with total impartiality and equality. Your recent reprimand to private groups taking law in their hands and launching murderous attacks for salvaging cows has sent the correct message but much has to be done by law enforcing agencies and the state administration.

The recent incidents of manslaughter on the pretext of cow slaughter have sent shock waves of terror and fear through Muslim, Dalit and the weakest sections of the society. We are afraid that the fear and despondence if unchecked could prove highly counterproductive.

There is no doubt that terrorism, fueled and perpetuated by enemy forces tops our agenda with reference to our national security, peace and stability. There have been attempts to communalise even this issue. We have always condemned such attempt and consistently campaigned at the national level in cooperation with all communities against terrorism as well as religious bigotry and extremism.

We are happy to note that in the context of tarnishing the image of Islam and Muslim globally you made the Indian Muslim communities hold their head high by projecting Indian Muslim community’s ideology of peaceful Islam with reference to India’s tradition of Islamic Sufism and their aversion to extremist ideology.

We appreciate this on your part and on our part reiterate our commitment to enable India lead counter terrorism campaign by example. However, for controlling the menace of terrorism, the law must be enforced effectively with total impartiality. Every caution should be exercised to ensure that no innocent person is victimized.

Muslim community has issues and grievances just like any other community which have to be dealt with as per the exigency but this shouldn't undermine their aspiration to be equal stake holder. These issues should be deliberated upon and solved amicably so that none of the communities have a feeling of discrimination on the basis of religion and they feel their duty and share in the country’s development equally which tallies with identity of our beloved country.

The delegation requests the Honorable PM to create mechanism for access to him or his appointee for continuing dialogue and closer understanding so that Muslim community is assured of its role and share in the development of our country.

We once again, thank you and hope that door of mutual communication and closer understanding that has been opened today, will lead to further opportunities and all of us will be able to play our role in the development of our country.

With highest regards

The delegation includes

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