Won't quit, says Dilma Rousseff

President Dilma Rousseff said Monday she is “indignant” over a congressional vote to open impeachment proceedings against her and vowed to fight what she called the injustice. She again categorically ruled out resigning.

In her first public appearance since the Chamber of Deputies voted 367—137 late Sunday to send the impeachment proceedings to the Senate for a possible trial, Brazil’s first female president appeared shaken but delivered a message of defiance.

Ms. Rousseff repeated the words “indignant,” “injustice” and “wronged” dozens of times during her news conference in the presidential palace. She also repeated her long-stated position that she hasn’t done anything illegal and is the victim of a “coup” orchestrated by her political foes.

“Today more than anything I feel wronged wronged because this process doesn’t have any legal basis,” she said. She said the feeling of being unjustly accused is among the worst sensations.

The impeachment proceedings against Rousseff are based on accusations that illegal accounting tricks by her administration allowed her to use government spending to shore up flagging support before elections.

Ms. Rousseff says previous administrations used such fiscal maneuvers without repercussions and insists the accusations are a flimsy excuse by Brazil’s traditional ruling elite to grab power back from her left—leaning Workers’ Party, which has governed for 13 years.

She slammed the impeachment effort as an act of “violence against democracy.”

“I’m not going to cowed; I won’t let myself be paralyzed by this,” Ms. Rousseff said, adding- “I have the energy, strength and courage to confront this injustice.”

Ms. Rousseff lashed out at her nemesis, Chamber of Deputies Speaker Eduardo Cunha, the driving force behind the impeachment move. As No. 2 in line to succeed Rousseff, Cunha has been charged with taking $5 million in bribes in a sprawling corruption scheme at the State-run Petrobras oil giant.

The Petrobras investigation has also implicated many other top political players, including Vice President Michel Temer, who would fill in for Ms. Rousseff if the Senate decides to put her on trial. Ms. Rousseff herself has not been implicated in the case.

“There are no bribery accusations against me, no accusations that I accepted illicit payouts. I wasn’t accused of having foreign banks accounts,” she said.

Rousseff said it was an injustice that those leading the charge against her do face such allegations. “For that reason, I feel wronged.”

Sunday’s vote plunged Brazil into further uncertainty as it struggles with the worst recession in decades and the corruption scandal while preparing to host the Olympic Games in August.

It also left the country more deeply divided than ever.

Many hold Rousseff responsible for everything from the spiralling recession to chronic high taxes and poor public services and have long rooted for her ouster. But others credit the Workers’ Party with lifting tens of millions of poor Brazilians from destitution over the past decade and they decry the impeachment process as anti—democratic.

With the impeachment documents handed over from the lower house to the Senate on Monday, Ms. Rousseff’s fight for survival will now focus on winning support in that legislative body, where an initial vote on the impeachment is expected in about around two weeks. If a majority there votes to put Ms. Rousseff on trial, she would be suspended while the vice president took over her duties.

PM invokes Vajpayee, moots development of Kashmir

"Both the Centre and the State government will work shoulder to shoulder for carrying forward J&K on the path of development".

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday pledged support to Jammu and Kashmir’s development agenda and reached out to people by referring to the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s Kashmir legacy, which sought solution to political problems too.

“Both the Centre and the State government will work shoulder to shoulder for carrying forward J&K on the path of development,” said Mr. Modi.

He inaugurated a super-specialty hospital at Katra and addressed the fifth convocation of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University in Jammu. It was his first visit since Mehbooba Mufti took over as new Chief Minister.

Rekindling Mr. Vajpayee’s Kashmir legacy, at a time when a weeklong turmoil left five civilians dead in the Valley, Mr. Modi indicated his willingness to follow in the former PM’s footsteps.

“People of J&K had enormous faith in Vajpayee ji. He used to say ‘Insaniyat, Kashmiriyat and Jamhooriyat (Humanity, Kashmiryat and Democracy)’ are keys to progress in J&K. We have to take the State to new heights through these pillars.”

Praising the late Mufti Muhammad Sayeed, Mr. Modi said, “We remember Mufti Sahab. One thing was always on his mind: to bridge the gap between Jammu and Srinagar.”

In her speech, without mentioning the National Institute of Technology episode, Ms. Mufti said: “J&K is a mini-India. People of all faiths live here. Our outstation students should leave with sweet memories and become ‘goodwill ambassadors’ of J&K in the rest of the country.

“We have witnessed several tragic incidents in the past, like in Baljarala, Chittisinghpora and more recently in Handwara, where innocent people have been fatally caught in the vortex of violence. We need to take immediate steps to end this permanently.”

Indian economy like ‘one-eyed’ king in land of blind: Rajan

WASHINGTON, APRIL 16:  

With India being often described as ‘the bright spot in the global economy’, Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan sees this as a case of “the one-eyed man” being king in the land of the blind.

Amid gloomy global economic conditions, the Indian economy has been described by many as one of the few bright spots, including by IMF, while RBI under Rajan has also been credited with necessary steps to minimise the impact of external shocks on the country’s financial system.

“I think we have still to get to a place where we feel satisfied. We have this saying — ‘In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king’. We are a little bit that way,” Rajan said when asked for his take on the ‘bright spot’ theory and what was his “secret sauce” to ensure this positioning.

Rajan, a former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund and an on-leave professor of finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, was here for spring meetings of the World Bank and the IMF, as also for the G20 Meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors.

“We feel things are turning to the point where we could achieve what we believe is our medium-run growth potential. Because things are falling into place. Investment is starting to pick up strongly. We have a fair degree of macro-stability. Of course, not immune to every shock, but immune to a fair number of shocks,” Rajan said in an interview to MarketWatch.

MarketWatch is published by Dow Jones & Co and is part of The Wall Street Digital Network.

Rajan, known to have frank views on the state of affairs in the Indian and global economy, said “a bunch of good things have happened” in India, but there were “still some things to do”.

He listed achievements on fronts such as the current account and fiscal deficit and said inflation has come down from 11 per cent to below 5 per cent, making room for interest rates to come down.

“Of course, structural reforms are ongoing. The government is engaged in bringing out a new bankruptcy code. There is a Goods and Services Tax on the anvil. But there is a lot of exciting stuff which is already happening,” he said.

Rajan recalled a new platform he launched last week that allows mobile-to-mobile transfers between any two bank accounts in India.

“It is a public platform, so anybody can participate. It is not owned by any one company unlike Apple Pay or Android Pay or whatever. I think it is the first of its kind.

“So, technological developments are happening and making for a more, hopefully, reasonable life for a lot of people. Let’s see how it goes,” he said.

(This article was published on April 16, 2016)

CRIMINALLY-INDICTED KETAN DESAI AND IMA CLAIMS CREDIT FOR SUPREME COURT ALLOWING COMMON NATIONAL ENTRANCE TEST (NEET) FOR DOCTORS

by PBTINDIA on APRIL 14, 2016

Hearing a review petition earlier this week, a 5-member Supreme Court bench has allowed, pending final judgment, for re-introduction of single National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) under sole control of the Medical Council of India (MCI) for admission in all graduate and post-graduate medical course in India. While PBT principally supports the idea of a common merit-based examination for admission in all medical colleges because it is likely to weed out unmeritorious students from wealthy families to become doctors by bribing leaders of political parties and owners of private medical colleges, but such an nation-wide NEET examination under control of the MCI, presently governed by unscrupulous members elected through a rigged election under the leadership of Dr. Ketan Desai, could open up even bigger doors for healthcare corruption.

In fact, soon after delivery of this interim order by the Apex Court, Indian Medical Association (IMA), which is ruled by Ketan Desai cronies, have already started a massive propaganda to promote Ketan Desai who is still waiting for criminal trial for alleged bribery and corruption since he was caught red-handed in 2010 for taking money from a private medical college while still working as MCI president. The Times of India (TOI) published from Desai’s home town, Ahmedabad, published an interview of Dr. Desai in which he has made boisterous claims that NEET will elevate the standard of medical education etc. (see the TOI report below). It is ironic that the biggest medical mafia in Indian history who is still facing criminal prosecution for bribery and corruption has started giving lecture on merit of doctors and so-called reputed newspapers have also started touting for the tainted doctor without even mentioning that Dr. Desai has been criminally indicted or that he is presently free on bail facing criminal prosecution. Tainted money and corruption Our PIL against the botched MCI election is still pending before the Apex Court as it is listed for final hearing on 4th July, 2016 after the Supreme Court opens following summer vacation.

US team distributes free pacemakers in Meerut

A medical team from the United States distributed free pacemakers to patients from economically weaker sections at a local hospital here on Tuesday. The team representing Boston Cardiac Foundation (BCF) also led a surgery to install pacemakers in 10 patients on Tuesday.

Meerut: A medical team from the United States distributed free pacemakers to patients from economically weaker sections at a local hospital here on Tuesday. The team representing Boston Cardiac Foundation (BCF) also led a surgery to install pacemakers in 10 patients on Tuesday.

Senior cardiologist at a city-based hospital, Dr Rajeev Agarwal said, "BCF comprises a large group of US-based doctors, some of whom are NRIs. The pacemaker camp was to be organized at the hospital in the second week of February this year. However, it was postponed to April. However, the main facilitator of the project and member of BCF, US-based Indian cardiologist Dr Salil Midha, is not part of the visit. There is no cap on how many pacemakers we can get. They help us as per our requirement."

The three-member team is led by Dr John O'mara and also comprises nurses Melanie Bersteeg and Kathy Minaham. Speaking to TOI, O'mara said, "The BCF has been working to help poor patients suffering from heart conditions in several countries. We have made several trips to India, Paraguay and Ethiopia. We have even made a few trips to Argentina. Our motivation is simple - the altruistic need to help other human beings."

Minaham said, "Each individual machine costs between $2,000 and $3,000 (Rs 1.3-2 lakh). The machines are donated by the company that manufactures them. However, this does not include the cost of all other resources that are used in the procedure. Those are donated by the Melrose-Wakefield Hospital in Boston."

Raigarh doctor's warning seal leaves patients scared

Next time you go to Raigarh Medical College in Chhattisgarh with an ailment don't be scared.A doctor posted at Raigarh Medical College in Chhattisgarh offers his patients little assurance of cure.

Raipur: Next time you go to Raigarh Medical College in Chhattisgarh with an ailment don't be scared. A doctor posted at Raigarh Medical College in Chhattisgarh offers his patients little assurance of cure. At the bottom of each prescription, he puts down his seal, which cautions, "No guarantee."

Dr S N Nandan is considered an expert in medicine. Patients are puzzled and traumatized by his warning. "If doctor will not offer us an assurance, who will?" asks some of his poor, tribal patients. Dr Nandan, however, has no regrets. "I have spent Rs 800 on the seal. I will continue to use it.

These days, I'm forced to offer this caveat. Not because I think my treatment is not right, but because I have little faith in pharma companies and their medicines," he said.

CWG scam: Court accepts CBI’s closure report in corruption case

Posted on April 07, 2016 from Maharashtra ι Report #82421

A special court has accepted CBI’s closure report in an alleged corruption case relating to the 2010 Commonwealth Games against several officials of the Central Public Works Department (CPWD), Delhi Development Authority (DDA), a private firm and its director. This report was originally published in The Indian Express.

Accepting the closure report, Special CBI Judge Ajay Kumar Jain observed that evidence collected by the agency during its probe in the case lodged in 2012 did not establish the offences alleged against the persons named in the FIR.

“Oral and documentary evidence collected (by CBI) during investigation do not establish the alleged offence against the accused persons. Accordingly, the closure report stands accepted,” the judge said.

The case was registerd by CBI against various officials of the CPWD, DDA, a private firm — M/s Shiv Naresh Sports Pvt Ltd — and one of its directors for the alleged offences under sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) read with 420 (cheating) of IPC and under provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act.

In its FIR, CBI had alleged that these accused had entered into a criminal conspiracy to cheat government over the construction of five synthetic athletic tracks at various sporting venues for the 2010 games.

It was alleged that contract for these works was awarded for Rs 60.37 crore in favour of Shiv Naresh Sports Pvt Ltd at exorbitant rates by wrongfully justifying the rates, thereby causing undue pecuniary gain to contractor and corresponding wrongful loss to the government.

The agency had also claimed that the joint tendering committee had wilfully moulded the eligibility criteria in the
tenders to favour the company which did not have technical expertise and experience.

After conducting the investigation, CBI filed a report in the court seeking closure of the case saying no evidence was found in the matter against any of the persons and the company named in the FIR.

It said the allegations that eligibility criteria was moulded in favour of the firm was not substantiated during its probe and it was also found that the company had executed such works in the past.

Originally published in The Indian Express

The more things are supposed to change, the more they remain the same. someone said congress & BJP are two sides of the same coin. If any proof is needed, it is provided. Now, Modi has asked the CBI not to build a case against the Congress in the CWG scam, just as he did in Bengal on the Sarada scam. So Mamta is jumping, creating one scam after another, the latest being the supplier's syndicate scam for  which a bridge collapsed and lives were lost.