News Analysis India

Tag: Samajwadi Party

  • COVID-19: Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan in critical condition, on oxygen support

    By ANI
    LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan is on oxygen support and his condition is critical, informed Medanta Hospital, Lucknow on Saturday.

    “Condition of Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan is critical. He is on oxygen support,” said Medanta Hospital, Lucknow. Khan was shifted to Lucknow’s Medanta Hospital from Sitapur jail on May 9 where he is undergoing treatment for the coronavirus disease.

    His son Abdullah Khan was also shifted to the same hospital. The father-son duo had tested positive for COVID-19 on April 30. Azam Khan’s health suddenly deteriorated on May 9 following which he along with his son was sent to Lucknow by an ambulance.

    Khan has been lodged in Sitapur jail since February last year with more than a hundred cases registered against him. His son has also been lodged in Sitapur jail in several cases filed against him.

  • COVID-infected Azam Khan’s condition serious but under control, says hospital

    By PTI
    LUCKNOW: Senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan’s condition is serious but under control, the private hospital where he is undergoing treatment for COVID-19 said on Wednesday.

    The condition of his son, Mohammad Abdullah Khan, is stable, and he is being monitored by doctors, it added.

    “Treatment of Azam Khan (72) was started, after cavity and fibrosis was found in his lungs. Today (Wednesday), he needed 3-5 litres of oxygen. He is kept under the observation of a critical care team. His condition is serious, but under control. He is under observation of critical care team,” a statement issued by the Medanta Hospital, Lucknow, said.

    An expert team of the critical care unit of the Medanta Hospital is making continuous efforts for his better treatment, it added.

    Azam Khan and his son were shifted from a Sitapur prison to the hospital for coronavirus treatment on May 9.

  • COVID-infected Azam Khan’s condition critical but under control, says hospital

    By PTI
    LUCKNOW: The condition of senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan is critical yet under control, said a Lucknow hospital on Tuesday.

    “On May 25, the treatment of Azam Khan (72) was started, after cavity and fibrosis was found in his lungs. Today, he needed 5 litres of oxygen. He is kept under the observation of a critical care team. His condition is critical, but under control,” the statement issued by Medanta Hospital said.

    The condition of his son Mohammad Abdullah Khan is stable and he is being monitored by doctors, it said.

    An expert team of the critical care unit of Medanta Hospital is making continuous efforts for his better treatment, the statement said.

    Azam Khan and his son were shifted from a Sitapur jail to the hospital for coronavirus treatment on May 9.

  • COVID-infected Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan’s condition stable: Hospital

    Khan and his son Abdullah were shifted from the Sitapur jail to Medanta Hospital here on May 9 for coronavirus treatment.

  • Ramanagar’s BJP MLA ‘missing’ amid COVID crisis, claim posters in UP’s Barabanki

    By PTI
    BARABANKI: Some posters surfaced here claiming that the BJP’s Ramnagar MLA has gone missing amid the coronavirus crisis and announced a reward of Rs 1,000 in cash if someone tells about his whereabouts.

    BJP MLA Sharad Awasthi dismissed the allegations levelled against him in the posters that surfaced at Adra village and blamed the Samajwadi Party for it.

    The posters read that anyone providing information about the MLA will be given Rs 1,000 in cash.

    The posters also said during the COVID-19 pandemic, the MLA did not help people at Adra village.

    The village is facing a number of problems and when villagers went to meet the MLA at his residence, he did not meet them, the posters said.

    Meanwhile, refuting the allegations, the MLA claimed that he has visited his constituency 10 times after the Lok Sabha elections.

    On the posters, Awasthi said some days ago, a dispute had taken place over the construction of a drain at Adra village.

    Owing to his engagement in the COVID relief work, he could not reach the spot and people out of anger put up posters against him.

  • SP leader Azam Khan’s condition stable, next 72 hours critical: Hospital

    Azam Khan and his son Abdullah were shifted from the Sitapur jail to Medanta hospital here in Lucknow for coronavirus treatment, officials said.

  • COVID-infected Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan shifted to ICU of Lucknow hospital

    By PTI
    LUCKNOW: A day after he was admitted to the Medanta Hospital here with coronavirus infection, Samajwadi Party leader and Rampur Lok Sabha MP Azam Khan was shifted to the facility’s Covid-19 ICU, and is being taken care of by a team of doctors, the hospital said on Monday.

    The 72-year-old leader and his son Abdullah Khan were confirmed Covid-19 positive on April 30 and they were admitted to the private hospital from the Sitapur jail on Sunday, May 9.

    In a health bulletin released here on Monday, the hospital said Azam Khan’s oxygen needs shot up during the day to “10 litres per minute”, which is why “the critical care team of the Medanta Hospital, Lucknow, shifted him to the Covid ICU”.

    “He in under intense treatment of the doctors there,” the hospital said.

    On the 30-year-old Abdullah Khan’s status, the hospital said his condition is “stable and satisfactory” Medanta Hospital (Lucknow) Director Dr Rakesh Kapoor had told PTI on Sunday that Azam Khan had had moderate symptoms when he was admitted.

    “Azam Khan has fever, and has been kept on four litres of oxygen. His tests are being conducted, and accordingly his treatment will be done. His son is stable,” Kapoor had told PTI on Sunday.

    Azam Khan, along with his son and wife Tazeen Fatma, was lodged in the jail in February last year in connection with various cases.

    The Allahabad High Court had in December granted bail to Tazeen Fatma in all 34 cases registered against her.

    On May 2, the jail administration tried to convince Azam Khan for treatment at Lucknow’s King George’s Medical University but the SP leader had refused to move out of the jail.

    However, he could be convinced on Sunday and was admitted to the Medanta Hospital.

    A team of doctors from the district hospital, including Sitapur CMO Madhu Garola, had examined Azam Khan on Sunday.

    Thirteen other inmates had also tested positive for COVID-19 after they complained of fever and cough on April 29, a jail official had said earlier.

  • All is not well in UP? Union Minister, Opposition rap Yogi government’s COVID-19 management

    By Express News Service
    LUCKNOW: Despite repeated assurances of Uttar Pradesh government that it was taking all efforts to contain the Covid pandemic in the BJP-ruled state, some Parliament members of the ruling party have been flagging the scathing issues faced by the public in their constituencies. 

    On Sunday Union minister and eight-time BJP MP from Bareilly constituency, Santosh Gangwar wrote to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, highlighting the problems faced by Covid patients and their families.

    The veteran politician of the ruling party has also suggested some measures to improve the healthcare facilities in the district as well as the state.

    Gangwar has alleged that senior officers of the state medical department in Bareilly district were not attending phone calls of patients and attendants.  

    The union minister also raised the issue of people storing oxygen cylinders in their house as a precautionary measure, which was adding to the scarcity of medical oxygen in the district.

    There is an urgent need for identifying such people who are unnecessarily storing oxygen or are even black-marketing the cylinders, the MP said.

    He also raised the issue of patients being forced to run from one hospital to another in the name of referral letter. He suggested the UP CM to set up oxygen plants in Bareilly to ease in dealing with the increased demand of oxygen in the state.

    While pointing fingers at black-marketing of essential medical equipment used in hospitals, Gangwar suggested the chief minister that prices of medical equipment should be capped, while private hospitals registered under MSME should be given fiscal support.

    Just two days ago, BJP’s Lok Sabha member from Kanpur, Satyadev Pachauri had written a letter to the UP CM, mentioning that Covid-19 patients weren’t getting good treatment and many of them were losing lives outside their homes, outside hospitals or even in ambulances in Kanpur in want of adequate life-saving treatment.

    Pachauri had also suggested that the UP government should make all possible preparations now for combating the expected third wave of the fatal viral infection.

    Prior to it, Kaushal Kishor, BJP MP from Mohanlalganj in Lucknow district, too had written to the CM raising concern over shortage of medical oxygen, life-saving medicines and other necessary hospital equipment in Lucknow district.

    Meanwhile, Opposition Congress and Samajwadi Party on Sunday accused the Uttar Pradesh government of making false claims about controlling the COVID-19 situation in the state and “manipulating data”.

    They alleged that the administrative machinery and health services in the state are “completely paralysed” and the pandemic is spreading fast in villages as migrants returning home are not being tested.

    For days now, Uttar Pradesh has figured among the 10 biggest contributors to India’s COVID-19 tally.

    According to an official statement, the state recorded 23,333 fresh COVID-19 cases on Sunday that pushed its tally to 15,03,490 while 296 more fatalities took the death toll to 15,464.

    Every day, hundreds of COVID-19 deaths are being reported in Uttar Pradesh and most of them are due to the shortage of oxygen or medicines, state Congress chief Ajay Kumar Lallu said in a statement.

    This is frightening, but more frightening is the “manipulation of figures” by the government.

    But those who are losing their near and dear ones are exposing the government’s claims, he said.

    The state government is trying to act like an ostrich by burying its head in the sand, he added.

    Citing official data, Lallu said in the week starting April 24, 66 COVID-19 deaths were reported from Kanpur but according to data collected from crematoria, 462 people were cremated.

    Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said statements made by the Uttar Pradesh government claiming that coronavirus has been controlled in the state can prove to be more fatal than the pandemic.

    Coronavirus is spreading fast in villages.

    Labourers reaching their villages are not being tested.

    The administrative machinery and health services are “completely paralysed”, he claimed.

    Yadav further claimed that BJP MLAs and MPs are now openly expressing their “anger” over the functioning of the state government.

    “In Bareilly, Union minister, MP and MLAs have conveyed the reality to the chief minister,” he said.

    The “bitter truth” is that the state is drowning in gloom due to deaths while Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is busy undertaking air trips, he added.

    Union minister Santosh Gangwar has complained to Adityanath about COVID-19 management in Bareilly, saying officials don’t take calls and government health centres send back patients for “referrals” from the district hospital.

    The Union Labour minister, in a letter that was handed over to Adityanath during his visit to Bareilly on Saturday, has also complained about the “big shortage” of empty oxygen cylinders and the high prices of medical equipment in his Lok Sabha constituency.

    The total number of COVID-19 cases in Uttar Pradesh surged to 15,03,490 on Sunday as 23,333 more people tested positive for the disease while 296 more fatalities pushed the death toll to 15,464.

    This is the second consecutive day when daily deaths have remained below the 300-mark.

    On Saturday, the state had recorded 298 COVID-19 deaths.

    Lucknow reported the highest number of fresh cases at 1,436, followed by 1,425 in Meerut and 1,042 in Saharanpur, the Uttar Pradesh government said in a statement issued here.

    Of the 296 deaths, 26 each were reported from Lucknow and Kanpur, 15 from Jhansi, 13 from Bahraich, 11 from Ghazipur and 10 from Gautam Buddh Nagar, it said.

    As many as 34,636 COVID-19 patients were discharged in a day after they recovered from the disease, taking the total number of recoveries to 12,54,045, the statement said.

    The number of active COVID-19 cases in the state stands at 2,33,981, it stated.

    More than 2.29 lakh samples were tested in the state the previous day.

    With this, over 4.29 crore samples have been tested so far, it said.

    (With PTI Inputs)

  • UP panchayat polls: Rival sides claim grand show as party symbols not used for contest

    By PTI
    LUCKNOW: As counting of votes polled in the panchayat polls progressed across Uttar Pradesh, political parties Tuesday claimed sterling performances, apparently taking advantage of the fact that these elections were not contested on party symbols.

    A senior State Election Commission (SEC) official said Tuesday evening that counting of votes was likely to continue late into the night.

    He, however, could not specify on how many seats counting was underway.

    The counting of votes began Sunday morning at more than 825 centres across the 75 districts of Uttar Pradesh.

    Over 8.69 lakh posts were up for grabs in these polls.

    Of these posts, more than 7.32 lakh seats were in the gram panchayat wards, 58,176 in the gram panchayats, 75,852 in the kshetra (block) panchayats and 3,050 in the zila panchayats.

    The BJP has claimed 918 party candidates have been elected for zila panchayats while over 500 are leading.

    In a statement issued here, Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Swatantra Deo Singh claimed on Monday that in the three-tier panchayat election in the state, over 45,000 party-supported candidates have won the post of village pradhan, while more than 60,000 party-supported candidates have emerged victorious as members of kshetra panchayats.

    “As many as 918 party-supported candidates have won the post of members of zila panchayat,” he had said.

    “On more than 450 seats, the party-supported candidates have taken a decisive lead,” Singh had said, attributing the performances to rural development and farmers’ welfare ensured by the Yogi Adityanath government in the state.

    The Samajwadi Party too claimed a big victory over the BJP in the polls.

    The SP claimed it had won more than half of the posts in district panchayats, while alleging the administration was not handing over certificates to its candidates.

    An SP office-bearer said it has so far won over 800 seats of district panchayat members (out of total 3,050).

    He alleged that BJP men are misusing official machinery and counting independent candidates as those supported by them.

    The SP has not yet released the list of its winning candidates.

    Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav, meanwhile, on Tuesday claimed that in the UP panchayat polls people gave first priority to his party and said that they did a tremendous job to save the democracy by electing his party candidates.

    “Even in the Prime Minister’s constituency (Varanasi) and CM’s turf (Gorakhpur), the BJP had to taste defeat. In Lucknow too, the BJP had to taste defeat despite misuse of official machinery,” the SP chief said.

    He said, “The panchayat election results showed that the BJP is now a sinking ship. Signals emanating from the panchayat polls in the state show that the BJP will be wiped out in 2022 (UP Assembly elections),” he said.

    “A few days are left for the formation of the SP government and removal of the present BJP government,” the opposition leader said.

    Besides the BJP and the Samajwadi Party, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) too claimed big wins in the Uttar Pradesh panchayat election.

    AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said 70 candidates backed by his party were elected as zila panchayat members.

    Over 200 AAP members bagged village pradhan posts, he said.

    The Congress on Tuesday claimed that 389 party supported candidates have won the zila panchayat members’ post in the ongoing panchayat elections in Uttar Pradesh, a senior party leader said.

    “As many as 389 party supported candidates have won the zila panchayat members’ post in the ongoing panchayat elections in the state,” UP Congress chief Ajay Kumar Lallu told PTI.

    He said that a large number of party-backed candidates have won the post of pradhan of village panchayats as well.

    The state election commission said over 3.19 lakh candidates were elected unopposed in the panchayat election.

    Votes were being counted to declare results for over 3.27 lakh panchayat posts.

    The rest of the posts remained uncontested, the commission said.

    Uttar Pradesh held panchayat polls in four phases ending April 29.

    The election was held at four levels of panchayat bodies, gram panchayat, gram pradhan, block panchayat and zila panchayat.

  • District administration not allowing me to set up oxygen plant in Budaun: Former MP

    By PTI
    BADAUN: Former Lok Sabha MP from Budaun and senior Samajwadi Party leader Dharmendra Yadav on Saturday claimed that the district administration has denied him the permission to set up an oxygen plant at the government medical college here.

    Budaun District Magistrate Deepa Ranjan, however, said he has not received any such proposal in writing from Yadav, and he can submit a letter in this regard.

    Yadav claimed that he wants to set up the oxygen plant using his own resources, but the district administration has not given permission for it.

    The SP leader said if he gets the permission in this hour of crisis, “there will be no deaths due to lack of oxygen”.

    “At this point of time, rising above politics, permission should be granted to set up the oxygen plant. Whatever be the cost of the plant, the money will be arranged for it,” he said.

    The DM said if Yadav collects money and gives it to the administration, then the tendering will be done, and if he wants to set up an oxygen plant using his own fund, then the permission for it has to be sought from the government.