62 Coronavirus deaths In India, 478 new cases in 24 hours

New Delhi: Sixty-two people have died after being infected by the novel coronavirus, the government said today. Across the country the number of confirmed cases is now 2,547, with 478 new cases detected in the past 24 hours. A total of 163 people have been discharged from hospitals after receiving treatment. Confirmed COVID-19 cases have been reported from 211 districts across the country, up from 161 on March 29 and 75 on March 22. Worldwide the number of COVID-19 positive cases has crossed 1 million, with over 50,000 dead. On Thursday the World Bank approved $1 billion in emergency financing for India to tackle the outbreak. This morning Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation, via a brief video message, for the second time since a nationwide 21-day “total lockdown” was initiated. The centre, meanwhile, has identified 13 coronavirus hotspots across the country.
‘Order drafted by a Section Officer who failed in his law degree , absorbed in govt service on compassionate grounds”, Says Amitabh Matoo on domicile order
Srinagar: When political leaders across Jammu and Kashmir are expressing concern against the new domicile law, Intellectual and former Advisor to deceased Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed, Amitabh Matoo Friday said that the draft regarding the domicile law has been prepared by a Section Officer who probably failed in his law degree.
Under the domicile law, anyone who has resided in J&K for 15 years or has studied in the state for seven years, and appeared in either the Class 10 or the Class 12 examinations, will be eligible for domicile certificates. This would allow them to apply for gazetted and non-gazetted government jobs.
Amitabh Matoo who declined to talk over the matter to Kashmir News Trust in a tweet said: “It (Domicile Law) is an order drafted by a Section Officer who probably failed his law degree and was then absorbed in government service under SRO-43 on compassionate grounds.”
His tweet was liked by people both hailing from Kashmir as well as Jammu while most of the netizens hailed him for his outspokenness.
“But what about those higher-ups who approved that draft in chain of command,” asked Ramesh Mehta. Another said that both people of Kashmir and Jammu should get united over the matter which is totally in discriminatory in nature.
Pertinently, people of Jammu and Kashmir and the politicians cutting across the party lines have expressed concern against the new domicile law.
Thursday this week, National Panthers Party leader Harsh Dev Singh staged a protest against this domicile law terming it anti-people and a source of depriving original inhabitants of Jammu and Kashmir of their livelihood.
Almost every political leader including Omar Abdullah, Syed Altaf Bukhari, Iltija Mufti have castigated Government of India over the new domicile law.
“J&K’s new domicile law is part of a diabolical demographic project that began on 5th August with Article 370 abrogation. Imposing it in times of a global pandemic reveals a callous & paranoid mindset wilfully violating consent to ensure subjugation, wrote Iltija Mufti adding that they are in a maddening rush to appropriate our land & resources. Wonder why they don’t show the same sense of urgency to save lives of thousands of Kashmiris jailed in & outside J&K?”
Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah wrote: “Talk about suspect timing. At a time when all our efforts & attention should be focused on the #COVID outbreak, the government slips in a new domicile law for J&K. Insult is heaped on injury when we see the law offers none of the protections that had been promised.”
In the next tweet, he said: ” You can imagine how hollow the domicile law is from the fact that even the new party created with Delhi’s blessings, whose leaders were lobbying in Delhi for this law, have been forced to criticise the domicile law.”
The order in this regard was issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Department of Jammu and Kashmir. The domiciles include children of those central government officials; All India services officers, officials of public sector undertaking and autonomous body of the central government, public sector banks, officials of statutory bodies, officials of central universities and recognized research institutes of the central government who have served in Jammu and Kashmir for a total period of ten years. The order has reserved fourth class jobs for residents of J&K