Ramdev says history will not forgive Manmohan for “political sin”

With the government toughening its stand against Baba Ramdev, the yoga guru on Tuesday said he forgave the Prime Minister for the crackdown on his agitation but history will not forgive him for the “political sin” he committed.

“The Prime Minister termed it (the police action) unfortunate. In a way he has accepted his sin. Since he has accepted his sin, I have forgiven him,” Baba Ramdev told reporters here.

“I have personally forgiven him but the history of not only India but the whole world will never forgive him for the political sin he committed. He has tainted democracy,” Baba Ramdev, who is continuing his satyagraha here, said.

The yoga guru was reacting to Dr. Singh’s remarks on Monday that “it was unfortunate that the operation had to be conducted but quite honestly, there was no alternative.”

Baba Ramdev also attacked the Congress for ridiculing his escape in a women’s dress from the ground, saying even Maratha warrior Shivaji had escaped in disguise to secure the nation.

“If anybody saves his life for securing the nation, they won’t like it. Even Shivaji had saved his life. But these people do not accept Shivaji as their ideal. Their target is to protect terrorists and kill Baba.”

Congress general secretary Janardan Dwivedi had on MOnday said, “A satyagrahi does not run away stealthily wearing women’s dress. Satyagrahi is always ready to sacrifice his life“.

Baba Ramdev also alleged there could be “five kinds of conspiracies” to eliminate him at the Ramlila ground from where he was evicted after his talks with the Government to end the fast failed.

The yoga guru said that he suspects that the police would now edit the recordings made by the CCTV cameras installed at the ground in a bid to wipe out the evidence so that they escape action.

“We had put CCTV cameras in the camp, which recorded the events. If the police had not done anything wrong, why did they took away the footages forcibly. This is clear cut goondaism of the police.

“Our workers who had gone there have been embroiled in false cases under a conspiracy. The police will now edit the footage and then release after deleting portions so that no action follows against them,” Baba Ramdev said.

Baba Ramdev said there could be conspiracies to kill him by strangulating, burning the stage on which he was sitting and shooting him.

He said the government’s argument that there was a threat of terrorist attack on him could be the fifth conspiracy to eliminate him and alleged that an e-mail has been “manufactured” by the government to make it convincing.

No confirmation yet of Kashmiri’s death: U.S.

The U.S. has so far no confirmation of the killing of al Qaeda commander Ilyas Kashmiri in a drone strike in Pakistan, both the State and Defence departments have said, contradicting Premier Yusuf Raza Gilani’s claim that Washington had confirmed the death.

“I don’t have any confirmation of that,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters at his daily news conference, when asked about news reports from Pakistan in which Mr. Gilani apparently said that the U.S. has confirmed the death of Kashmiri in a drone attack.

When asked about Kashmiri’s killing, Mr. Gilani told a news conference in Quetta on Monday: “As far as the death of Ilyas Kashmiri is concerned, America has confirmed that his death occurred on Friday”. But Mr. Toner said there was no confirmation yet.

“I’m aware of those press reports, but I don’t have any... I both have no comment and no way of confirming his death,” he said.

The Pentagon too said it has no confirmation of Kashmiri’s death. “The Department of Defence has no confirmation (on the death of Kashmiri),” Pentagon spokesman, Col Dave Lapan, told reporters during his off camera daily briefing when asked to comment.

Kashmiri is believed to have died in a U.S. drone attack in South Waziristan last Friday but there has been no official confirmation of the killing.

Kashmiri’s militant group HuJI, though has confirmed on its own that its commander had died in the drone strike.

The bodies of the nine people killed in the drone strike were buried immediately and officials could not reach the lawless region.

State government fails to deliver Morphine to advanced cancer patients

Morphine is the first line of treatment for advanced cancer patients
Equivalents are expensive and not recommended by most oncologists

Cancer patients in most districts of the State are left to suffer excruciating pain due to lack of access to effective and inexpensive pain reliever, Morphine, despite amendment of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.

Amendments to the NDPS Act, which promise to make the drug accessible to all cancer patients, have failed to ensure delivery of the crucial drug in peripheral centres in the State. “Patients are denied essential treatment and have no access to the drug due to lack of awareness and misconceptions among physicians and even specialists regarding the use of morphine,” said Dr. G. Durga Prasad, in-charge of Department of Pain and Palliative Care, MNJ Cancer Institute, on the occasion of Cancer Survivors Day.
The NDPS Act requires licences from several agencies to procure every consignment of the drug making it inaccessible. Oncologists said that the drug is only available in cancer hospitals in cities due to stringent policy regulations and that cancer patients in districts are forced to come to the city to procure morphine.
“While morphine is recommended as essential first-line treatment,” Dr. Prasad said, “alternatives of the drug such as Fentanyl, which are transdermal patches, cannot be used as first-line treatment and are not recommended as they produce erratic results due to sweat on the skin's surface.”
Morphine is also the least expensive and most effective palliative drug. Dosage of the drug for a day costs not more than Rs. 18, while doctors said that alternatives such as Fentanyl cost over Rs. 150 for a day and are easily available as they pushed forward by pharmaceutical companies. Oncologists also said that morphine targets multi-dimensional aspects of pain in majority patients and that other methods of pain alleviation such as nerve blocks target only one particular area and in course of time cause the disease to progress beyond the area of innervation.

Fear of misuse
While the State effected amendments to the act two years ago, there is still fear of misuse and misconceptions about the addictive nature of Morphine. “For over three decades, medical education in the aspect of palliative care has been almost absent. Hospital administrators or pharmacists do not understand the essential nature of pain treatment and use of morphine and so do not stock it,” said Dr. Prasad.
While India is the largest producer of opium for pharmaceutical trade, from which Morphine is obtained, 90 per cent of it is exported and a mere 4 per cent is available for needy cancer patients in the country. “While over 50 per cent of cases of cancer are being detected in its advanced stage, where pain is the most common presenting symptom, limited access of the drug Morphine is causing many to die of unbearable pain,” said Dr. P Raghu Ram, Director Oncoplastic Breast Surgeon, KIMS-Ushalkakshmi Centre for Breast Diseases.
“Urgent policy regulations to make the drug easily accessible are required,” he added.

Pawan Kalyan’s Gabbar Singh to release on 12th Jan 2012!

Pawan Kalyan’s Gabbar Singh, which is the remake of Bollywood’s biggest blockbuster Dabangg will be launched in the month of July and the regular shoot starts later. The makers of the film are in plans to release Gabbar Singh for Pongal 2012.
Harish Shankar of Mirapakaya fame is wielding the megaphone for Gabbar Singh and Ganesh Babu, who produced Teenmaar with Pawan Kalyan will produce the film lavishly on Parameswara Arts banner. Harish Shankar is currently making necessary changes to the script considering the likes of the Telugu audiences. Gabbar Singh will be a powerful mass entertainer. Kajal Agarwal is reprising the role of Sonakshi Sinha in the Telugu version.
Gabbar Singh is scheduled for a release on 12th January, 2012.

Dhada or Dookudu?

Naga Chaitanya who is riding high on back to back hits Ye Maya Chesave and 100% Love is all set to set the box office on fire with his latest outing Dhada. This film will be released on August 12, says the initial buzz. Interestingly, Mahesh Babu’s Dookudu too is slated for release on that day.
However, the release dates of these films are bound to change subject to post production work and the remaining shooting part. Kajal Agarwal, who proved lucky charm to many heroes, is the heroine in Dhada. This is the first time Chaitanya has taken up a fulltime mass character.
Ajay Bhuyan is the director of this film. He debuted with Houseful movie which is yet to make it to the theatres. Kamakshi Movies is expecting a big hit out of Dhada. Let’s see if Chaitanya can prove himself a good mass hero too.

Mahatma