Shocking: Odisha Doctor Uses Bicycle Pumps For Sterilisation, Inflates Women Abdomen During Laproscopic Tubectomy

It seems no lesson has been learnt from the horrific Chhattisgarh sterilisation tragedy where about 13 women lost their lives. A new case has emerged in Bhubaneswar wherein a doctor used a bicycle pump to inflate the abdomen of 56 women while conducting laparoscopic tubectomy on them. This has triggered public outrage in the area, officials said. 

The doctor Mahesh Prasad Rout operated the women at a sterilisation camp organised by local authorities at Banarpal village, about 150 km from state capital Bhubaneswar.

Exclusive: Loyal Congressman GK Vasan quits party after 14 years: Here's why Gandhis should be worried?

The first major fissure in the Congress has surfaced, with former minister GK Vasan all set to break away from the party to revive his father’s legacy and outfit, the Tamil Maanila Congress in Tamil Nadu. Vasan’s move may have its roots in the conviction of AIADMK leader J Jayalalithaa who had to step down as chief minister thereby creating a politically fluid situation in which both the ruling party as well as the opposition DMK are in a state of flux.

"This has raised hopes in other parties and leaders who think they can create space for themselves in the state which was dominated by either the AIADMK or the DMK for close to half a century. This is the best opportunity to come their way. And this includes the BJP which is stands benefit the most from the situation in the state where it wants to set up its footprint," said a Congress leader.

Exclusive: 'Invisible Strings – The IB Report On NGOs'

Anti-growth. Anti-Hindu. Movement-buster. Reactionary. Corrupt. NGOs have drawn flak for one reason or the other. While there is a clear case for cleaning up the voluntary sector, nothing justifies this attempt at muffling dissent.

The Hindu nationalist. The neo-liberal. The grassroots activist. The Leftist. Everybody, it seems, has a reason to hate NGOs.

Some, like political commentator Radha Rajan who edited a collection of essays titled NGOs, Activists and Foreign Funds: Anti-Nation Industry, have charged several NGOs with “de-Hinduising India” and sought to expose “the essentially anti-Hindu activism of some NGOs and activists… and their foreign sponsors, supporters and funders who have their own vested interests in keeping the Hindus in this state of powerlessness”.

Why India Has Woken Up To The Importance Of Toilets?

By Sukanya Mehta | INNLIVE Bureau

SPOTLIGHT Building toilets holds the key to reducing India’s malnutrition burden. Commenting on the Indian elections in his satire show, British humorist John Oliver remarked, “(Narendra) Modi has managed to inspire people with his populist platform including a pledge to put a toilet in every home. That’s a bold move, coming out as pro-toilet.”

Oliver’s wisecrack may have deliberately exaggerated Narendra Modi’s pitch on toilets but the focus on sanitation has been one welcome change in the 2014 election campaign. In a public rally, Modi had exhorted, “pehle shauchalay, phir devalay” (first toilets, then temples).

Security Personnel: The Planning For A 'Safe' Elections

By Likha Veer | INNLIVE Bureau

Politicians are busy either lauding or criticising Mr. Narendra Modi. We, the junta, are busy clicking selfies at poll booths. And the media is busy deciding if NDA will win over 300 seats or will AAP spoil everyone’s party. Amidst the entire hullabaloo what all of us have overlooked is the contribution of the security personnel deployed across the country.

The voting for 16th Lok Sabha elections has been split into 9 phases for a reason. This is arguably the largest democratic exercise in the entire planet, and ensuring it is safe and secure is a gargantuan challenge.

Focus On 'Indian Mujahedeen' Angle Of Chennai Twin Blasts

By Salim Sherwani | Chennai

A CLOSE LOOK As we file this column we have the news of twin blasts on the Bangalore- Guwahati Express train this morning, within minutes of its arrival at Chennai Central railway station. One woman passenger- a TCS employee - was killed and several others injured. One person has been detained by the Tamil Nadu Police for questioning. 

Spotlight: Women Can Build A New Politics In New India

By Sumera Shahnaz | INNLIVE

Engaging in formal politics is basically about engaging in making a claim for power or for access to it. This power can, of course, be used in ways that are enabling to the groups that the elected politician represents. Given this, we could ask how far reservation of seats in legislative councils for women would enable them to gain the power to negotiate the issues and concerns that impact their lives and affirm the rights demanded by the women’s movement.

After The Polls, BJP May Collate Regional Players For 'Game'

By M H Ahssan | INNLIVE

EDITORIAL In an interesting development, senior Congress leader and political secretary to Sonia Gandhi Ahmed Patel has hinted that Congress might consider lending support to a non-BJP coalition after the Lok Sabha polls. 

This amounts to a tacit admission that Congress believes it might not be in a position to lead a grand alliance after the results are out on May 16. It also suggests that Congress is looking at a scenario similar to that in 1996 when it had propped up the United Front government. 

Congress’s track record of propping up Third Front governments has been extremely lacklustre.

Is BJD Citadel In Coastal Odisha Fraying At The Edges?

By Manas Sahu | INNLIVE

ODISHA ELECTIONS The signs are ominous for Naveen Patnaik. As if the 75% polling in the first phase of elections on 10 April was not enough, the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) is now staring at another bumper polling in the second phase on Thursday. If anything, the turnout in the second round appears to be even bigger than the first. 

While giving out the figure of 70% on Thursday evening, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Mona Sharma was at pains to emphasise that it was based on reports that had come in with an hour or so still to go for voting and thus was subject to upward revision. 

Maoists Appear Divided Over Tactics During Elections 2014

By Chandan Rai (Guest Writer)

The outlawed CPI (Maoist) appears, which has given a call for boycotting the 16 th Lok Sabha polls, appear to be divided regarding their tactics vis-à-vis the largest democratic exercise worldwide.

If the recent activities of the banned Left Wing Extremist outfit CPI (Maoist) are any indications, they seem to be split over their modus operandi during the 16th Lok Sabha elections. While they have given a poll boycott call in a number of their pocket areas in Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh, the Red rebels have decided to urge the people to opt for the NOTA (none of the above) option in various areas.

Exclusive: The Other Side Of Kashmiri Craft 'Pashmina'

By Arif Wani | Srinagar

SPECIAL REPORT Kashmiri crafts have been omnipresent from street to luxury yet least geared for new fashion markets. This is likely to change soon.

At a crafts display at New Delhi’s India International Centre, Mahvash Masood from Srinagar displays stoles with hand embroidery so delicate that only a magnifying glass can zoom into the details. “I want to tap into the global luxury market with these,” says Masood, who is working with a development consultant to price her designs.

How Election Is Making BJP A New Pivot Of Indian Politics?

By M H Ahssan | INNLIVE

SPECIAL REPORT With six major phases of polling still to go in the 2014 general elections, it would be foolhardy to start predicting the results at this stage. For people can still change their minds. But the overall trends have been so consistent for so long in predicting a BJP-led NDA victory, that it is difficult to visualise a major reversal from this stage. 

Three trends have been consistent over the last three months over many opinion polls: a steady and rising vote share for the NDA: a sharply rising prediction of seats; and a rising trend of new alliances for the BJP. At last count, the BJP had 26 parties in its front, four of them major ones (Akali Dal, Shiv Sena, TDP and LJP). 

Will Naveen Patnaik Find Difficult To Retain 21 LS Seats?

By Manas Sahu | Bhubaneshwar

ODISHA ELECTION SCENARIO Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik seems to be facing his toughest political battle as he bids for a fourth straight term in Odisha and struggles to retain his party's 14 Lok Sabha seats out of the state's total of 21. If opinion polls are any indication, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) led by him may retain power with a reduced strength, but the resurgence of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) could pose a formidable challenge to his political career. 

According to the latest opinion polls, the BJP is likely to replace Congress as the main opposition by bagging seven of the state's 21 Lok Sabha seats, an unexpected gain for a party which had drawn a blank in the state in 2009 elections. The BJD and BJP were ally for 11 years before they parted ways in 2008. They jointly fought the Lok Sabha polls in 1998, 1999 and 2004 and the assembly elections of 2000 and 2004.

Will This Election See Higher Turnout After 'Poll Tamasha'?

By M H Ahssan | INNLIVE

ANALYSIS While an increased turnout in Assembly elections is not an indicator of the same in Lok Sabha elections, aggressive campaigning points toward a higher turnout in this poll.

If the pattern of turnout in the Assembly elections held over the last couple of years are of any indication, the turnout in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections should significantly increase. Almost all the Assembly elections held in different States between 2012-13 witnessed a higher turnout compared to those held in previous years. 

Elections 2014 - Phase II: Polling Begins In 91 Lok Sabha Seats Spread Across 11 States And 3 Union Territories

INNLIVE Election Teams

Voting begins in Delhi 
Voting is being held for seven Lok Sabha seats in the country's capital, seen as test of Aam Aadmi Party's perceived erosion of support base, BJP's claim of 'Modi wave' and assertion by Congress that it was regaining lost ground after drubbing in last assembly polls.

Naxalites Still Able To Disrupt Elections In North Telangana

By Sampath Shekhar | INNLIVE

The police and politicians in Andhra Pradesh may dismiss the Maoist threat to elections in the undivided State, but a sense of fear and insecurity permeates the constituencies bordering Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Odisha.

Though the Maoists have suffered a setback in north Telangana, the red brigade still calls the shots in the border areas of Khammam, agency areas of Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and East Godavari.

Adilabad, Karimnagar, Warangal, Khammam, Visakhapatnam rural and Vizianagaram, on the radar of law-enforcement agencies, have 14 Assembly constituencies. They may not be a Maoist stronghold as they used to be a decade ago, but heavily armed squads keep darting across the border to strike and scoot before the police move in.

Despite the claims of the law-enforcement agencies that they are prepared to take on the Maoists and ensure peaceful elections, tension has been escalating with the rebels issuing a call for poll boycott.

“It is true there is some concern, but the situation is not out of control. There could be stray instances of arson or attacks, but they [Maoists] do not have cadres to extend logistical support. They fear getting hit if they venture into our area,” says a senior police officer coordinating anti-extremist operations.

Focus: Want A Govt Sponsored Honeymoon, Marry A Widow!

By Mithilesh Mishra | INNLIVE

If you marry a widow, you will get a government sponsored honeymoon. An NGO - Nature's Care and Social Welfare Society - has decided to honour the men who marry widows by sponsoring the couple's honeymoon trip.

As per the scheme, the couple would be given four days and three nights honeymoon package for free. The couple would be able to choose from 45 destinations around Asia.

During the launch of the scheme, the organisation said the move is aimed at restoring the lost confidence of widows. It has also appealed to the state government to provide such couples jobs and proper housing if they require.

General Elections 2014 - The 'New India' With 'Power One'

By M H Ahssan | INNLIVE

Almost exactly a decade ago, the day after the 2004 Lok Sabha elections were announced, INNLIVE launched its special ‘General Elections 2014’ coverage, bringing readers a 360 degrees ringside view of one of the great wonders of the modern world. 

In every election since, whether general or state, ‘General Elections 2014’ has sought to empower, entertain and enlighten you with ground-level reportage, numbers-driven analyses, and agenda-setting thought pieces. We will do all that and more in the weeks to come, capturing the sights, smells and sounds of the mother-of-all political carnivals on earth, even as we help you separate choice from noise. 

Indian Elections 2014: Lok Sabha Elections Schedule Out With 814 Million Voters And Wolrd Longest Elections

By Kajol Singh | INNLIVE

In 2014 general elections of India becomes world's longest election schedule in world's largest democratic country. The number of Indian voters has gone from 176 million in the first general election held in 1952 to some 814 million in 2014.

Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath who announced poll Lok Sabha schedule on Wednesday said the increase in the number of voters since the last Lok Sabha polls of 2009 was about 100 million.

The poll panel announced a nine-phase election schedule from April 7. The election election results will be announced on May 16. This is the longest ever poll schedule in India's electoral history.

Will Multi-Cornered Fights Cost BJP The Elections In 2014?

By M H Ahssan | INNLIVE

SPECIAL REPORT The most interesting aspect of the 2014 elections is that, despite the initial momentum gained by the BJP under Narendra Modi, its outcome is still unpredictable. This is largely because of two factors: the rise of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi, and its plans to spread elsewhere; and two, the fear of Modi, which may drive unusual partnerships in some states (Congress-BSP in UP and Congress-RJD-LJP in Bihar). 

This means straight fights between the Congress and BJP will be restricted to Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, Rajasthan and Punjab. In a data-driven INNLIVE analysis of electoral outcomes in three- and four-horse races, has come to the conclusion that the BJP tends to do less well in such cases, and the Congress relatively better.