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Dhankar Slams Coaching Centres as ‘Gas Chambers’ Post Delhi Tragedy

During a short-duration discussion in the Rajya Sabha on Monday, Vice President Dhankhar criticised the incident, pointing out the pervasive issue of coaching centres prioritising profit over safety…reports Asian Lite News

Days after three UPSC aspirants lost their lives due to flooding in the basement of a coaching institute in Delhi’s Rajinder Nagar area, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday expressed serious concerns over the commercialisation of coaching centres, calling them “gas chambers” for students.

On Saturday evening, three UPSC aspirants lost their lives after heavy rainfall led to waterlogging in the basement of the coaching centre, which was being used illegally as a library. The incident trapped 17 other students for several hours, highlighting the dire safety issues in these establishments.

During a short-duration discussion in the Rajya Sabha on Monday, Vice President Dhankhar criticised the incident, pointing out the pervasive issue of coaching centres prioritising profit over safety.

“This is a very serious issue. Every day when we read newspapers, we see the first few pages filled with advertisements for coaching centres. Where does so much money come from? It comes from the students who want to fulfil their dreams,” he said.

“Coaching centres have become no less than gas chambers,” the Rajya Sabha Chairman added.

Meanwhile, BJP Rajya Sabha MP Sudhanshu Trivedi blamed the Delhi government for what he termed “criminal negligence”.

He alleged that despite knowing about the consequences, the students were put in a state of danger.

The basement of the coaching centre was used as a library in violation of the rules since the space was allowed to be used only for parking and storage purposes.

Citing the complaints lodged by the students, Trivedi said the authorities were “already informed and reminded” about the “illegal operation” of classes at the basement of Rau’s IAS Study Circle without proper non-objection certificate (NOC).

“Strict actions should be taken against all UPSC coaching institutes that are putting students’ lives in danger,” Trivedi said, quoting a letter by a student to the Ministry of Grievances, NCT Delhi, on June 26.

The Rajya Sabha MP also mentioned that a reminder was sent to the ministry on July 15 and July 22.

He also highlighted the need for immediate investigation and accountability to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future.

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Owaisi, Shia cleric come in support of UP IAS officer

The Yogi Adityanath government has taken a firm stand against forcible and illegal religious conversions in the state…reports Asian Lite News.

The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi and Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Jawad have come out in support of Uttar Pradesh IAS officer Mohd Iftikharuddin, who is being invested on charges of religious conversions.

Owaisi alleged that the BJP government in the state was targeting Muslims for political mileage.

Owaisi said, “The UP government set up an SIT to ‘investigate’ a six-year-old video of a senior IAS officer. The video has been taken out of context and is from a time when this government was not in power. This is blatant and targeted harassment based on religion.”

Accusing the BJP government of double standards, he further said, “If the parameter is that no officer should be connected to religious activity, then prohibit use of all religious symbols/images in offices. If merely discussing faith at home is a crime, then punish all officers participating in public religious celebration.”

Well-known Shia cleric, Maulana Kalbe Jawad, has also come out to support the IAS officer.

He said, “Every person has the right to pray in his house. If this IAS officer offered prayers in a particular manner in his house, why should he be tried for it? SIT probe in every matter is not justified because everyone has the freedom of religion.”

The Yogi Adityanath government has taken a firm stand against forcible and illegal religious conversions in the state.

The UP ATS has arrested more than 14 people on charges of being involved in large-scale conversions across the country through their organisations.

During investigations, it was revealed that the people involved in this have been offering money for threatening innocents and luring them to convert to Islam, police sources have said.

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