While the government in the Himalayan nation has taken a strong position vis-a-vis India, Singh’s comments come as some sort of a relief.
Nepal, which got angry over the border dispute with India, was recently reassured by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Calling Nepal a “brother nation”, Singh said he would not allow any bitterness to enter into the two countries’ ties. While the government in the Himalayan nation has taken a strong position vis-a-vis India, Singh’s comments come as some sort of a relief. Kathmandu now is waiting for New Delhi to act on Singh’s words.
Negative In Positive
As Covid-19 cases continue to grow across the country, many senior bureaucrats are getting affected. The latest case is that of the chief spokesperson for the Union Government. K S Dhatwalia, principal director general of the Press Information Bureau, who tested positive on Sunday. Soon after his report came, other officers of PIB who worked closely with him were asked to go into self-quarantine. Dhatwalia has been present at almost all press conferences conducted by Union ministers throughout the lockdown period, most of which took place at the National Media Center, where Dhatwalia also has an office. As per protocol, the NMC has now been closed for sanitation for two days and all PIB officials who had offices in the building have been asked to work from home.
Under The Weather
There is much angst in the Health Ministry over the lack of information about how many coronavirus cases have been reported and the delayed disinfection —the ministry was disinfected only over the weekend, even though several cases were reported in the building in the last week. Officers have mostly been left to their own devices to protect themselves, with many putting strings or wooden bars across doors to keep visitors away. There is also angst about the presence of some officers in the building who have been openly in contact with people who have since tested positive but have not quarantined themselves.