Article 370 not on NDA’s agenda: Gadkari

April 19, 2014

Nitin_GadkariPatna, Apr 19: Amidst controversy over the BJP raking up Article 370 during the Lok Sabha polls, its former president Nitin Gadkari on Saturday clarified that it was an old issue for the party that was included in the BJP manifesto and not that of the National Democratic Alliance.

“Article 370 has been in our agenda and BJP will take a decision over it when it comes to power in full strength on its own,” Mr. Gadkari said.

Mr. Gadkari, who is member of the BJP Parliamentary Board, said like in the past it was not on agenda of NDA, but of the BJP.

Inclusion of Article 370, which provides special status to Jammu and Kashmir, Ram temple at Ayodhya and Uniform Civil Code in BJP poll manifesto for 2014 Lok Sabha elections has triggered widespread criticism from rival parties.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and other JD(U) leaders were up on their feet as soon as the BJP manifesto with focus on these controversial issues was released.

Hitting hard at his old ally, Kumar had said “this justified his party walking out of the alliance with BJP.”

Congress, RJD, Samajwadi Party and other parties used the issue to intensify their criticism of BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.

Facing criticism of being a communal party, Gadkari said: “Congress, Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar are poisoning the society with continuously talking about casteism and communalism. These are multi—communal parties out to destroy the nation.”

Elaborating the meaning of ‘multi-communal’, Mr. Gadkari, flanked by former deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi and Leader of Opposition in Bihar Assembly Nand Kishore Yadav, said the term denotes “last degree of communalism” applied to something which is “100 per cent communal.”

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News Network
August 7,2020

Kozhikode: An Air India Express flight from Dubai with 190 people on board overshot the Kozhikode tabletop runway on landing there today. The Boeing 737 “fell off” the runway into the valley, broke into two causing death and devastation. 

According to reports, around 20 people were dead including two pilots.

An Air India spokesperson said: “Air India Express flight IX 1344 operated by Boeing 737 aircraft from Dubai to Calicut overshot the runway at Kozhikode at 7.41 pm Friday. No fire reported at the time of landing. There are 174 passengers, 10 infants, two pilots and five cabin crew on board. Rescue operations are on and passengers are being taken to hospital for medical care. We will soon share the update in this regard.”

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is probing this accident. “Prima facie, the aircraft landed beyond the touchdown point and fell into a valley. It has broken into two. We suspect some casualties. More information is awaited,” said a senior DGCA official.

Taking to twitter, defence minister Rajnath Singh wrote: “Devastating news from Kozhikode, Kerala. I am deeply anguished by the loss of lives due to an accident carrying several passengers on Air India flight. In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with the bereaved families. I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured.”

Foreign minister S Jaishankar tweeted: “Deeply distressed to hear about the Air India Express tragedy at Kozhikode. Prayers are with the bereaved families and those injured. We are ascertaining further details.”

While, senior BJP leader from Kerala K J Alphons tweeted: “Second tragedy of the day in Kerala: Air India Express skids off the run way at Kozhikode, front portion splits , pilot dies and lots of passengers injured . All passengers evacuated. Very lucky the aircraft didn’t catch fire.”

More details are awaited.

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Bloomberg
July 27,2020

New Delhi, Jul 27: India’s coronavirus epidemic is now growing at the fastest in the world, increasing 20% over the last week to more than 14 lakh confirmed cases, according to Bloomberg’s Coronavirus Tracker.

Infections in the South Asian nation of 130 crore people have reached 14.3 lakh, including 32,771 deaths, India’s health ministry said, with daily cases close to a record 50,000 on Monday. India is only trailing the US and Brazil now in the number of confirmed infections, but its growth in new cases is the fastest.

Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are among the states where the maximum number of daily cares are being reported. The world’s second-most populous country has been ramping up testing, with 515,472 samples taken on Sunday, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research.

Still, India and Brazil have some of the world’s lowest testing rates, with 11.8 tests and 11.93 tests per 1,000 people respectively, compared to the US with 152.98 tests per 1,000 and Russia with 184.34, according to Our World in Data, a project based at the University of Oxford in the UK.

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News Network
February 18,2020

New Delhi, Feb 18: Election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor on Tuesday questioned the Nitish Kumar government's development model, even as he sneered at the chief minister for making ideological compromises to stay in an alliance with the BJP.

Kishor, who has been vocal about his opposition to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), said Kumar needs to spell out whether he is with the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi or those who support Nathu Ram Godse.

"Nitish ji has always said that he cannot leave the ideals of Gandhi, JP and Lohiya... At the same time, how can he be with the people who support the ideology of Godse? Both cannot go together. If you want to stay with the BJP, I don't have any problem with it but you cannot be on both sides," he said.

"There has been a lot of discussion between me and Nitish-ji on this. He has his thought process and I have mine. There have been differences between him and me that the ideologies of Godse and Gandhi cannot stand together. As the leader of the party you have to say which side you are on," he added.

In a direct assault on Kumar's model of governance, Kishor said Bihar was the poorest state in 2005 and continues to be so.

"There has been development in Bihar during the last 15 years, but the pace has not been as it should have," he added.

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