Bhushan, Yadav launch no-holds-barred attack against Kejriwal

March 27, 2015

New Delhi, March 27: In further escalation of infighting, AAP dissident leaders Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav today mounted a no-holds-barred attack on party chief Arvind Kejriwal, accusing him of stifling internal democracy and adopting unfair means to capture power.Bhushan Yadav

Addressing a press conference, the two leaders alleged that any issue raised by them was being projected as questioning Kejriwal's leadership and attempts to remove him from the post of AAP's national convenor.

Bhushan even claimed that Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal had suggested that he will form a regional party with all party MLAs saying "he cannot work with us".

The attack on Kejriwal by the two founding members of the party came a day before the crucial meeting of AAP's National Council which is likely to deliberate on the fate of Bhushan and Yadav and other major issues.

The two leaders said they will quit all "executive posts" if the five demands they had placed before the leadership which include bringing the party under the ambit of the RTI Act, ordering probe by AAP's internal Lokpal into allegations of wrong doing and giving state units more autonomy, are met.

"We had sent a note to the party placing our demands which is now being shown as our resignation letter. Whereas it was a conditional letter to resign. We had said if our five demands are met, we will resign from all party posts," Yadav said.

The two leaders said they were repeatedly being pressurised to resign during the reconciliation talks and clarified that they never raised the issue of the post of party convenorship during the talks.

"Why is it that if we raise any question, our intent is questioned?" Yadav asked, adding their fight is not for personal gains but to restore AAP's founding principles.

Yadav also alleged that the party Constitution has been removed from AAP's official website.

Bhushan slammed Kejriwal for allegedly trying to poach Congress MLAs to form government in Delhi last year.

"The National Executive had rejected a proposal to form government taking support of Congress. Despite that, Kejriwal sent a letter to Lt Governor asking him not to dissolve the assembly," Bhushan said.Bhushan said Kejriwal had suggested that he will form a separate party of 67 MLAs in Delhi rather than work with him and Yadav.

"Arvind was saying time and again that I cannot work with them. I will form a separate party of 67 MLAs in Delhi. Why this idea of removing us came to his mind," Bhushan said.

He identified two "fatal shortcomings" of Kejriwal that he said will potentially damage the party in the long run.

"He wants his decisions to be final. He cannot work with people who have differing voices and stand up to him. He thinks his intentions are right but means should be clean as well. That is not enough, means matter a lot," Bhushan said while citing Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi's government and the Gujarat riots when Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister of the state.

"They also thought their intentions were right," he said. Bhushan quoted Kejriwal as saying that he cannot be part of any institution where his writ does not run.

The duo said there was no internal democracy in the AAP and continuous efforts are being made to defame them ahead of the meeting of National Council.

Yadav said there must be an internal probe by the party Lokpal into seizure of liquor allegedly from a godown of a party candidate ahead of the Delhi elections and receiving of Rs 2 crore as donations.

They also released a letter written to party national secretary Pankaj Gupta listing issues to be discussed at tomorrow's National Council meeting.

Bhushan also demanded that all the party meetings should be videographed to ensure transparency.

"They said they would not allow mobile phones inside the National Council meeting whereas other parties allow journalists in such meetings," Bhushan said.

Yadav said he was offered the post of Haryana in-charge which he never asked for.

"They were saying they will offer me 'Navin-mukt' Haryana whereas I never asked for any such post," he said, while adding Kejriwal camp was referring to his detractor Navin Jaihind.

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News Network
June 24,2020

New Delhi, Jun 24: In a stinging attack on the Gandhi family of the Congress, BJP president J P Nadda on Wednesday said a dynasty and its courtiers have "grand delusions" of the opposition being about itself and stated that a "rejected and ejected" family is not equal to the entire opposition.

In his tweets, Nadda said it was the time for unity and solidarity, and the "relaunch of the scion for the nth time can wait", an apparent dig at Rahul Gandhi, who has been aggressive in his attacks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his handling of the border row with China.

Nadda said India lost thousands of square kilometres of land due to the "misadventures of one dynasty" and claimed that the Siachen glacier, where the Indian Army has a strong presence, was almost gone. No wonder India has rejected them, he said.'

The BJP president posted a news report to back his assertions about Siachen.

"One 'royal' dynasty and their 'loyal' courtiers have grand delusions of the Opposition being about one dynasty. A dynast throws tantrums and his courtiers peddle that fake narrative. The latest one relates to the Opposition asking questions to the Government," Nadda said.

Though he did not directly name the Gandhi family or any of its members, the reference was clear.

He said it was the opposition's right to ask questions and added that the all-party meeting called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi saw healthy deliberations, with several opposition leaders giving their valuable inputs.

They also fully supported the Centre in determining the way ahead, Nadda said.

"One family was an exception. Any guesses who," he asked.

Targeting the Gandhis, the BJP president said, "One rejected and ejected dynasty is NOT equal to the entire Opposition. One dynasty's interests are not India's interests. Today, the nation is united and supportive of our armed forces. This is the time for unity and solidarity. Relaunch of 'the scion' for the nth time can wait."

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News Network
May 10,2020

New Delhi, May 10: India's COVID-19 count crossed 60 thousand on Sunday, with Maharashtra being the worst-affected due to the infection so far, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The number of total confirmed cases in the country rose to 62,939, including 19,358 patients who have been cured and discharged or migrated, according to the Ministry.

The total number of active cases in the country, therefore, stands at 41,472.

The number of deaths in the country due to the infection reached 2,109 on Sunday.

While Maharashtra, with 20,228 cases is the worst-affected state, it is followed by Gujarat with 7,796 and the national capital, Delhi, with 6,542 cases. Tamil Nadu, is marginally behind Delhi with 6,535 cases.

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News Network
January 22,2020

Jan 22: Microsoft Corp’s chief executive officer said he worries that mistrust between the US and China will increase technology costs and hurt economic growth at a critical time.

Using the $470 billion semiconductor industry as an example of a sector that is already globally interconnected, Satya Nadella said the two countries will have to find ways to work together, rather than creating different supply chains for each country.

“All you are doing is increasing transaction costs for everybody if you completely separate,” Nadella said in an interview with Bloomberg News Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait at Bloomberg’s The Year Ahead conference in Davos. That’s a concern as the executive said the world is on the cusp of a revolution around technology and artificial intelligence.

“If we take steps back in trust or increase transaction costs around technology, all we are doing is sacrificing global economic growth,” he said.

The agreement signed last week between the US and China was “not sufficient,” said Nadella, but represented “progress” on the issue of intellectual property protections for US technology companies working with China.

Nadella said he worries about the development of two separate internets, noting that to some degree they already exist “and they will get amplified in the future” with massive technology companies already in place in China.

The viewpoint clashes with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, who has been sceptical about the idea that ongoing US-China trade tensions could ever lead to a bifurcated system of two internets.

China and the US are the two leading AI superpowers, however the cooling political relations between them have slowed the international collaboration.

Nadella also warned that countries that fail to attract immigrants will lose out as the global tech industry continues to grow. The CEO has previously voiced concern about India’s Citizenship Amendment Act, calling it “sad.”

“However, Nadella said he remained hopeful.

“The fact that there is a 70-year history of nation-building, I think it’s a very strong foundation. I grew up in that country. I’m proud of that heritage. I’m influenced by that experience.”

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