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BJP not fit to govern India: Jaswant Singh

April 2, 2014

New Delhi, April 2: Expelled leader Jaswant Singh slammed the BJP for becoming a party of "individual leaders" and said he was "not sure if the BJP is fit to govern" India since "there was no collective leadership." j_singh

"There is no longer any collective leadership... I don't know if the BJP can be called fit to govern the country today," Singh, a former foreign, defence and finance minister at various times in the previous NDA government of prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, said in an interview to IANS over phone from Barmer where he is busy campaigning as an independent candidate.

"All important decisions are being taken by a few people in the BJP," he said, adding that senior leaders are being sidelined.

Singh, 76, was expelled from BJP March 29 following his decision to contest as an independent candidate from Barmer in Rajasthan in defiance of the party. He said he misses the Vajpayee era, not out of sentiments, but for the fact that decision-making was not concentrated in a few hands then.

Who in the BJP is wanting to finish me?

When it was put to him that the BJP looked like hinting at envisaging a new leadership in which the older leaders were making way for the new, he said, "I would like to ask who in the BJP is wanting to finish me? Who is dropping such hints? Such questions are being repeated again and again. This is a facile question, which doesn't merit an answer."

Singh, who was expelled from the BJP for the first time in 2009 over his controversial book "Jinnah: India, Partition, Independence" and was taken back in 2010, did not rule out the possibility of lending support to the NDA after the poll results.

On possibility of lending support to the NDA

"This is a question which will be addressed when I come across that situation. As of now, I do not want to comment anything," Singh said when asked whether, in the event of his victory as an independent, he would support the NDA if it falls short of the 272 majority mark.

Singh, who was once close to Vajpayee and formed the leadership troika in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) along with L.K. Advani, said people in Barmer were angry that his candidature was rejected by the BJP "without any validity of reason".

"They are feeling personally humiliated that I have been expelled from the BJP. They are enraged that the BJP picked a candidate who recently lost in assembly election as a Congress candidate," he said, referring to Col. Sonaram Choudhury, who is now contesting from Barmer from the BJP ticket.

When asked if caste equation might have persuaded the BJP to field the former Congressman, Singh said, "The caste factor is a stupid and destructive reason being churned out."

"My son Manavendra Singh won the Barmer Lok Sabha constituency in 2004 on a BJP ticket by a margin of over two lakh (200,000) votes. Where is the caste equation here?"Singh said it was the highest margin ever from Barmer-Jaisalmer. "If caste equation had dominated this constituency, such a victory would not have been possible for my son."

‘I have three lakh Muslims supporting me’

Singh claimed he enjoyed a popular support base across caste and communities in Barmer. "I have three lakh (300,000) Muslims supporting me but I am not a Muslim," he said.

Singh, who has also been leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha and chairman of the important Public Accounts Committee of Parliament which oversees government spending, said it was an "absolutely facile and incorrect explanation" by the BJP which has maintained caste equations do not favour Singh's candidature.

Singh appeared confident he would win the election.

"There is an overwhelming support for me in Barmer. Never before have I seen such public enthusiasm," remarked Singh, who faces a triangular battle from Choudhury and Congress's Harish Chaudhary.

When asked what were the factors working in his favour, Singh said, "I have a long political experience backing me; I have been a nine-term MP. Wherever I go, there is a demonstration of affection for me. I am confident I will win."

Singh does not believe that the lack of organisational support will come in way of his campaign, now that he is out of the BJP. He added that he accepted the reality and challenges of today, but those challenges need to be dealt with collectively in the BJP since the "BJP is not a party of individuals."

When asked why he had sharpened attack against Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, whom he accused of using religious places for political activity (a charge found baseless by the district administration), Singh exclaimed, "What do you mean by sharpened attack? They have never been charge free."

Singh said that he met L.K. Advani, old friend and colleague, before leaving from Delhi, but now that he had been expelled from the BJP, he "did not find it fit to call anybody".

Significantly, he dismissed rumours that he might join any other political party.

"I am not joining any political party. The Samajwadi Party was very kind; Mulayam Singh called me. Azam Khan called me, too. I also had a talk with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. But I am not looking forward to joining any party."

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News Network
January 30,2020

Mumbai, Jan 30: The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) has arrested Dr Kafeel Khan from Mumbai airport for allegedly making inflammatory statements at AMU during protests against the Citizenship Amendments Act (CAA) last month, officials said.

Khan was arrested on Wednesday night with assistance from Mumbai Police at the airport when he arrived in the city to attend anti-CAA protests, an official said.

"Officials of the UP STF arrested Dr Kafeel Khan in a case which was registered at Civil Lines Police Station under section 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups) of IPC. Our police team helped our UP counterparts on their request," said an official from Mumbai Police.

He claimed that Khan had made inflammatory statements on December 12 last year during the protest near Bab e Syed Gate outside the Aligarh Muslim University in front of more than 600 students.

The official also alleged that the Gorakhpur doctor had made objectionable comments against Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

The FIR against Khan mentions that Swaraj India's president Yogendra Yadav was also present during the speech at AMU.

Following the arrest in the case, Khan was taken to the Sahar Police Station and after completing formalities he will be taken to UP on transit remand, the official said.

Khan, a paediatrician, had come to the limelight in 2017 when a controversy broke out after the death of over 60 children in less than a week at the BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur, UP.

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coastaldigest.com news network
July 27,2020

Ayodhya, Jul 27: With days to go for the August 5 "bhoomi pujan" ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, the mosques adjacent to the demolished Babri Masjid premises are spreading the message of a peaceful coexistence of Hindus and Muslims.

There are eight mosques and two mausoleums located close to the 70-acre Babri Masjid premises mandated by the Supreme Court for a temple of Sri Ram.

Azaan and namaaz are offered in the mosques and the annual "Urs" is held at the mausoleums without any objection from the local Hindus.

The eight mosques located near the upcoming Ram temple premises are Masjid Dorahikuan, Masjid Mali Mandir ke Bagal, Masjid Kaziyana Achchan ke Bagal, Masjid Imambara, Masjid Riyaz ke Bagal, Masjid Badar Paanjitola, Masjid Madaar Shah and Masjid Tehribazar Jogiyon ki.

The two mausoleums are Khanqaahe Muzaffariya and Imambara.

"It is the greatness of Ayodhya that the mosques surrounding the Ram temple are giving a strong message of communal harmony to the rest of the world," Haji Asad Ahmad, the corporator of the Ram Kot ward, said. The Ram temple area is situated in Ahmad's ward.

"Muslims take out the 'juloos' of Barawafaat that goes through the periphery of Ram Janmabhoomi. All religious functions and rituals of Muslims are respected by their fellow citizens," the corporator said.

Asked for a comment on the presence of mosques near the upcoming Ram temple premises, the chief priest of the temple, Acharya Satyendra Das, said, "We had a dispute only with the structure that was connected to the name of (Mughal emperor) Babur. We have never had any issue with the other mosques and mausoleums in Ayodhya. This is a town where Hindus and Muslims live in peace."

"Muslims offer namaaz, we perform our puja. The mosques around us will strengthen Ayodhya's communal harmony and peace will prevail," he added.

Both Hindus and Muslims have accepted the Supreme Court verdict over Ram Janmabhoomi, Das said, adding, "We have no dispute with each other."

Sayyad Akhlaq Ahmad Latifi, the "sajjada nasheen" and "pir" of the 500-year-old Khanqaahe Muzaffariya mausoleum, said Muslims in Ayodhya are performing all religious practices freely.

"We offer prayers five times a day in the mosque at Khanqaah and hold the yearly 'Urs'," he added.

"What a scene would it be -- a grand Ram temple surrounded by small mosques and mausoleums and everyone offering prayers according to their beliefs. That will be representative of the true culture of India," Mahant Yugal Kishore Sharan Shastri, the chief priest of the Sarayu Kunj temple adjacent to the Ram Janmabhoomi premises, said.

Reacting to the presence of mosques and mausoleums near the Ram Janmabhoomi premises, Triloki Nath Pandey, the decree holder of the land as the "first friend of Ram Lalla" as mandated by the Supreme Court, said, "We do not have any objection to either those mosques or any other mosques. We will not trigger a dispute regarding any structure, Ayodhya must live in peace and communal harmony."

Mahant Raju Das, the priest of the Hanumangarhi temple, said, "The presence of the mosques tells the story of Ayodhya's communal harmony. A Ram mandir will be built and there will be no objection to the mosques or religious practices of Muslims."

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Agencies
June 20,2020

New Delhi, Jun 20: After Prime Minister Narendra Modi said there are no foreign incursions into India, China has once again claimed that Galwan valley of Ladakh union territory is located on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

In an official statement on the step-by-step account of the Galwan face-off where 20 Indian soldiers were killed, China's foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian has said the Galwan valley is located on the Chinese side of the LAC in the west section of the China-India boundary.

"For many years, the Chinese border troops have been patrolling and on duty in this region," Zhao said alleging that since April this year, the Indian border troops have unilaterally and continuously built roads, bridges and other facilities at the LAC in the Galwan Valley.

China has lodged representations and protests on multiple occasions but India has gone even further to cross the LAC and make provocations, Zhao said.

By the early morning of May 6, the Indian border troops, who had crossed the LAC by night and trespassed into China's territory, built fortification and barricades, which impeded the patrol of Chinese border troops, Zhao said adding that they deliberately made provocations in an attempt to unilaterally change the status quo of control and management.

The Chinese border troops, he said, were "forced to take necessary measures to respond to the situation on the ground and strengthen management and control in the border areas."

In order to ease the situation, China and India have stayed in close communication through military and diplomatic channels, he said. "In response to the strong demand of the Chinese side, India agreed to withdraw the personnel who crossed the LAC and demolish the facilities, and so they did.

On June 6, the border troops of both countries held a commander-level meeting and reached consensus on easing the situation. The Indian side, he said, promised that they would not cross the estuary of the Galwan river to patrol and build facilities and the two sides would discuss and decide phased withdrawal of troops through the meetings between commanders on the ground.

"Shockingly, on the evening of June 15, India's front-line troops, in violation of the agreement reached at the commander-level meeting, once again crossed the Line of Actual Control for deliberate provocation when the situation in the Galwan Valley was already easing, and even violently attacked the Chinese officers and soldiers who went there for negotiation, thus triggering fierce physical conflicts and causing casualties."

"The adventurous acts of the Indian army have seriously undermined the stability of the border areas, threatened the lives of Chinese personnel, violated the agreements reached between the two countries on the border issue, and breached the basic norms governing international relations," the spokesperson said.

Beijing, he said, hopes that India will work with China, follow faithfully the important consensus reached between the two leaders, abide by the agreements reached between the two governments, and strengthen communication and coordination on properly managing the current situation through diplomatic and military channels, and jointly uphold peace and stability in the border areas.

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