Aiyar gave 'supari' in Pakistan to get me 'removed': PM Modi

Agencies
December 9, 2017

Bhabhar (Guj), Dec 9: Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused suspended Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar of giving 'supari' (contract) while on a visit to Pakistan to get him "removed" from the way to ensure peace between India and the neighbouring country.

Targeting the diplomat-turned politician for the second time in two days after the Congress leader's 'neech aadmi'(lowly person) jibe at him yesterday, Modi also alleged that the Congress tried to suppress this episode and did not take any action against Aiyar.

Attacking the Congress over its work culture, Modi alleged that the party believes in--'atkana' (to stall) 'latkana' (to keep the issue hanging) and 'bhatkana' (to divert an issue).

The prime minister's remarks come a day after Aiyar set off a political firestorm when he called Modi a "neech kism ka aadmi". The Congress yesterday suspended Aiyar from the primary membership of the party and issued him a show cause notice for his remarks.

"Shriman Mani Shankar Aiyar...you know what he did?" Modi asked a gathering of people in this small town of Banaskantha district in North Gujarat.

"He gave this 'gaali' (abuse) to me or you? Did he abuse me or Gujarat? Did he abuse the cultured society of India or me?" Modi asked.

"Let us not talk about that abuse, as people of Gujarat will look into it and give a reply and they (Congress) will know the result on December 18," he said.

"But, after I became prime minister, this man (Aiyar) went to Pakistan and met some Pakistanis. All this thing is available on the social media. In that meeting, he is seen discussing with Pakistanis that 'jab tak Modi ko raste se hataya nahi jata' (until Modi is not removed from the way), relationship between India and Pakistan cannot improve," Modi added.

"Someone tell me what is the meeting of 'raste se hatana'. You had gone to Pakistan to give my 'supari', you wanted to give Modi's 'supari' (contract killing)," the PM said.

However, people need not worry as 'Maa Ambe' (goddess) is protecting me, he added.

"This conversation took place three years back. The Congress party had tried to suppress this episode...They did not take any action against him for last three years," Modi alleged.

"What is my crime? This country's people have elected me in a democratic way, and you go to Pakistan and say that this man is coming in the way and remove him!" he said. Modi was referring to a controversy that had erupted in 2015 when Aiyar during a talk show in Pakistan had reportedly made the controversial statement. Yesterday, during a rally in Surat, he had said, "Shriman (Mr) Mani Shankar Aiyar today said that Modi is of 'neech' (lower) caste and is 'neech' (lowly). Is this not an insult to Gujarat?...This is a Mughal mentality where if such a person (who comes from a humble background) wears good clothes in a village, they have a problem."

During today's rally, Modi further said the issue here is of Congress' mentality and the party's work culture means "atkana, latkana and bhatkana".

"What Congress has done so far is-atkana, latkana and bhatkana. They will either stall, keep an issue hanging or try to divert it," Modi said adding that they are not interested in solving people's problems.

When our brave jawans conducted the surgical strike then, I think that all the people of the country felt proud, but only Congress was not happy, he said.

"They raised questions about the surgical strike- did this (surgical strike) happen or not? Pakistan is saying that it did not happen...why none of our soldiers were killed... Would you believe Pakistan or India in such matters?" Modi asked.

Comments

Jameel
 - 
Monday, 11 Dec 2017

modi, are you worth the supari. hehehe.

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News Network
June 17,2020

New Delhi, Jun 17: With an increase of 10,974 new cases and 2,003 deaths in the last 24 hours, India's COVID-19 count reached 3,54,065 on Wednesday while the toll due to the virus stands at 11,903.

This includes 1,55,227 active cases and 1,86,935 cured, discharged and migrated patients, according to the Union Health Ministry.

While the spike in the number of cases has stayed below the 11-thousand mark, the death toll has increased manifold today as compared to the 380 death reported on Tuesday.

Maharashtra with 1,13,445 cases continues to be the worst-affected state in the country with 50,057 active cases while 57,851 patients have been cured and discharged in the state so far. The toll due to COVID-19 has crossed the five thousand mark and reached 5,537 in the state.

It is followed by Tamil Nadu with 48,019 and the national capital with 44,688 confirmed cases.

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Agencies
January 16,2020

New Delhi, Jan 16: Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat on Thursday said that he supported a negotiated peace deal between the US and Taliban in Afghanistan.

Gen. Rawat was speaking along with other world leaders at Raisina dialogue organised by India's influential think-tank Observer Research Foundation (ORF).

Arguing that terrorism was going to stay in the world as long as states were going to use it against other states, he said it was important to prevent states from using terrorism as a "proxy war".

"The only way to deal with it was what the US did post 9/11," he said, adding that the war against terror was necessary.

However, now a peace deal with Taliban is required, Gen. Rawat said.

"It must be a negotiated peace deal so that the Taliban stops using terrorism," he added. Hinting that the US should maintain its presence in Afghanistan, the CDS said that though Afghan security forces are now equipped to fight back terror groups in Afghanistan but they still need support.

The newly appointed CDS officially confirmed that India has shifted its stance on Taliban. India has traditionally been opposed to the Pakistan-backed Taliban in Afghanistan. Thousands of Afghans were given refuge in India when they fled the country due to oppression and terrorism of the Taliban regime. India is in alignment with the democratically elected government in Kabul that the Taliban remains supported by Pakistan.

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Agencies
July 23,2020

Expressing concern over the ban imposed on TikTok by the government of India, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has reportedly called the development in the south Asian country “worrisome”.

TikTok was amongst the 59 Chinese apps that were banned in India but why it hogs the maximum limelight because TikTok had the second-largest user base in India with over 200 million users.

As per The Verge writer Casey Newton, Zuckerberg was worried about TikTok’s India ban. Although it soon cashed into the opportunity and released a TikTok clone “Reels”, the government’s reason behind banning the app in India wasn’t received well by Mark Zuckerberg. 

He had said that if India can ban a platform with over 200 million users in India without citing concrete reasons, it can also ban Facebook if something goes amiss on the security and privacy front.

Why Mark finds it particularly worrisome because Facebook is already involved in a lot tussle with the governments across the world involving national security concerns. 

“Facebook already faces fights around the world from governments on both the left and the right related to issues that fit under the broad umbrella of national security: election interference, influence campaigns, hate speech, and even just plain-old democratic speech. Zuckerberg knows that the leap from banning TikTok on national security grounds to banning Facebook on national security grounds is more of a short hop,” the report by Casey read.

Facebook till now has not faced any kind of issue in India but considering the debacle with the other governments, it is not entirely wrong to worry about its future in India if any national security issue arises. Back in 2016, Facebook’s Free Basics service, which means a free but restricted internet service, was banned in India by the telecom regulators. 

The TRAI had said that the Free Basic services were banned in India because it violated the principles of net neutrality. With Free Basics services, Facebook had planned to bring more unconnected users online. But since 2016, there has been no major tussle between the Indian government and Zuckerberg due to national security issues.

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