Diplomacy is at work: Khurshid on marines decision to return

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March 22, 2013
New Delhi, Mar 22: External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid today said that diplomacy is at work resulting in Italy's decision to send back two marines charged in the fishermen killing case and parried questions on Italian media reports that Congress President Sonia Gandhi influenced that government's decision.

kurshidWelcoming Italy's decision to send back two marines, the minister said the decision has to be conveyed to the Supreme Court through proper procedure and he would apprise Parliament about it.

"I would like as I have said to share whatever developments have happened with Parliament but I can certainly say we have been in constant contact.

I have repeatedly said that you should not write off diplomacy to soon... So at last I can say that diplomacy continues to work when everybody else thinks that everything is lost and please give diplomacy a little more chance to do things that are important for our country," he said.

Khurshid also said that "Law remains as it is. Nothing changes as far as the law is concerned and my understanding can't change the law".

Italy last night said it will send back to India two marines to face trial for killing two fishermen after receiving an assurance from the Indian government about the protection of their fundamental rights.

Asked about reports in the Italian media that Gandhi influenced the decision on the marines, he said, "The diplomacy that we do under this government, diplomacy that we do for that matter for any policy implemented by this government is obviously given a direction, given an impetus by the Prime Minister and the Congress President.

"It is a government that is led by them and then for anyone else amongst us to take credit I think would be unbecoming. They lead it from the front. We don't share.

We cannot share with you everything that is said to us privately within the confines of government but the bottomline of what we are expected to I think becomes clear in the public sphere," he said.

On what would be the BJP's reaction to the decision of the marines to return, Khurshid said, "I don't know whether it is an issue or not an issue but I hope they take it in the right context.

I hope that if something has been in the national interest and that bolsters the national interest, it should be welcomed by everybody".

On apprising the Supreme Court about the matter, he said, "No I don't think that the information to the apex court can be given in this manner and the matter is listed on April 2.

"So, they (parties concerned) will have to decide and if they want any modification of the order that was made, there are procedures. The lawyers will be able to follow so that will come in due course. Today is Friday and as you know that the court will not be sitting on Saturday and Sunday.

"So on Monday, if felt appropriate by any party, they can bring it to the notice of the court and it has to be done properly.

"As far as we are concerned, we will take Parliament on board. We will share it with Parliament because this has been a huge issue while Parliament was in session," he said.

Italy's previous decision not to send marines - Massimiliano Lattore and Salvatore Girone - to face trial triggered a diplomatic standoff, with the Indian Supreme Court barring the Italian ambassador from leaving the country.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last week termed as "unacceptable" Italy's refusal to send its two marines back to India and said the issue will be taken up with that country.

"In light of the assurances received, the Government has considered the opportunity, in the interests of Fusiliers Marina, to maintain the commitment made at the permission to participate in the vote back in India by March 22," the Italian government had said in a statement.

"The marines agreed to this decision," it added.

Marines coming back to face trial in India
marines

Rome, Mar 22: The Italian government has said it will return to India two marines facing murder charges in the shooting deaths of two fishermen off the Kerala coast.

The announcement on Thursday reversed an earlier decision by the Foreign Ministry that the duo would not return on Friday (March 22), as agreed, after they were granted permission to return home to vote in the Italian elections.

The case escalated tensions between India and Italy. The Indian Supreme Court announced that the Italian Ambassador could not leave the country.

Special Correspondent reports:

According to Italian news agency ANSA, which quoted Italy’s deputy foreign minister Steffan de Mistura, the breakthrough came after the Indian government assured the Italian authorities there would be no death penalty against the two marines.

The Italian government also obtained a written assurance from the government that the fundamental rights of the two marines would be protected.

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News Network
February 18,2020

New Delhi, Feb 18: Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot is the richest minister in the AAP government, according to a report released by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) on Monday.

In a statement, the NGO said, Delhi Election Watch and ADR have analysed the self-sworn affidavits of all the seven-party leaders including Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

According to the statement, the minister with the lowest declared total assets is Gopal Rai with assets worth Rs 90.01 lakh.

"The minister with the highest declared total assets is Kailash Gahlot from Najafgarh constituency with assets worth Rs 46.07 crore," it stated.

The report by ADR comes on the day Kejriwal and his six ministers took charge after the formation of the new AAP government.

Chief Minister Kejriwal and his cabinet colleagues took charge of their respective offices on Monday and asserted that they would work to fulfil the promises made in the "guarantee card", released during the poll campaign, including reduction in pollution and expansion of metro network.

Members of his Cabinet are -- Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain, Rajendra Pal Gautam, Imran Hussain, Gopal Rai and Kailash Gahlot.

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News Network
April 15,2020

New Delhi, Apr 15: Tablighi Jamaat leader Maulana Saad Kandhalvi has been booked for culpable homicide after some of the attendees of the religious congregation died due to coronavirus, police said on Wednesday.

Kandhalvi had organised the religious gathering at Nizamuddin Markaz last month against the social distancing protocol imposed by the Centre to curb the spread of the deadly disease.

An FIR was registered against the cleric on March 31 at Crime Branch police station on a complaint of the Station House Officer of Nizamuddin.

He was earlier booked for holding the event, police said.

“After several attendees of the Tablighi Jamaat event succumbed to coronavirus, we added IPC section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) in the FIR against the leader, a police official said.

Some foreigners who attended the event have also been booked for violation of visa norms.

In an audio message, Kandhalvi had said that he was exercising self-quarantine after several hundreds who visited the Tablighi Jamaat congregation at Nizamudddin Markaz tested positive for coronavirus.

The FIR registered against the Tablighi Jamaat event says that the Delhi Police contacted the authorities of Nizamuddin Markaz on March 21 and reminded them of the government order which prohibited any political or religious gathering of more than 50 people.

It says that despite repeated efforts, the event organisers failed to inform the health department or any other government agency about the huge gathering inside the Markaz and deliberately disobeyed government orders.

“The sub district magistrate of Defence Colony inspected the premises several times and found that around 1,300 people, including foreign nationals, were residing there without maintaining social distance. It was also found that there were no arrangements of hand sanitizers and face masks,” the FIR adds.

The Nizamudddin centre, attended by thousands, turned out to be a hotspot for spread of coronavirus not only in the national capital, but the entire country.

More than 25,500 Tablighi members and their contacts have been quarantined in the country after the Centre and the state governments conducted a "mega operation" to identify them.

At least 9,000 people participated in the religious congregation in Nizamuddin. Later, many of the attendees travelled to various parts of the country.

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News Network
June 13,2020

New Delhi, Jun 13: Petrol price on Saturday was hiked by 59 paise per litre and diesel by 58 paise as oil companies for the seventh day in a row adjusted retail rates in line with costs since ending an 82-day hiatus in rate revision.

Petrol price in Delhi was hiked to Rs 75.16 per litre from Rs 74.57, while diesel rates were increased to Rs 73.39 a litre from Rs 72.81, according to a price notification of state oil marketing companies.

Rates have been increased across the country and vary from state to state depending on the incidence of local sales tax or VAT.

This is the seventh daily increase in rates in a row since oil companies on Sunday restarted revising prices in line with costs, after ending an 82-day hiatus.

In seven hikes, petrol price has gone up by Rs 3.9 per litre and diesel by Rs 4.

The freeze in rates was imposed in mid-March soon after the government hiked excise duty on petrol and diesel to shore up additional finances.

Oil PSUs Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL), instead of passing on the excise duty hikes to customers, adjusted them against the fall in the retail rates that was warranted because of a decline in international oil prices.

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