Don’t interfere in Kashmir, stop ‘eyeing’ Punjab: Amarinder Singh warns Pakistan

News Network
November 10, 2019

Gurdaspur, Nov 10: Before he left for Kartarpur on Saturday, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh warned Pakistan against interfering in Kashmir and to stop “eyeing” Punjab, and said it won’t succeed in its “nefarious designs”.

Singh also said he hoped Pakistan would understand that India wants friendly relations with it.

The Punjab chief minister was part of the first batch of over 550 Indian pilgrims that entered Pakistan through the Kartarpur corridor, which was thrown open days ahead of the 550th birth anniversary of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev on November 12.

The corridor links Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan, the final resting place of Guru Nanak Dev, to Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Punjab’s Gurdaspur.

Singh said he had repeatedly asked Pakistan to desist from its “nefarious” activities.

“In Kashmir, they are taking up cudgels against our forces and now they have an eye on Punjab. I have told them many times to desist from such things, Punjabis will not tolerate such things. You will not succeed in your nefarious designs either in Kashmir or in Punjab.

“Punjabis are brave, we are not wearing bangles that you can do whatever and try to foment trouble,” the Punjab chief minister said.

He was addressing a gathering at Shikhaar Masiahan near here in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who inaugurated the Kartarpur corridor on the Indian side.

Singh said Pakistan should concentrate on development, building schools, improving roads and providing clean drinking water to its people.

He wondered aloud what Pakistan will gain by harbouring enmity.

“I hope that they (Pakistan) understand that our country wants friendship with them. I have spoken to the prime minister (Narendra Modi) many times and he too wishes that peace should prevail and the two nations should come close,” he said.

The chief minister called upon the people to follow the path shown by Guru Nanak Dev.

On the opening of the Kartarpur corridor, Singh said he was blessed and privileged to witness the historic day.

“‘Khulle darshan deedar’ (unhindered access) of Kartarpur Sahib has been a cherished dream of every Sikh and it has become a reality today. I am truly fortunate to have this chance to be a part of the jatha and bow my head in the land of my beloved guru,” he said.

“For the last 70 years, every Sikh used to pray for ‘khulle darshan’. In 1947, when India was partitioned, Punjab was divided into two parts and some of our religious shrines remained there (in Pakistan).

“I have had the opportunity to go to Gurdwara Nankana Sahib twice, but for the first time I will be visiting the gurdwara at Kartarpur Sahib. I really wished that I could go there and today the prime minister has fulfilled my wish. I am thankful to the PM for this. Entire Punjab and the Sikh community are happy,” he said.

Later, in a tweet, Singh dubbed the Kartarpur corridor as a “historic” people-to-people initiative which offered a “glimmer of hope for the two countries”.

The Punjab chief minister also touched upon the stubble burning issue and called on people to protect the environment.

“Our water is getting scarce and experts say if we don’t conserve it, Punjab will turn into a desert in another 25 years. We have to ponder over this. If we think about this today, only then can we save our future and our coming generations,” he said.

Earlier, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) chief Gobind Singh Longowal said the opening of the Kartarpur corridor was a long-pending demand of the Sikh community and the Centre had given it a gift.

Speaking on the occasion, former Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal said opening of the corridor was a matter of great happiness.

He said the area should be developed as the biggest centre of religious tourism.

Badal credited Modi with fulfilling the Sikh community’s demand.

“He (PM Modi) has a special bond with Punjab. Be it any issue of Punjab, religious, economic or political, he tries to find a solution,” he said.

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News Network
July 25,2020

New Delhi, Jul 25: India reported a spike of 48,916 coronavirus cases on Saturday, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The total COVID-19 positive cases stand at 13,36,861 including 4,56,071 active cases, 8,49,431 cured/discharged/migrated. With 757 deaths in the last 24 hours, the cumulative toll reached 31,358.

Maharashtra has reported 3,57,117 coronavirus cases, the highest among states and Union Territories in the country.

A total of 1,99,749 cases have been reported from Tamil Nadu till now, while Delhi has recorded a total of 1,28,389 coronavirus cases.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 4,20,898 samples were tested for coronavirus on Friday and overall 1,58,49,068 samples have been tested so far.

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Agencies
February 12,2020

New Delhi, Feb 12: Delhi Chief Minister-designate Arvind Kejriwal was on Wednesday elected as the leader of AAP legislative party, a day after he led the party to an emphatic victory in the Delhi Assembly elections.

Kejriwal was elected as the AAP legislative party leader during a meeting called by him with the newly-elected party MLAs. The meeting was held at the AAP chief's residence.

Atishi, AAP's winning candidate from Kalkaji constituency said after the meeting, "It is definitely a validation of the work that has been done by AAP in the last five years, be it education, health care, water or electricity."

Kejriwal is slated to take oath as the Delhi Chief Minister for the third time at Ramlila Maidan on February 16.

AAP galloped to a landslide victory by winning 62 of the 70 seats in the Delhi Assembly elections in the face of a high-voltage campaign by the BJP, which fielded a battery of Union Ministers and Chief Ministers in its electioneering, spearheaded by Home Minister Amit Shah.

The BJP marginally improved its tally, managing just eight seats from its 2015's tally of three seats. The Congress, which drew a blank in the previous elections, failed to open its account yet again.

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News Network
January 20,2020

New Delhi, Jan 20: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday said the kind of cleaning in the system that the BJP-led government had to carry out after coming to power in 2014 was "unbelievable" and it undertook the exercise without any grudge or worry.

Between 2014-16, there were a lot of questions as to why reforms did not come fast and there were comments that the government was incapable of bringing them, she said delivering the Nani Palkhivala Memorial lecture on "Road Map to $5 Trillion Economy" here.

Pointing out that there were allegations and criticism that the government wants to do something but it did not, Sitharaman said, "I am fully willing to buy that." She recalled that Prime Minister Narendra Modi often said he did not believe in incremental changes and the country needed good transformational change. The stage in which India is today, it cannot have little marginal increments, but good transformational change.

"But still one might say in the last five years the government never did. That can be a critical analysis and I am fully willing to buy that. Because post-2014 the kind of cleaning up the government had to do was unbelievable and we undertook that exercise without a grudge without a worry.. we had to do it and it is part of the game," she said. Elaborating, Sitharaman said states have their own views on Land Acquisition Bill and the government could not have done anything because land, after all, is with them.

Commenting on the topic 'Road Map to $5 trillion economy,' she said quoting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's comments, the government would take the route "Sarkar ka abhaav nahi hona chahiye, prabhaav hona chahiye aur dabaav nahi hona chahiye."

"Abhaav and dabaav both of which are not desirable, abhaav is the inadequacy or lack of adequate presence or shortfall. You do not need a shortfall. You need a government where it should be present, where it is expected to function.", she said.

"So there should not be abhaav. Dabaav (meaning pressure) is not something you want from the government. So, you want Prabhaav. It is broadly an influence, facilitation, broadly the philosophy with which it is mandated, she said.

Noting that the government has got the mandate through the election, she said, "The mandate was spelt out in so many different ways in its manifesto. So the route towards $5 trillion is this."

"We have to be there to facilitate. We have to be there to make it easy. We have to be where you need us, where there is no policy (reforms from the government)," she said.

On the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) implemented by the government, the union minister said the approach of the IBC was not to shut business. "IBC takes on the approach in having some kind of resolution where all people who exploited the company do not come back through the "back door," she said.

IBC was done through better management so that the institution is alive and kicking. It is something which she wanted to carry forward from Modi 1.0 to 2.0. "The point I am trying to make on this road to $5 trillion economy is that it is not just an abstraction, this is not how I want India to be. But in micro-level too, we are coming in response to every stakeholder," she said.

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Well Wisher
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Tuesday, 21 Jan 2020

LOL. Do not say anything, else she will get angry.

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