Giriraj Singh apologises for 'racist' remarks against Sonia Gandhi

April 20, 2015

New Delhi, Apr 20: Congress on Monday raked up the issue of Union Minister Giriraj Singh's remarks against party president Sonia Gandhi in the Lok Sabha, forcing the senior BJP leader to regret his statement.

Giriraj apologisesAs soon as the House met for the day, Congress members raked up Singh's remarks against Gandhi, terming it as an attack on womanhood.

Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said BJP MPs and ministers have continuously been making unwarranted and irresponsible statements. Such remarks create fissures in the society and hurt the harmony, he said.

At one point of time, Kharge got offended when his mike was switched off. "Whenever I speak, the mike is switched off...I have to protest," he said.

Jyotiradiya Scindia (Cong) said such remarks make people hang their heads in shame. "It is an insult to the Nigerians also...The Nigerian High Commissioner has also protested."

He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should apologise and this time, the minister should not apologise but tender his resignation.

While rejecting a variety of adjournment motions moved by Congress, AIADMK and Left members, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan allowed Scindia to raise the issue of Singh's remarks.

She said she was also hurt by the remarks and such statements should not be made.

Both Gandhi and Giriraj Singh were present in the House.

Parliamentary Afairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said government and BJP did not aprove of such remarks but there was no need to bring the Prime Minister in the picture.

Kharge said the PM was in picture as the remarks have been made by a minister which makes it a collective responsibility of the Council of Ministers. "PM is the Leader of the House...," he said.

As Speaker took up the Question Hour, Congress members trooped into the Well raising slogans. The House was then adjourned for 20 minutes. Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi entered the House just as it was adjourned.

As soon as the House met again at 1145 am, Singh rose to say that his intention was not to insult anyone. But if his remarks have hurt anyone, "I regret it," the Minister said.

The minister of state for micro, small and medium enterprises was under fire for his racist barb at Gandhi. He had kicked up a row recently by asking whether Congress would have accepted Sonia Gandhi's leadership had she not been white-skinned.

"Had Rajiv Gandhi married a Nigerian woman and if she was not a white-skinned woman, would the Congress have then accepted her (Sonia's) leadership," he had told journalists recently.

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Agencies
May 10,2020

New Delhi, May 10: A medium-intensity earthquake of 3.4 magnitude hit Delhi on Sunday.

According to the National Center for Seismology (NCS), the quake occurred at 1.45pm at a depth of five kilometres.

There were no immediate reports of loss of life or property.

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News Network
March 16,2020

New Delhi, Mar 16: Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani has been summoned by the ED in connection with its money laundering probe against Yes Bank promoter Rana Kapoor and others, officials said on Monday.

They said Ambani was asked to depose at the Enforcement Directorate office in Mumbai on Monday as his group companies are among the big entities whose loans went bad after borrowing from the crisis-hit bank.

The officials said Ambani, 60, has sought exemption from appearance on some personal grounds and he may be issued a new date.

Ambani's group companies are stated to have taken loans of about Rs 12,800 crore from the bank that turned NPAs.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said in a March 6 press conference that the Anil Ambani Group, Essel, ILFS, DHFL and Vodafone were among the stressed corporates Yes Bank had exposure to.

Officials said promoters of all the big companies who had taken large loans from the beleaguered bank which later turned bad are being summoned for questioning in the case to take investigation forward.

Ambani's statement will be recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) upon deposition, they said.

Kapoor, 62, is at present in ED custody after he was arrested by the central probe agency early this month.

The ED has accused Kapoor, his family members and others of laundering "proceeds of crime" worth Rs 4,300 crore by receiving alleged kickbacks in lieu of extending big loans through their bank that later turned NPA.

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Agencies
July 2,2020

Mumbai, Jul 2: The Shiv Sena on Thursday termed the ban on 59 Chinese apps by the Indian government as a "digital strike" and asked if these apps were a threat to the national security, how did they operate for so many years.

An editorial in Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' sought to know when did the Centre realise these apps were a threat to the national security.

By banning the Chinese apps, Prime Minister Narendra Modi protected the interests of Indian internet users and his courage has be lauded, the Marathi publication said.

India on Monday banned 59 apps with Chinese links, including TikTok, UC Browser, SHAREit and WeChat, saying they were prejudicial to sovereignty, integrity and security of the country.

"If these apps were a threat to national security, how is it that these apps were functioning without any hurdles for so many years. If the opposition says the government neglected national security,then what will the Centre's stand be?" the Shiv Sena asked.

It said questions should be raised on all the previous governments for "allowing national data to go out of the country".

China has expressed displeasure over the Indian government's decision, the Marathi daily said, adding that Chinese soldiers are "still not ready to leave the Galwan Valley (in Ladakh)".

The Sena said it took the sacrifices of 20 soldiers for the government to realise Indian data was being illegally taken out of the country.

"The government took revenge by a digital strike," it stated.

There have been complaints earlier that users' data on Chinese apps was illegally sent out of the country, and apps like TikTok were "promoting vulgarity", it said.

"Many TikTok stars had reportedly joined the BJP," the Sena claimed. "What will happen to them?" it asked.

There is a need to break China economically, but that will not happen by banning its apps. The issue is about trade and investment between the two countries, it said.

"The largest Chinese investment is in Gujarat.

Chinese company Huawei has got the contract to set up 5G network in India. This company having keys to India's digital economy is akin to the Chinese Communist Party owning the Indian economy in future," it said.

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