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If talks are held with Pakistan, it will now be on PoK: Rajnath Singh

Agencies
August 18, 2019

Kalka, Aug 18: Defence minister Rajnath Singh here on Sunday said there would be no talks with Pakistan unless it acts against terrorists and stops supporting terror activities.

He further said if talks were held with Pakistan in future, they would be only on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Singh said this while addressing a public rally ahead of the flagging off the BJP's Jan Ashirwad Yatra for the October assembly polls in Haryana.

On the scrapping of the provision granting a special status to Jammu and Kashmirunder Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, Singh said the decisions had sent jitters to Pakistan and it became a cause of concern for them.

"Now it (Pakistan) is knocking every door and approaching various countries for help. Have we committed any crime? And they are trying to threaten us. However, America, perceived to be the most powerful country in the world by people, has snubbed Pakistan, telling them to initiate a dialogue with India," he said.

On what issue should we have talks and why, the defence minister asked in the presence of Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Union ministers Narendra Singh Tomar, Krishan Pal Gurjar and Rattan Lal Kataria besides a number of cabinet ministers and BJP MLAs from the state.

Rajnath Singh said people in Pakistan say there should be talks between India and Pakistan.

"About what should we talk? What's the issue on which there should be talks? Why there should be a talk? If there would be any talk with Pakistan, it would happen only when Pakistan stops supporting terror from its soil," he asserted.

Singh said for the present government, India's respect, pride and prestige was above all and they were committed to this and it was not any election stunt.

He also accused Pakistan of wanting to destabilise and weaken India through terrorism.

"At times, Pakistan wants to break our country by using terrorism. But our Prime Minister has shown that he has a 56-inch chest. He took a decision to give a befitting reply after the Pulwama terror attack as our Air Force carried out the Balakot strike," he said.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, who remained in denial on Balakot strike, had recently said that India was planning a bigger strike than Balakot which meant he had admitted that the Balakot air strike took place and a large number of terrorists were eliminated, the defence minister said.

Hitting out at the Congress Party over the purchase of Rafale jets, Singh said, "Had we got Rafale, our Air Force need not have gone to Balakot. We could have eliminated those terrorists from our land itself."

He said the government would purchase the Rafale jets soon.

The defence minister also highlighted the development works undertaken by the government during its second term.

"We have carried out a number of development works, but we have not left issues which concern nation's pride. Whatever we had said in our election manifesto, we are committed to fulfil that, be that the revocation of Article 370," Rajnath said.

The Union minister further stressed that the opposition used to say if anybody touched Article 370, the country would be divided and the BJP won't be able to come to power.

"I want to say it clearly that the BJP does not do politics for forming government. We do politics of nation building. Under no circumstances, we will allow the prestige of our country be tarnished," he added.

On the promises made in their election manifesto, Singh said, "Our Prime Minister keeps telling us to remain committed to the promises made in the manifesto. 'Pran jaye par vachan na jaye'. We do not go back on what we have promised. We scrapped provisions of Article 370 and 35-A for J&K's interests, keeping in view the future of its youth …," he said.

Rajnath also said their party did not indulge in the politics of dividing Hindu and Muslims.

"Our thinking is that the two are brothers. Those who indulge in the vote-bank politics divide the communities in a bid to capture power," the BJP leader said while addressing the rally in Kalka.

Singh appealed to the people of Haryana to bring back the Manohar Lal Khattar-led government by helping the BJP realise its target of winning 75 seats in the 90-member state assembly.

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News Network
March 20,2020

New Delhi, Mar 20: The four men convicted of the gang rape and murder of a Delhi woman on December 16, 2012 were hanged in the darkness of pre-dawn on Friday, ending a horrific chapter in India's long history of sexual assault that had seared the nation's soul. Mukesh Singh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar Singh (31) were executed at 5.30 am for the savage assault in an empty moving bus on the 23-year-old physiotherapy intern who came to be known the world over as Nirbhaya, the fearless one.

This is the first time that four men have been hanged together in Tihar Jail, South Asia's largest prison complex that houses more than 16,000 inmates. The executions were carried out after the men exhausted every possible legal avenue to escape the gallows. Their desperate attempts only postponed the inevitable by less than two months after the first date of execution was set for January 22.

They were hanged at 5.30 am, Director General of Prison Sandeep Goel said.

After raping and brutalising the woman, the men, one of whom was a juvenile at the time, dumped her on the road and left for dead on the cold winter night. Her friend who was with her was also severely beaten and thrown out along with her. She was so severely violated that her insides were spilling out when she was taken to hospital. She died in a Singapore hospital after battling for her life for a fortnight.

Six people, including the four convicts and the juvenile, were named as accused.

While Ram Singh allegedly committed suicide in the Tihar Jail days after the trial began in the case, the juvenile was released in 2015 after spending three years in a correctional home.

The road to the gallows was a long and circuitous one, going through the lower courts, the High Court, the Supreme Court and the president's office before going back to the Supreme Court that heard and rejected various curative petitions.

The death warrants were deferred by a court thrice on the grounds that the convicts had not exhausted all their legal remedies and that the mercy petition of one or the other was before the president.

On March 5, a trial court issued fresh death warrants for March 20 at 5.30 am as the final date for the execution.

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News Network
February 29,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 29: Kerala Excise department has organized a Tik-Tok competition as part of its drug addiction-free mission.

The contest will be on the effects of drug addiction on people and society. The winner goes will go home with an I-Pad as a prize.

The competition is being organised as part of the Department's intensive campaign titled "Tomorrow's Kerala, Drug and Addiction-free Kerala".

"Those taking part should post the video from their profile with the hashtag #vimukthikerala. Each contestant can post more than one video. They can challenge friends with #vimukthichallenge. The last date of receiving them is March 5," said the spokesperson of the Excise Department.

The number of likes a video gets, its theme and presentation will be the criteria on which the video will be judged.

"As soon as a video is posted on Tik-Tok, it should also be sent on the WhatsApp number 9072588222," added the spokesperson of the Excise Department.

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Agencies
July 30,2020

Mumbai, Jul 30: Counterfeiting incidents have increased 24 per cent in the country in 2019 over the previous year, creating an over Rs 1 lakh crore hole in the economy, according to a report.

The report also said counterfeiters are having a free run due to the pandemic-driven disruptions to organised supply chains and the resultant spike in consumer demand.

According to the report by ASPA, a self-regulated industry body of anti-counterfeiting and traceability solutions providers, counterfeiting has risen steadily in the last few years, and exploiting the pandemic as a cover for their activities.

Between February and April 2020, over 150 incidents of counterfeiting cases were reported, mostly about fake PPE kits, sanitisers and masks taking advantage of the high demand for these products, it noted.

"There was a 24 per cent increase in counterfeiting in 2019 over 2018, leading to the loss of more than Rs 1 lakh crore to the overall economy," said Nakul Pasricha, president of Authentication Solution Providers Association.

The association works with global authorities like the International Hologram Manufacturers Association, Counterfeit Intelligence Bureau of the Interpol, and domestic industry lobbies like Ficci, he said.

Counterfeiting is a universal issue and is 3.3 per cent of global trade, according to the OECD data, impacting social and economic development across the world.

The report lists the currency, FMCG, alcohol, pharma, documents, agriculture, infrastructure, automotive, tobacco, lifestyle and apparel, as the 10 sectors impacted most by counterfeiting.

Among these, currency, alcohol and FMCG continue to be the top three sectors with the highest counterfeiting in the last two years. The FMCG sector is most vulnerable, as counterfeit incidents rose 63 per cent between 2018 (79) and 2019 when the reported cases jumped to 129.

Within the states, the fakers have a free run in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bengal, Punjab, Jharkhand, Delhi, Gujarat, and Uttarakhand, calling for urgent actions to frame anti-counterfeiting policy measures.

According to the report, UP continues to be on top followed by Bihar, Rajasthan, and together these three states represent almost 45 per cent of all counterfeiting reported in the last two years.

What is more alarming is that counterfeiting is not limited to high-end luxury items today, as common everyday items as fake cumin seeds, mustard cooking oil, ghee, hair oils, soaps, baby care vaccines and medicines are aplenty in the markets.

"There is an urgent need for building and nurturing authentication ecosystems in the country with the active involvement and active participation of all stakeholders," said Pasricha.

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