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Mani Shankar Aiyar calls Modi ‘neech’; suspended from Congress

Agencies
December 8, 2017

New Delhi/Surat, Dec 8: Congress suspended Mani Shankar Aiyar on Thursday after the former Union minister stoked yet another acrimonious row by describing Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a "neech aadmi".

Aiyar's choice of words not only drew a ferocious attack from Modi in Surat but riled his own party functionaries who feared potential damage to its electoral prospects due to the diplomat-turned-politician's foot-in-the-mouth penchant. "He (Modi) is neech kism ka aadmi who has no sabhyata (civility)," Aiyar had said earlier in the day after Modi accused Congress of using Dalit icon B R Ambedkar merely to get votes and trying to erase his contribution in building India.

Addressing an election rally in Surat, Modi hit back at Aiyar and said dejected Congress functionaries had lost their mental balance and crossed all limits of decency. "Mani Shankar Aiyar has called me neech and from nichli jaati (lower caste). Is this not an insult to Gujarat? Is it not an insult to India's great values? But people of Gujarat will take revenge on December 18 and teach you the precise meaning of neech," Modi said.

The PM said Aiyar's remarks smacked of Congress's "Mughal mindset" that discriminated between the lower and upper castes. "I, as chief minister of Gujarat for 14 years and now as PM, have done nothing that has forced citizens to hang their heads in shame. If Congress feels that working for the poor and distressed is something too low, I can only wish them good luck," he said amid chants of "Modi Modi".

The PM even recalled Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's 10-year-old "maut ka saudagar" remark against him as he accused the rival of constantly insulting and conspiring against him. "Despite so many insults, I have not been vindictive as PM and BJP will always work to uphold the values of public life," he said.

With a procession of BJP functionaries alleging that Aiyar's controversial remark was a reflection of the Nehru-Gandhi family's arrogance and their sense of entitlement, and fear growing that the indiscretion might hurt the party in Gujarat, Congress led by Rahul Gandhi went into damage control. The party vice-president took to Twitter to disapprove of Aiyar's remark and asked him to apologise. "BJP and PM routinely use filthy language to attack the Congress party. The Congress has a different culture and heritage. I do not appreciate the tone and language used by Mani Shankar Aiyar to address the PM. Both the Congress and I expect him to apologise for what he said," Rahul said.

Though Aiyar can stubbornly hold his ground, he promptly obliged and blamed the derogatory remark on his poor Hindi. "My Hindi is not very good. Yes, I called Modi 'neech' but did not mean it as a low-born; I meant it as low," he said, recalling that his poor grasp of Hindi had failed him earlier too when he called former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee a "nalayak" PM.

However, this did not fully assuage the worry of the potential fallout of Aiyar's slur against the PM in a state where in 2007, Sonia calling Modi "maut ka saudagar" had badly boomeranged on her party. Coming just after the controversy over Kapil Sibal for allegedly seeking to delay resolution of the Ayodhya dispute by seeking postponement of hearing in the SC until after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, many in the party expressed concern over "self-goals" during the last lap of the Gujarat polls. Former Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit, in fact, suspected an effort to sabotage Rahul when he is about to take over as party president.

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Friday, 8 Dec 2017

All Congees are tomorrows BjP / RSS

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News Network
February 28,2020

New Delhi, Feb 28: The Congress on Friday reacted sharply to the petition in the court seeking registration of a First Information Report against Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for alleged hate speeches. It said the petition was to save BJP leaders Pravesh Verma, Anurag Thakur and Kapil Mishra, referring to the trio as "PAK".

Congress leader Jaiveer Shergil told news agency, "It is political interest litigation to hide the failure of the government and to put a lid on the BJP's involvement in fuelling the fire in Delhi riots.

"This is to hide and save BJP's PAK -- Pravesh, Anurag and Kapil," said Shergil.

The BJP has two parameters, the laws for the common man and citizens of the country are different from those for the BJP leaders, added Mr Shergil.

The Delhi High Court on Friday issued notices on a petition for the registration of an FIR against Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and others on charges of delivering hate speeches.

Congress said that the PIL was politically motivated and the inaction on the hate speeches made by the BJP leaders, which led to the riots, was shocking.

"When there are 48 cases registered, why three cases against the BJP leaders are not registered," asked Mr Shergil.

A Bench of Chief Justice DN Patel sought responses from the Central and Delhi governments apart from Delhi Police on a petition filed by Lawyers Voice. The matter will again be heard on April 13.

The petition also sought a case against Aam Aadmi Party leaders Manish Sisodia and Amanatullah Khan, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen leaders Akbaruddin Owaisi and Waris Pathan, and lawyer Mehmood Paracha.

"Issue directions to constitute an SIT to look into these hate speeches and take appropriate action. Issue direction to register an FIR against those named in the petition," the petition said.

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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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Agencies
July 23,2020

Ayodhya, Jul 23: All 32 accused in the Babri mosque demolition case should be invited to the "bhumi pujan" ceremony for the construction of the Ram temple here and honoured, a Hindutva outfit leader has said.

Hindu Dharma Sena president Santosh Dubey is one of the main accused in the case.

Dubey also insisted that the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust must also invite all the four Shankaracharyas to the ceremony planned on August 5.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also likely to attend the event.

"The office bearers of Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra must ensure that along with all 32 accused in the Babri mosque demolition case, the families of the kar sevaks who gave their lives in the Ram Temple movement must also be invited to the 'bhumi pujan' ceremony and must be honoured there," Dubey told PTI.

The top court verdict in favour of the Ram temple at the site would not have been possible had the Babri mosque not been demolished, he said.

"If the Trust does not invite the kar sevaks, it will a display of ego and arrogance. Without inviting the kar sevaks who have been accused in Babri mosque demolition and the families of the slain kar sevaks, the 'bhumi pujan' will remain incomplete," Dubey added.

A special CBI court in Lucknow is recording the statements of the 32 Babri demolition accused under section 313 of the CrPC, which enables them to plead their innocence, if they so want.

The court is conducting day-to-day hearings to complete the trial by August 31 as directed by the Supreme Court.

The mosque in Ayodhya was demolished on December 6, 1992 by 'kar sevaks' who claimed that an ancient Ram temple had stood on the same site. Former deputy prime minister L K Advani and BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi were leading the Ram temple movement at that time.

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