Modi govt messed up the economy, mismanaged J&K: Manmohan Singh

TOI
March 18, 2018

New Delhi, Mar 18: Senior Congress leader Manmohan Singh today attacked the BJP-led NDA government for failing to deliver on its "tall promises" and "making a mess" of the Indian economy.

"The BJP government made tall promises. PM Modi himself said that his government will double farmers' income. For that, a growth rate of 12 per cent per annum is necessary which is unthinkable in the current scenario," Singh said in an address at the 84th plenary session of the Congress.

Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's propensity for "jumlebaazi" (empty rhetoric), Singh charged that the work done by this union government falls short of the claims made by its leaders.

"He (Modi) said we will provide 2 crore jobs, we have not seen even 2 lakh jobs... It is a jumla-type statement unlikely to be achieved," he charged.

Describing the government's demonetisation move as "ill-considered" and GST as "hastily implemented", the Congress leader said the twin measures had "messed up Indian economy".
In a similar vein, Congress leader P Chidambaram claimed the Modi government had inherited a strong economy legacy from the erstwhile UPA regime, but four year on, the Indian economy is lagging behind its global competitors.

"Today, the Indian economy is decoupled from the world economy which is growing," he said.

He also termed demonetisation a "big lie", before offering some choice words of advice to the RBI governor.

"Demonetisation was a big lie. RBI is still counting and won't tell us how much money has come back. I would like to advice the RBI Governor to go to Tirupati and get the hundi collectors. They count money faster than the RBI," Chidambaram quipped.

Singh, a noted economist and former finance minister, disparaged the budgetary allocations made by the government for the defence sector, calling it "inadequate" given the current geo-political scenario in India's neighbourhood.

"The defense expenditure of our country is no more than 1.6 per cent of our GDP. This is far too inadequate to meet the challenges of our security apparatus and our needs," he said. 

On Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), Singh blamed the BJP-PDP combine for engendering instability, and likened the two parties to "the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing".

"The Modi government has mismanaged issues in J&K like never before. They have installed a government where the two wings of the administration are working against each other. The atmosphere is deteriorating everyday," he warned.

The former PM said that India currently standing at the crossroads, and while it has many opportunities in hand, it also faces many challenges. At such a time, the Congress party will provide a new pathway to chalk out the future of the country, he asserted.

"The Congress party made India what it is today. It led the freedom struggle and guided India towards development after Independence. Today, we face similar challenges of carrying forward development and social justice," said Singh.

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News Network
February 17,2020

New Delhi, Feb 17: Two alleged criminals were killed in an exchange of fire with the Special Cell of Delhi Police at Pul Pehlad Pur area in New Delhi on Monday morning, officials said.

The encounter took place around 5 am, they said.

Raja Qureshi and Ramesh Bahadur, who were injured during the encounter, were rushed to a nearby hospital, where they were declared brought dead by doctors, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) P S Kushwah said.

According to police, the two men were involved in multiple cases of murder and robbery.

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News Network
March 5,2020

New Delhi, Mar 5: The primary classes of all schools in the national capital will remain closed till March 31 to prevent a possibility of spread of coronavirus, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia announced on Thursday.

According to Directorate of Education (DoE) officials, while elaborate guidelines have been issued about preventive measures for coronavirus, students of nursery and primary classes are too young to understand the risk, making them more prone to infectious diseases.

Sisodia, who also holds the education portfolio, tweeted, "As a precautionary measure to prevent the possibility of spread of COVID-19 amongst our children, Delhi Government has directed the immediate closure of all primary schools (Govt/ aided/ private/MCD/NDMC) till 31/3/20(sic)."

A senior DoE official said, "Elaborate guidelines have already been issued. However, students of nursery and primary classes are too young to understand the risks associated with COVID-19. Thus they are more prone to infectious diseases and mingle around with classmates more often."

"It will be good if they are trained in the do's and dont's under the care and supervision of their parents at home. However, students of classes other than primary will continue to come to schools or examination centres for writing their examination as per schedule. The teaching, as well as non-teaching staff, will also attend regular school," the official said.

As of now, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country stands at 30, including 16 Italian tourists. The figure includes the first three cases reported from Kerala last month who have already been discharged following recovery.

Alerted by the coronavirus case reported in Delhi-NCR, schools in the region have sent out advisories to parents suggesting that they do not send their wards to attend classes even in case of mild cough or cold, and saying that they may declare holidays if the need arises. A few schools have announced already holidays and others have advanced their spring break.

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News Network
May 21,2020

United Nations, May 21: At least 19 million children in parts of Bangladesh and India are at "imminent risk" from flash flooding and heavy rain as Cyclone Amphan makes landfall and the state of West Bengal is expected to take a direct hit from the powerful storm, the UN's children agency has warned.

The extremely severe cyclonic storm Amphan made a landfall at Digha in West Bengal and Bangladesh on Wednesday, leaving a trail of destruction. At least three persons were killed in India and seven in Bangladesh.

The UNICEF said that at least 19 million children in parts of Bangladesh and India are at “imminent risk from flash flooding, storm surges and heavy rain as Cyclone Amphan makes landfall.”

West Bengal, “home to more than 50 million people, including over 16 million children, is expected to take a direct hit from the powerful storm,” the UN agency said in a statement on Wednesday.

The UNICEF said it is also very concerned that the COVID-19 could deepen the humanitarian consequences of Cyclone Amphan in both the countries. Evacuees who have moved to crowded temporary shelters would be especially vulnerable to the spread of respiratory diseases like COVID-19, as well as other infections.

“We continue to monitor the situation closely,” said UNICEF Regional Director for South Asia Jean Gough.

“The safety of children and their families in the areas that will be impacted is a priority and it is good to see that the authorities have planned their urgent response factoring in the on-going COVID-19 pandemic.”

Across the region, the UNICEF is “working closely with the governments of Bangladesh and India and stands ready to support humanitarian operations to reach children and families affected by Cyclone Amphan.”

Based on the storm’s current trajectory, Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh – now sheltering over 850,000 Rohingya refugees – is likely to experience high winds and heavy rains which may cause damage to homes and shelters in the refugee camps and Bangladeshi communities. This population is already highly vulnerable and cases of COVID-19 have recently been confirmed in the camps and host communities.

The UNICEF said it is working with the Deputy Commissioner’s Office in Cox’s Bazar, the Office of the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner, and humanitarian partners to help ensure Bangladeshi and Rohingya children and families remain protected.

These efforts include raising awareness among Rohingya and Bangladeshi communities on cyclone preparedness and prepositioning emergency life-saving water, sanitation, hygiene and medical supplies to meet immediate humanitarian needs.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said at the daily press briefing that UN teams on the ground continue to work with the Government of Bangladesh to prepare and support those in need in the wake of the cyclone.

“Given the current pandemic, this support includes distributing personal protective equipment, disinfectants and other materials to evacuation shelters. To reduce the person-to-person contact during the delivery of aid, e-cash distributions will be used,” he said adding that the UN along with its partners is mobilising more than 1,700 mobile health teams and preparing for emergency food deliveries.

“The Super Cyclone is taking a westerly trajectory towards India, but nearly 8 million people in Bangladesh remain at risk,” he said adding that the Bangladesh government has evacuated more than 2 million people in high-risk areas. 

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