Modi, Trump campaigns similar, both play with people's emotions: Sam Pitroda

Agencies
April 9, 2019

New Delhi, Apr 9: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump's campaign strategies are similar as both rely on "playing" with people's emotions, Indian Overseas Congress chief Sam Pitroda said Monday.

Speaking on 'political campaigns in the digital era', Pitroda, a long-time Gandhi family adviser, said digital era is about sound bytes, gimmicks, and videos as opposed to the in depth analysis by journalists earlier.

He said the real use of digital technology in campaigns started visibly during the Obama-era.

Former US president Barack Obama was the first one to really use digital technology to mobilise young people, Pitroda said, delivering the second Madhavan Kutty Memorial Lecture.

He said it was Trump who recently capitalised on digital media.

"His (Trump's) strategy was similar to Modi's strategy. What was the strategy, the strategy was -- there is enemy at the border -- in that case it was Mexican, and enemy also as people in the country, immigrants.

"Very similar, Modi says that there is enemy at the border...Anything you say immediately everyone attacks you. The media is party to it," Pitroda said.

"Second strategy Trump had -- 'Nobody knows anything. I have all the answers. Hillary Clinton is zero, Democratic Party did not do anything'. Same with Mr Modi -- Congress did nothing for 70 years," he said, asking how did India make advancements in areas such as atomic energy, milk revolution, and Green Revolution.

"It is an insult to the people of India that nothing got done in 70 years," he said.

Pitroda said it was due to digital campaign that facts can be twisted.

"It worked in India and it worked in the US. Today, digital media also amplifies lies in a big way mainly because you can hide behind fake identity," he said. "Look at the Trump and Modi idea, it is basically playing with emotions... It does not depend on facts. Facts don't matter," Pitroda said.

"So when we prepared the manifesto, we said how can we take this message on social media. How do we convince people that these are the real issues...Real issue is probably not what happened at the border, real issue today is jobs, economy, what do we do about farming, what do we do to increase productivity and what do we do to increase farmers' income," he said.

Pitroda, who is credited with being the architect of the telecom revolution under Rajiv Gandhi, was part of the 19-member Manifesto Committee set up by the Congress to come out with the party's manifesto released last week.

He has worked on the Knowledge Commission and also founded the National Innovation Council later during the Congress-led UPA rule.

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News Network
February 1,2020

New Delhi, Feb 1: Activist Sharjeel Imam's mobile phone and laptop along with some anti-CAA posters have been seized from his house in Bihar's Jehanabad and rented flat in Vasant Kunj, police said on Friday.

Imam was arrested by the Delhi Police's Crime Branch from Jehanabad in a sedition case and he is being questioned by police for his alleged inflammatory speeches in Aligarh and at the Jamia Millia Islamia University here.

During investigation, a laptop and a desktop belonging to Imam were recovered from his rented flat at Vasant Kunj, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rajesh Deo said.

His mobile phone was recovered from his house at his native place in Jehanabad's Kako area on the instance of his brother, he said.

Imam had prepared anti-CAA and anti-NRC pamphlets with "misleading and intimidating facts" and then distributed them in various mosques, the copy of which have been recovered, police said.

The shop from where he made photocopies of the pamphlets has also been identified, they added.

Imam was arrested on Tuesday. He was brought to Delhi on Wednesday and produced at the residence of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Purushottam Pathak in the evening amid tight security after which police were granted his five-day custody.

The PhD scholar at the Jawaharlal Nehru University's Centre for Historical Studies has been booked for sedition and other charges in several states after videos of his alleged inflammatory speeches, made during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), were circulated on the social media.

An FIR was registered against Imam by the Delhi Police on January 25 under IPC sections 124A (sedition) and 153A (promoting or attempting to promote disharmony or feelings of enmity on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, caste or community or any other ground whatsoever) among others.

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News Network
June 19,2020

Jun 19: Billionaire Mukesh Ambani on Friday announced that his oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries is now net debt-free after raising a record Rs 1.69 lakh crore from global investors and a rights issue in under two months.

Reliance raised Rs 1.15 lakh crore from global tech investors by selling a little less than a quarter of the firm's digital arm, Jio Platforms Ltd, and another Rs 53,124.20 crore through a rights issue in the past 58 days.

Taken together with last year's sale of 49 per cent stake in fuel retailing venture to BP Plc of UK for Rs 7,000 crore, the total fund raised is in excess of Rs 1.75 lakh crore, the company said in a statement.

Reliance had a net debt of Rs 1,61,035 crore as on March 31, 2020. "With these investments, RIL has become net debt-free," it said.

"I have fulfilled my promise to the shareholders by making Reliance net debt-free much before our original schedule of March 31, 2021," Ambani said.

Jio Platforms - which houses the country's youngest but largest telecom firm Reliance Jio, raised Rs 1,15,693.95 crore from leading global investors including Facebook, Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners, General Atlantic, KKR, Mubadala, ADIA, TPG, L Catterton and PIF since April 22, 2020.

Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund PIF buying 2.32 per cent stake in the unit for Rs 11,367 crore on June 18 "marks the end of Jio Platforms' current phase of induction of financial partners," the statement said.

Alongside, Reliance launched India's biggest right issue, which was subscribed to 1.59 times.

Though the rights issue size was Rs 53,124 crore, the company has got only 25 per cent of the money as the remaining is to be paid only next fiscal.

Ambani had at the company's annual general meeting on August 12, 2019, announced a roadmap for Reliance to become a net debt-free company before March 31, 2021.

"We have a very clear roadmap to becoming a zero net-debt company within the next 18 months that is by March 31, 202," he had said last year highlighting strong interest from strategic and financial investors in consumer businesses, Jio and Reliance Retail.

In the statement on Friday, he said he was both delighted and humbled to announce the fulfillment of the promise.

"Exceeding the expectations of our shareholders and all other stakeholders, again and yet again, is in the very DNA of Reliance," he said.

"Therefore, on the proud occasion of becoming a net debt-free company, I wish to assure them that Reliance in its Golden Decade will set even more ambitious growth goals, and achieve them," he added.

He said over the past few weeks, phenomenal interest was received from the global financial investor community in partnering with Jio.

"As our fundraising milestone from financial investors is achieved, we sincerely thank the marquee group of financial partners and warmly welcome them into Jio Platforms," he said.

"I also express my heartfelt gratitude to all the retail and institutional investors, both domestic and foreign, for their overwhelming participation in our record-setting Rights Issue," he added.

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coastaldigest.com web desk
June 18,2020

Kathmandu, June 18: Nepal's National Assembly on Thursday unanimously passed the Constitution Amendment Bill to update the country's political and administrative map incorporating three Indian territories. 

The new map also includes land controlled by India. It requires President Bidhya Devi Bhandari's approval.

India, which controls the region - a slice of land including Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani areas in the northwest - has rejected the map, saying it is not based on historical facts or evidence.

India has termed as untenable the "artificial enlargement" of territorial claims by Nepal after its lower house of parliament on Saturday unanimously approved the new political map of the country featuring areas which India maintains belong to it.

The National Assembly, or the upper house of the Nepalese parliament, unanimously passed the constitution amendment bill providing for inclusion of the country's new political map in its national emblem.

The bill was passed with all the 57 members present voting in its favour.

The dispute

The latest border dispute between the countries began last month after India inaugurated Himalayan link road built in a disputed region that lies at a strategic three-way junction with Tibet and China.

The 80km (50-mile) road, inaugurated by Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, cuts through the Lipulekh Himalayan pass, considered one of the shortest and most feasible trade routes between India and China.

The road cuts the travel time and distance from India to Tibet's Mansarovar lake, considered holy by the Hindus.

But Nepal says about 19km of the road passes through its area and fiercely contested the inauguration of the road, viewing the alleged incursion as a stark example of bullying by its much larger neighbour.

Nepal, which was never under colonial rule, has long claimed the areas of Limpiyadhura, Kalapani and Lipulekh under the 1816 Sugauli treaty with the British East India Company, although these areas have remained under the control of Indian troops since India fought a war with China in 1962.

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Angry indian
 - 
Sunday, 21 Jun 2020

acche din after deshbakth become ruling party...now even weakist country started conquring indian..what a shame on so0 called 56 inch chest..we need tiger leader not Pm who always speak in air and lie alot..

 

this is how an hindu nation is build ? Bjps cant rule india for more than 10 year...

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