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Narasimha Rao wasn't indifferent to Babri demolition: Naresh Chandra

July 12, 2012

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New Delhi, July 12: It's "absurd and laughable" to suggest that PV Narasimha Rao was indifferent to the December 6, 1992 demolition of Ayodhya's Babri Masjid and sequestered himself in his prayer room, a key aide to the then prime minister says of the events of the fateful day, whose repercussions are still being felt.

"It is absurd and laughable. They cannot target anybody else, as only this (hitting at Rao) will sell. It makes good news. They need someone to blame," Naresh Chandra, who had just stepped down as cabinet secretary and was special advisor to the prime minister at the time, said.

His reference was to two new books - a posthumously-published autobiography of veteran Congressman Arjun Singh and of journalist Kuldip Nayar - which contend that Narasimha Rao was "incommunicado" and "remained inside his puja room when the (Babri) mosque was being demolished".

Chandra, who also served as ambassador to US, admitted that he had not read the books and would reserve further comments on them till he had done so but was forthright in his condemnation of Narasimha Rao's "negative" projection.

"Would any official in the Prime Minister's Office have let him (Narasimha Rao) relax when the demolition was happening? The prime minister was continuously in touch with both (home minister SB) Chavan and (then home secretary Madhav) Godbole during the entire episode," a combative Chandra said.

"If at all anybody important was not in Delhi on that day it was Arjun Singh (then the human resource development minister) himself. People give their views according to what they know or assume they know," Chandra contended.

He said the key issue in the days leading up to December 6 was whether president's rule could have been imposed in Uttar Pradesh by dismissing the Bharatiya Janata Party government of Kalyan Singh.

"This is an issue nobody is talking about. But the prevailing view then was that since Kalyan Singh has given assurances to the Supreme Court and the National Integration Council, dismissing the government using Article 356 would have meant that the opposition parties would have jumped at the Rao government," he said.

"Whether Article 356 was legally or constitutionally possible then, only an expert lawyer can say," he added.


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Agencies
January 21,2020

New Delhi, Jan 21: With the IMF lowering India's economic growth estimate for the current fiscal to 4.8 per cent, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Tuesday claimed an attack on the world body and its chief economist Gita Gopinath by government ministers was imminent.

He also alleged that the growth figure of 4.8 per cent given by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is after some "window dressing" and he won't be surprised if it goes even lower.

"Reality check from IMF. Growth in 2019-20 will be BELOW 5 per cent at 4.8 per cent," Chidambaram said in a series of tweets.

"Even the 4.8 per cent is after some window dressing. I will not be surprised if it goes even lower," the former finance minister said.

IMF Chief Economist Gopinath was one of the first to denounce demonetisation, he noted.

"I suppose we must prepare ourselves for an attack by government ministers on the IMF and Dr Gita Gopinath," Chidambaram said.

The IMF lowered India's economic growth estimate for the current fiscal to 4.8 per cent and listed the country's much lower-than-expected GDP numbers as the single biggest drag on its global growth forecast for two years.

In October, the IMF had pegged India economic growth at 6.1 per cent for 2019.

Listing decline in rural demand growth and an overall credit sluggishness for lowering of India forecasts, Gopinath, however, had said the growth momentum should improve next year due to factors like positive impact of corporate tax rate reduction.

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News Network
February 18,2020

New Delhi, Feb 18: India emerged as the world's fifth-largest economy by overtaking the UK and France in 2019, says a report.

A US-based think tank World Population Review in its report said that India is developing into an open-market economy from its previous autarkic policies.

"India's economy is the fifth-largest in the world with a GDP of $2.94 trillion, overtaking the UK and France in 2019 to take the fifth spot," it said.

The size of the UK economy is $2.83 trillion and that of France is $2.71 trillion.

The report further said that in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms, India's GDP (PPP) is $10.51 trillion, exceeding that of Japan and Germany. Due to India's high population, India's GDP per capita is $2,170 (for comparison, the US is $62,794).

India's real GDP growth, however, it said is expected to weaken for the third straight year from 7.5 per cent to 5 per cent.

The report observed that India's economic liberalisation began in the early 1990s and included industrial deregulation, reduced control on foreign trade and investment, and privatisation of state-owned enterprises.

"These measures have helped India accelerate economic growth," it said.

India's service sector is the fast-growing sector in the world accounting for 60 per cent of the economy and 28 per of employment, the report said, adding that manufacturing and agriculture are two other significant sectors of the economy.

The US-based World Population Review is an independent organisation without any political affiliations.

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Agencies
July 30,2020

Ahead of the grand foundation stone-laying ceremony of the Ram Temple on August 5, Ayodhya priest and 16 police personnel, involved in the mega event on August 5, have tested positive for COVID-19. Priest Pradeep Das is one of the four priests who regularly perform puja at the Ram Temple site in Ayodhya.

Das has been placed under home quarantine and contact tracing is underway, reported.

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh police and Sashastra Seema Bal have been put on high alert in the districts bordering Nepal ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Ayodhya on August 5.

PM Modi likely to launch postal stamps on Ram Temple, Ramayana during Ayodhya visit: Report
Counterfeit products create Rs 1-lakh-crore hole in economy, incidents up 24% in 2019: Report
On July 29, Uttar Pradesh reported a record single-day spike of 3,570 COVID-19 cases, taking the infection tally to more than 77,000, while 33 fresh fatalities pushed the death toll to 1,530.

"There are 29,997 active COVID-19 cases in the state and 45,807 patients have been discharged after treatment," Additional Chief Secretary, Medical and Health, Amit Mohan Prasad told reporters. "The death toll due to the disease has reached 1,530," he said.

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