PM addresses nation on reforms: Who said what

September 22, 2012

PM

New Delhi, September 22: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in a televised speech this evening, explained to the nation the reforms introduced by his government last week. The PM said that the people have a right to know why his government took these decisions and that they should rest assured that the government did not want to burden the aam aadmi or common man.

Here are the political reactions to Dr Singh's speech:

Mamata Banerjee, Trinamool Congress Chief and West Bengal Chief Minister (on her Facebook page)
I want to ask what is the definition of aam aadmi? Is it not becoming clear that the use of the name of aam aadmi, and misuse of power of chair. Is it to finish aam aadmi? Is it the game plan.

Sitaram Yechury, CPI(M) leader
There is nothing new in the PM's speech

Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Trinamool Congress leader
PM is a gentleman, a learned man. But the Congress has no touch with the common man, though they keep talking about aam aadmi. Cut in subsidy will create problems for the middle class.

Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, BJP leader
In his speech, the Prime Minister tried to mislead the country. He appeared advocating the interests of foreign countries and not the Indians, he leads.

Prakash Javadekar, BJP spokesperson
If PM wanted to show intent, he should have acted against corruption. Instead he has burdened the common man.

Tarun Vijay, BJP spokesperson
Money doesn't grow on trees, yes. Thanks for telling us, but money stashed in foreign banks? No mention of financial irregularities. Just Words.

Shivanand Tiwari, Janata Dal (United) spokesperson
Everybody knows that a major share of petrol and diesel is imported. But what steps has the government taken to bring down the consumption. He is accusing the Opposition of creating confusion on the issue but, in fact, Singh himself is doing so.

Prakash Karat, CPI(M) General Secretary
The Prime Minister has sought to defend the indefensible steps taken by the government. The Prime Minister has not answered how he could proceed with these measures when it does not have the support of the overwhelming majority in Parliament.



D Raja, CPI National Secretary
The address was very very desperate. He miserably failed to answer any questions raised by common man and parties.

Kapil Sibal, union minister
Without these decisions, our situation would have worsened. I think the steps taken are not much and are right. The steps in 1991 were opposed similarly.


Rashid Alvi, Congress spokesperson
The Prime Minister has explained each and everything as to why under the present circumstances, tough steps taken by the government were necessary. This should be appreciated by other parties.

Shabana Azmi, actor and activist
Sound speech by PM. There should be many such addresses to a bewildered nation so people know what's going on and why.

Ajay Maken, Union sports minister
PM shows strong resolve, aggression and focus for fast economic growth, for welfare of the common man! "Those opposing now, did so in 1991 too."

Adi Godrej, chairman of the Godrej Group and president of CII
A very balanced address, he clearly explained that these steps were very necessary. His comparison with 1991 was very apt. I am impressed with the action last week and today's speech; the government has good support. Mamata's pullout may strengthen the government - the stock market went up and the rupee appreciated. A stronger rupee will lead to lower inflation.

Jay Shankar, economist and political strategist
There is very little that the Prime Minister has to connect with the people... they don't know or understand great economic terminologies like fiscal deficit. He should speak to the people more often. In a typical democracy like India, regional parties have become strong and they determine how reforms should be implemented. Strong leadership is required.

Madan Sabnavis, chief economist, Care Ratings
The government should rethink its decision taken on subsidy. The PM spoke very good economics but was not convincing. It is not a precarious situation like in 1991, India is not the only country with a high fiscal deficit.

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw MD, Biocon
PM gave a very cogent explanation of the urgency for reforms. He reached out to the people to explain how he can't afford India to reach a situation like some European countries where people are losing their jobs. I wish he had done this earlier. We can't have a prime minister who keeps large periods of silence.


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News Network
April 16,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 16: Seven fresh cases of COVID-19 were reported from Kerala on Thursday, taking the total number of active cases to 147 in the state,even as over 88,000 people are under observation.

On Wednesday, only one positive case had been reported, thelowest in weeks.

While Kannur reported four cases, two were from Kozhikode and one from Kasaragod, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told reportershere.

Five of those affected had come from abroad, while two have got it through contact with infected people.

Samples of 27 people, including 24 from the worst affected Kasaragod, have turned negative on Thursday.

He said 394 coronavirus cases have so farbeen detected from the state.

Over 80,000 people are under observation, including 532 in various hospitals.

Vijayan said 17,400 samples have been sent for testing of which 16,459 have returned negative.

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News Network
June 20,2020

Jun 20: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his remark that neither is anyone inside India's territory nor has any of its posts been captured, alleging that the PM has "surrendered" Indian territory to Chinese aggression.

In a statement on the all-party meeting called by Modi on Friday to discuss the situation at the India-China border, the government said, "At the outset, prime minister clarified that neither is anyone inside our territory nor is any of our post captured."

Tagging PM's remarks with his tweet, Gandhi said, "PM has surrendered Indian territory to Chinese aggression."

"If the land was Chinese: 1. Why were our soldiers killed? 2. Where were they killed?" Gandhi said.

The categorical statement by the prime minister came in the wake of reports that Chinese military has transgressed into the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control, the de-facto border, in several areas of eastern Ladakh including Pangong Tso and Galwan Valley.

Soon after Gandhi's tweet, Union Home Minister Amit Shah posted video of father of a soldier, who was injured in Galwan face-off, and hit out at the Congress leader, accusing him of indulging in "petty politics".

"A brave armyman’s father speaks and he has a very clear message for Mr. Rahul Gandhi. At a time when the entire nation is united, Mr. Rahul Gandhi should also rise above petty politics and stand in solidarity with national interest," Shah wrote.

The prime minister's assertion came even as Congress president Sonia Gandhi, at the all-party meet, questioned the government's handling of the situation, asking if there was any intelligence failure, and seeking assurance that China will "revert" to its original position.

Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused senior ministers in the government of "lying" to protect the prime minister and that the Centre was "fast asleep" while martyred jawans paid the price in Ladakh.

The former Congress chief also tagged a one-minute video of a jawan's father saying the Indian soldiers were unarmed when they were attacked by Chinese troops.

He has been questioning the government on the LAC standoff and asking how the Chinese occupied Indian territory and why Indian soldiers were sent "unarmed to martyrdom" in Ladakh.

Twenty Indian Army personnel, including a colonel, were killed in a clash with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on Monday night, the biggest military confrontation in over five decades that has significantly escalated the already volatile border standoff in the region.

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News Network
January 3,2020

New Delhi, Jan 3: The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on Thursday said the homegrown payments technology RuPay will offer 40 per cent cashback for its international card users for transactions in select countries.

Indians travelling to the UAE, Singapore, Sri Lanka, the UK, the US, Spain, Switzerland and Thailand will be able to earn up to Rs 16,000 cashback per month by getting their RuPay International Card activated, the NPCI said in a release.

With RuPay International cards --JCB, Discover and Diners Club--customers using multiple cards can earn more cashbacks under the 'RuPay Travel Tales' campaign.

To avail the cashback benefit, customers will have to do a minimum transaction of Rs 1000 and the maximum cashback is capped at Rs 4,000 for a single transaction.

The offer can be availed by customers using RuPay International Card four times a month that can give them a chance of earning up to Rs 16,000 as cashback.

Praveena Rai, COO, NPCI said, "We always aim to create an end-to-end value proposition for RuPay International cardholders to make their overseas travel experience seamless and memorable. The campaign is not only providing an exciting platform for travelers to earn cashbacks but also motivating them to migrate towards digital transactions nationally and globally".

Apart from earning cashbacks, RuPay International cardholders can access to RuPay affiliated domestic/international airport lounges.

They also can avail attractive offers on booking international fights and hotels in association with Thomas Cook and Make My Trip, the release said.

RuPay has a partnership with Discover Financial Services (DFS) and Japan based JCB International, allowing RuPay users the access to across 190 countries.

As on date, there are over 1,100 banks live on RuPay platform including SBI, HDFC Bank, Axis bank, among others.

RuPay card base has crossed 600 million, half of which are in the mid and premium segments, NCPI said.

NPCI was incorporated in 2008 as an umbrella organization for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India. An initiative of RBI and IBA under the provisions of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, NPCI was initiated for creating a robust payment and settlement infrastructure in the country.

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