Happy that Defence Minister has accepted mistake: BJP

August 8, 2013

Defence_MinisterNew Delhi, Aug 8: With A K Antony speaking of involvement of Pakistani troops in the LoC attack, BJP today came out in support of the government on the response over the killing of Indian soldiers, saying it was happy that the Defence Minister has accepted his mistake and rectified it.

"We are happy that the Defence Minister has accepted his mistake and tried to rectify it...He has said the Pakistan Army was involved and that our restraint should not be taken for granted," Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said soon after Antony's fresh statement in the House.

Taking on Congress, Swaraj suggested that those who had alleged BJP was playing politics over the killing of five Indian soldiers were wrong and they should know that the party was trying to get corrected the Defence Minister's statement made on August 6.

Swaraj said the Opposition was not playing politics but wanted to express the commitment of the nation on the issue and send a message to Pakistan that it cannot commit such acts again.

"The Opposition supports your statement and we have been successful in saying in one voice that Pakistan cannot resort to such acts," she said, telling the government that it should ensure that such a mistake is not repeated.

While Swaraj signalled that the issue was over for BJP, NDA ally Shiv Sena expressed dissatisfaction with Antony's statement.

Sena leader Anant Geete said India cannot hold talks with Pakistan in such a situation.

Prabhunath Singh, who recently returned to Lok Sabha as a RJD member, said four of the soldiers killed were from Bihar and wanted to have his say. At one point he even trooped into the Well to draw the attention of the Speaker.

Yashwant Sinha (BJP) sought to know as to why the Defence Minister has left the House.

The Speaker said that no questions are allowed after the minister's statement.

Even Dara Singh Chauhan (BSP), Shailendra Kumar (SP) and Basudeb Acharia (CPI-M) also wanted a discussion on the issue.

"We may have a discussion if you give a notice," the Speaker said.

Singh insisted on speaking on the issue but the Speaker adjourned the House as several members were on their feet expressing dissatisfaction over Antony's clarification.

Antony made the statement today after the Opposition created an uproar yesterday over his contention that some persons wearing Pakistan army uniforms had killed the five soldiers at the LoC.

The matter came up during the Prime Minister's meeting yesterday with the BJP top brass. BJP had raised the issue upon which the government assured it that Antony will make a statement in the House.

Prabhunath Singh (RJD) demanded that the House pass a resolution condemning the killing of Indian jawans.

"What action is India proposing to take (in the wake of this incident)... There should be a resolution condemning the incident," he said.

Singh alleged that when the bodies arrived there was no state government representatives at the Patna airport to receive them.

Some other members too wanted to discuss the attack.

As uproar continued, the House was adjourned for the day.

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News Network
May 11,2020

New Delhi, May 11: Shares of Indian Railway Catering And Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) jumped 5 per cent in early trade on Monday after the Indian Railways said it will gradually resume passenger train services from May 12.

The company's shares gained 5 per cent to Rs 1,302.85 -- its highest trading permissible limit for the day -- on the BSE. At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), it rose 5 per cent to Rs 1,303.55 -- its upper circuit limit.

Booking for reservation in these trains will start at 4pm on May 11 and will be available only on the IRCTC website.

The Indian Railways will gradually resume passenger train services from May 12 and will ask passengers to arrive at the station at least an hour before departure, the national transporter said on Sunday.

Initially, the all air-conditioned services will begin on 15 Rajdhani routes and the fare would be equivalent to that of the super-fast train, it said.

The special trains will run from New Delhi to Dibrugarh, Agartala, Howrah, Patna, Bilaspur, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, Secunderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Madgaon, Mumbai Central, Ahmedabad and Jammu Tawi.

All passenger services were suspended due to a lockdown announced on March 25 and the railways later started the on-demand Shramik Specials to ferry migrants stranded across the country. It, however, has been running freight and parcel services.

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News Network
June 10,2020

Bengaluru, Jun 10: Congress' Rajya Sabha candidate from Karnataka and senior leader Mallikarjun Kharge and his son received threat calls on Sunday, with the latter filing a complaint with the state police chief. Kharge, a former Union Minister, received the call in the wee hours of Sunday on his landline while his son Priyank later got a call from a private number on his mobile phone.

Priyank lodged a complaint with the Director-General of Police Praveen Sood and former MLC Ramesh Babu shared the copy of the complaint on Twitter on Tuesday. In his complaint, Priyank Kharge stated that at about 1.30 am on Sunday, his father received a call on the landline where the caller spoke in Hindi and English and used invective against the Congress veteran.

The caller, according to the complaint, spoke about the Rajya Sabha election and threatened Kharge. Police are looking into the matter. Kharge is the Congress' pick for the June 19 Rajya Sabha election from Karnataka. JD(S) supremo and former Prime Minister Deve Gowda and two BJP candidates have also filed nominations for the election to the upper House.

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News Network
July 19,2020

New Delhi, Jul 19: Blaming the BJP for the political drama in Rajasthan, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Sunday asked Sachin Pilot not to leave the grand old party.

In an interview to news agency, the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister said Pilot should not follow Jyotiraditya Scindia into the BJP, as he has bright future in Congress.

His remarks follow Pilot's open rebellion against the Ashok Gehlot government, which has been on shaky ground with at least 18 legislators backing the rebel leader.

Pilot was sacked as Rajasthan deputy chief minister and the state Congress chief recently and the Congress has accused the BJP of making efforts to topple the Gehlot-led government by indulging in horse-trading.

"The BJP is behind the crisis in Rajasthan," Singh said.

The Congress veteran said he tried to call Pilot but his calls and text messages went unanswered.

"Age is on your side. Ashok (Gehlot) may have offended you, but all such issues are best resolved amicably. Dont make the mistake that Scindia made. BJP is unreliable. Nobody who joined it from any other party has succeeded there," Singh said.

He said this is the first time that Pilot hasn't responded to him.

"Sachin is like my son. He respects me and I also like him. I called him three-four times and also texted him. He didn't revert. He used to respond immediately earlier," he said.

"It is good to be ambitious. How can one move forward without having ambitions, but along with ambition, one must also have commitment to your organisation, ideology and the nation," Singh said.

For latest updates on the Rajathan Political Crisis, click here

"I heard that he (Pilot) may form a new party. But what is the need for it. Has Congress not given him anything? He was made an MP at 26, a Union minister at 32, the state Congress president at 34 and deputy chief minister at 38. What else does he want? Time is on his side," Singh said.

If Pilot had any issue, then as the state party unit president, he should have called a meeting and discussed the matter, he said. Pilot could have involved Congress national general secretary and Rajasthan in-charge Avinash Pande in talks with Gehlot to resolve differences, he added.

"If you have faith in your legislators, why have you have confined 18-19 of them in ITC Grand hotel at Manesar in Haryana," Singh said.

This is the same hotel where the BJP kept MLAs from Maharashtra, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh (during political dramas in those states), he said.

Pilot should forget whatever has happened, come back and sit across the table to discuss how Congress could be strengthened, he said

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