Certain ministers in JK paid by army, claims former chief

September 24, 2013

New Delhi, Sep 24: Under attack over reports that attempts were made to topple the Jammu and Kashmir government during his tenure as Army Chief, retired Gen V K Singh claimed that "certain ministers" in the state are given money by the army for "stability" and that this has been going on since Independence.Modi_VK_Singh295

Singh, who is in the eye of the storm over the charges, told TV channels that the accusations against him were false and motivated.

"Army transfers money to all the ministers in Jammu and Kashmir. .. because there are various things to be done and ministers have to do so many things as part of the stabilising factor in the state and for organising various activities," he told Times Now.

Questioned whether all ministers are paid, he amended his statement, saying, "May be not all the ministers but certain ministers and people who are given a certain sum to get a particular thing done. That job involves bringing stability to a particular area."

Asked to explain reasons, Singh argued, "There are times like ... who funded KPL (Kashmir Premier League)? Did the JK government or Omar Abdullah fund it? The Army funded it."

Gen Singh, whose tenure as the Army Chief was shrouded in a controversy over his date of birth, argued, "Kashmir is a different issue altogether. A lot of things are done where you do a lot of civic and youth work. For all this, money is needed. A certain amount of money is given for these works. Where is the problem?

He was responding to allegations that a minister in the J and K Ghulam Hassan Mir was paid Rs 1.19 crore by the Technical Support Division (TSD) set up during his tenure to destabilise the state government.

Asked if a minister like Mir takes money and siphons it off, Singh said, "I do not think so. We have a system to ensure its accountability. There are proper receipts and enured that the work given is done."

He went on to add, "This had been going on in J and K since Independence. This is a system to ensure that all the governments are helped. To ensure things are done. This is nothing new."

When pressed, he said, "There are things which happen in J and K which are inimical to the country. We have a job -- that is to keep the country together... If we find that we can help, that integrity can be maintained, if we find things can be done, then the army steps in."

Talking separately to CNN-IBN, he denied that the army had any link with an NGO YES Kashmir which had filed a PIL against present Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh in connection with an encounter in Kashmir when he was a Brigadier, apparently to scuttle his elevation to the top post.

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News Network
February 28,2020

Feb 28: National oil marketer Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) on Friday said it is ready to supply low emission BS-VI fuels from April 1 and that there will be a marginal increase in retail prices.

The largest oil supplier has spent over Rs 17,000 crore to upgrade its refineries to produce the low-sulfur diesel and petrol, the company's chairman Sanjiv Singh told reporters here.

Without disclosing the quantum of price increase, Singh said, “there will definitely be a marginal increase in retail prices of the fuels from April 1 when the whole country will be run on new fuels, which will have a sulphur content of only 10 parts per million (ppm) as against the present 50 ppm.

“But let me assure you, we will not be burdening the consumers with a steep hike,” Singh said.

He said, state-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) have invested Rs 35,000 crore to upgrade their refineries, of which Rs 17,000 crore have been spent by IOC alone.

Earlier this week, the sell-off bound BPCL said it had invested around Rs 7,000 crore for the same. ONGC-run HPCL has not so far disclosed its readiness for BS-VI supplies or its capex on the same.

HPCL had said from February 26-27 it was ready with BS-VI fuels and that it would sell only the new fuels from March 1.

IOC switched to BS-VI fuel production a fortnight ago and all its depots and containers are ready now, Singh said.

However, he said some remote locations, where the intake is very low, will take some more time to switch. But the company is planning to drain out the entire BS-IV stock and replenish the new fuels at such locations, he added.

Further, it has been reported that the companies will have to increase prices by 70-120 paise a litre, but Singh said, to arrive such a weighted average is not possible given the complexities of each refinery.

He, however, asserted that the price hike will not be a burden on consumers.

We are not looking at this investment from a pure return on investment basis, but this is a national mandate and we have done it.

Having said that, all those countries that moved to low emission fuels are charging higher prices; and from April 1, our prices will also be benchmarked against Euro VI prices as against the present practice of the cost-plus model, Singh concluded.

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Agencies
August 6,2020

The Indian Defence Ministry, which had in its document that China intruded into the Indian territory in eastern Ladakh in early May, on August 6 took down the page which it had uploaded on its website.

According to a report by news channel NDTV, the ministry, in its document, had said the Chinese aggression has been "increasing along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and more particularly in Galwan valley since May 5."

"The Chinese side has transgressed in the areas of Kungrang Nala, Gogra and north bank of Pangong Tso Lake on May 17-18," the document, titled 'Chinese Aggression on LAC' stated.

The document revealed that "... a violent face-off incident took place between the two sides on June 15, resulting in casualties on both sides."

After the clash, a second corps commander level meeting took place on June 22 to discuss the modalities of de-escalation. "While engagement and dialogue at military and diplomatic level is continuing to arrive at mutually acceptable consensus, the present standoff is likely to be prolonged," it said.

A defence ministry spokesperson told the news channel that the document "did not go through him".

The opposition Congress, meanwhile, asked the government why the report was taken down with party leader Rahul Gandhi alleging that removal of the document from websites would not change facts.

"Forget standing up to China, India's PM lacks the courage even to name them. Denying China is in our territory and removing documents from websites won't change the facts," Gandhi tweeted.

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News Network
June 5,2020

New Delhi, Jun 5: On World Environment Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday urged citizens to ensure that the flora and fauna thrive and take a pledge to preserve our planet's rich biodiversity.

"On #WorldEnvironmentDay, we reiterate our pledge to preserve our planet's rich biodiversity. Let us collectively do whatever possible to ensure the flora and fauna with whom we share the Earth thrive. May we leave an even better planet for the coming generations," the Prime Minister tweeted.

He also shared a clip from his last 'Mann Ki Baat' programme where he mentioned about conservation of rainwater and protecting the rich diversity of nature.

"On June 5, the entire world will celebrate 'World Environment Day'. The theme for this year's 'World Environment Day' is bio-diversity. This theme is especially pertinent in the current circumstances. During lockdown in the last few weeks the pace of life may have slowed down a bit but it has also given us an opportunity to introspect upon the rich diversity of nature or biodiversity around us," the Prime Minister had said.

"Much of the avian fauna had sort of disappeared due to sound and air pollution, and now after years people can once again listen to their melodic chirping in their homes," he said.

The Prime Minister also said that water conservation, in particular the conservation of rainwater, is essential and exhorted everyone to strive for saving rainwater in the upcoming monsoons.

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