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Nirmala hits out at Rahul, terms his plenary speech as the 'rhetoric of a loser'

Agencies
March 19, 2018

New Delhi, Mar 19: Taking a dig at Rahul Gandhi's remarks at the Congress's plenary session, the BJP on Sunday said that the party which questioned the "fundamental existence" of Lord Ram today wants to be identified with the Pandavas.

Giving a point-by-point rebuttal of Gandhi's speech, senior BJP leader and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman termed his address as the "rhetoric of a loser" and "devoid of substance."

Recalling the two warring sides of the epic Mahabharat, Gandhi today said the BJP, like the Kauravas, fought for power, while his party, on the lines of the Pandavas, battled for truth.

"The party which questioned the fundamental existence of Shri Ram today wants to identify itself with Pandavas," Sitharaman said.

"I have never heard of a Congress' priest and a BJP' priest, but Rahul Gandhi has narrated a whole story on that, just a way to mock Hindus and Hinduism," she said.

Earlier in the day, Gandhi had narrated a story about his meeting and conversation with priests during his visit to a temple.

Taking on Gandhi over his attempt to link Modi with fugitives Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi, she termed it as "a fake narrative".

"Mr Gandhi who himself is out on bail in the National Herald case shares a surname with the Father of the Nation, is that a reflection on the Mahatma," Sitharaman said.

Hitting back at Gandhi over his attack on Amit Shah, Sitharaman said that it was astonishing that the Congress president chooses to make allegations against the BJP chief even though he has been cleared by a court.

"Gandhi himself is out on bail in the Herald case, whereas our party President Amit Shah Ji, has been cleared by the court," she said.

On Gandhi's remarks on the independence of the judiciary and the media during the Modi government's tenure, Sitharaman wondered when the Congress became the protector of the judiciary.

"Do I need to remind how Indira Gandhi treated the judiciary when one verdict went against her. Rajiv Gandhi in 1988, almost brought a bill to curtail the freedom of the press. Indira Gandhi blacked out the media during the Emergency. And the grandson is talking about the freedom of the press," she said.

Reacting to senior Congress leader P Chidambaram's jibe at the RBI that it should learn to count money from Hundi collectors in Tirupati, Sitharaman said, "The RBI should hire the Congress for counting black money, as they are familiar with counting it."

On Gandhi's charges against Narendra Modi and the BJP-led government at the Centre, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said the Congress president should apologise for his party's misdeeds first and then attack the prime minister.

"While accusing the Modi government he forgets that the Congress did the worst of the genocide of Sikhs. They brought media censorship and are known for all kinds of corruption and scams. He should first apologise for all these," he said.

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Agencies
July 29,2020

Dubai, Jul 29: Muslim pilgrims on Wednesday begin the annual Haj, downsized this year as the Saudi hosts strive to prevent a coronavirus outbreak during the five-day pilgrimage.

The Haj, one of the five pillars of Islam and a must for able-bodied Muslims at least once in their lifetime, is usually one of the world's largest religious gatherings.

But this year only up to 10,000 people already residing in the Kingdom will participate in the ritual, a tiny fraction of the 2.5 million pilgrims from around the world that attended last year.

"There are no security-related concerns in this pilgrimage, but (downsizing) is to protect pilgrims from the danger of the pandemic," said Khalid bin Qarar Al Harbi, Saudi Arabia's director of public security.

Pilgrims will be required to wear masks and observe social distancing during a series of religious rites that are completed over five days in the holy city of Makkah and its surroundings in western Saudi Arabia.

Those selected to take part in the Haj were subject to temperature checks and placed in quarantine as they began trickling into Makkah at the weekend.

State media showed health workers sanitising their luggage, and some pilgrims reported being given electronic wristbands to allow authorities to monitor their whereabouts.

Workers, clutching brooms and disinfectant, were seen cleaning the area around the Kaaba, the structure at the centre of the Grand Mosque draped in gold-embroidered cloth towards which Muslims around the world pray.

Haj authorities have cordoned off the Holy Kaaba this year, saying pilgrims will not be allowed to touch it, to limit the chances of infection.

They also reported setting up multiple health facilities, mobile clinics and ambulances to cater to the pilgrims.

Saudi authorities said only around 1,000 pilgrims residing in the Kingdom would be permitted for the Haj. Some 70 per cent of the pilgrims are foreigners residing in the Kingdom, while the rest will be Saudi citizens, authorities said.

All worshippers were required to be tested for coronavirus before arriving in the holy city of Makkah and will also have to quarantine after the pilgrimage as the number of cases in the Kingdom nears 270,000.

They were given elaborate amenity kits that include sterilised pebbles for a stoning ritual, disinfectants, masks, a prayer rug and the Ihram, a seamless white garment worn by pilgrims, according to a Haj ministry programme document.

"I did not expect, among millions of Muslims, to be blessed with approval," Emirati pilgrim Abdullah Al Kathiri said in a video released by the Saudi media ministry.

"It is an indescribable feeling... especially since it is my first pilgrimage."

The Haj ministry said non-Saudi residents of the Kingdom from around 160 countries competed in the online selection process but it did not say how many people applied.

Despite the pandemic, many pilgrims consider it safer to participate in this year's ritual without the usual colossal crowds cramming into tiny religious sites, which make it a logistical nightmare and a health hazard.

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Agencies
June 15,2020

New Delhi, Jun 15: After Two Indian officials working with Indian High Commission in Pakistan wet missing on Monday,  the Ministry of External Affairs summoned Pakistan's Charge d'affaires to India in the national capital and told them not to interrogate or harass Indian officials.

"Two Indian High Commission officials are missing since morning while on official work. The matter has been taken up with the Pakistani authorities," Akhilesh Singh, First Secretary and spokesperson, Indian High Commission, Pakistan, said.

According to sources quoted by PTI news agency, the MEA told the  Pakistan's Charge d'affaires to India that the responsibility of safety and security of Indian personnel in Islamabad "lays squarely with Pakistani authorities."

"Pakistan was asked to ensure return of two Indian officials along with official car to Indian High Commission in Islamabad immediately," sources added. 

The incident comes after two Pakistani officials at the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi were accused of espionage and deported.

The two officials have been missing since Monday morning. Officials said the issue has been taken up with the Pakistan government.

Earlier, a vehicle of India's Charge d'affaires Gaurav Ahluwalia was chased by Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) member.

In March, the Indian High Commission in Pakistan sent a strong protest note to the foreign ministry in Islamabad protesting against the continuing harassment of its officers and staff by Pakistani agencies.

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News Network
May 7,2020

May 7: Accusing the BJP government in Karnataka of "medieval barbarism" and treating migrants as worse than "bonded labourers", CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Wednesday hit out at the state's decision to stop workers from returning to their homes in different parts of the country citing requirements of the construction sector.

The Karnataka government has withdrawn its request to the railways to run special trains to ferry migrant labourers to their home states, hours after builders met Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa to apprise him of the problems the construction sector will face in case they left.

"This is worse than treating them as bonded labour. Does the Indian constitution exist? Are there any laws in the country? This BJP state government is throwing us back to medieval barbarism. This will be stoutly resisted,” Yechury said in a tweet.

The railways is running Shramik Special trains to ferry to their home towns migrants who were stranded at their places of work during the lockdown.

So far, it has run more than 115 such trains.

The Principal Secretary in the Revenue Department N Manjunatha Prasad, who is the nodal officer for migrants, had requested the South Western Railways on Tuesday to run two train services a day for five days except Wednesday, while the state government wanted services thrice a day to Danapur in Bihar. However, later, Prasad wrote another letter within a few hours that the special trains were not required. Several migrants in the city were desperate to return home as they were out of jobs and money.

Yechury also lashed out at the central government over reports that it owed states and industry Rs 3 trillion and accused the centre of shifting the burden of fighting the pandemic to the state governments.

“While shifting the entire burden of fighting the pandemic on to the State governments, Modi government is not even paying their legitimate dues. After November 2019, Centre has not paid the GST compensation dues for the rest of the financial year, i.e., March 2020.

“Modi government has the right to loot while crores of people & States are left with nothing but the right to starve?,” he tweeted.

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