PM an instrument of corruption, says Rahul Gandhi

Agencies
February 21, 2018

Shillong, Feb 21: Congress President Rahul Gandhi here on Tuesday mocked Prime Minister Narendra Modi by calling him an instrument of corruption.

The Congress President while addressing the media during a roadshow here said, "Modi is not against corruption, he is an instrument of corruption."

Rahul Gandhi's statement comes as the country is mired in several scams - Punjab National Bank scam, in which celebrated jeweler Nirav Modi and Gitanjali Gems owner Mehul Choksi cheated the bank to the tune of Rs 11,700 crore, and Rotomac founder Vikram Kothari's non-payement of loans of up to Rs 300 crore to banks.

"The Bharatiya Janata Party comes to Meghalaya and offers crores of Rupees to the churches of the state.

Just like they think they can buy some Congress MLA's and form the government here, they also think they can come here and buy the church, the religion, and the God. This is disgusting," he said.

The Congress President is in the state for a roadshow here, ahead of the 60-member legislative assembly poll on February 27.

Led by one of its last remaining regional satraps Chief Minister Mukul Sangma, Meghalaya is a high-stakes election for the Congress, particularly to contain its eroding political presence in the Northeast.

Congress is fighting regional forces like Conrad Sangma-led homegrown National People's Party (NPP), a rare pre-poll alliance of the United Democratic Party, Hill State People's Democratic Party and Garo National Council as well as the new entrant BJP.

In the run-up to the state polls, the incumbent party faced a series of defection with some of its top leaders joining NPP and a few joining the BJP.

Results of the elections in Meghalaya, Tripura, and Nagaland will be declared on March 3.

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News Network
January 9,2020

New Delhi, Jan 9: Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos will be visiting India next week and is likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and officials, besides industry leaders, according to sources.

The top executive will also attend SMBhav – an event focussing on small and medium businesses in India - that is slated for January 15-16 in the capital city.

When contacted, Amazon declined to comment.

Amazon, which has seen significant growth in its business in India, has also witnessed protest from a section of traders in the country who claim that e-commerce giants including Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart offer deep discounts and engage in unfair business practices.

Last year, the government had tightened rules for e-commerce marketplaces with foreign investment. These rules barred such platforms from offering products of sellers in which they hold a stake and banned exclusive marketing arrangements among other clauses. Following this, Amazon restructured its joint ventures to ensure compliance.

Bezos is likely to discuss regulatory issues in his meeting with the government officials.

He is also slated to engage with SMBs during the SMBhav event. The event - which will focus on discussions around how technology adoption can enable SMBs in India - is slated to see participation from industry experts, policymakers, solution providers and Amazon leadership.

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News Network
February 13,2020

New Delhi, Feb 13: Arvind Kejriwal wrote to Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal on Wednesday, staking claim to form the government in the national capital, sources said, while hinting that the AAP might not invite senior leaders and chief ministers of other parties for the oath-taking ceremony.

The sources said it was the formal process by the AAP chief, who was elected as the legislature party leader earlier in the day, to stake claim for forming the new government.

Kejriwal, who returned to power in Delhi with a stunning poll victory on Tuesday, will take oath as chief minister for the third consecutive time on February 16.

While the oath-taking ceremony will be open to the public, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was considering not inviting leaders and chief ministers of other parties as it did not wish to be seen as a "confrontationist" against the BJP-led Centre, the sources said.

They, however, added that the party was yet to take a decision on it.

The AAP has planned mobilisation of people for the mega event and all the newly-elected MLAs of the party have been asked to ensure huge participation from their constituencies.

"I request the people of Delhi to attend the oath-taking ceremony of the chief minister at the Ramlila Maidan in large numbers," senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia told reporters, adding that the ceremony will start at 10 am.

The AAP won 62 seats in the 70-member Delhi Assembly, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) bagged the remaining eight seats. The Congress drew a blank for the second consecutive time in the Delhi polls.

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Bloomberg
July 27,2020

New Delhi, Jul 27: India’s coronavirus epidemic is now growing at the fastest in the world, increasing 20% over the last week to more than 14 lakh confirmed cases, according to Bloomberg’s Coronavirus Tracker.

Infections in the South Asian nation of 130 crore people have reached 14.3 lakh, including 32,771 deaths, India’s health ministry said, with daily cases close to a record 50,000 on Monday. India is only trailing the US and Brazil now in the number of confirmed infections, but its growth in new cases is the fastest.

Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are among the states where the maximum number of daily cares are being reported. The world’s second-most populous country has been ramping up testing, with 515,472 samples taken on Sunday, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research.

Still, India and Brazil have some of the world’s lowest testing rates, with 11.8 tests and 11.93 tests per 1,000 people respectively, compared to the US with 152.98 tests per 1,000 and Russia with 184.34, according to Our World in Data, a project based at the University of Oxford in the UK.

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