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PM should have spoken truth in last I-DAY address: Cong

Agencies
August 15, 2018

New Delhi, Aug 15: The Congress on Wednesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should have spoken "the truth" in the last Independence Day address of his term instead of making a "hollow" speech and urged him to accept party chief Rahul Gandhi's challenge of a debate on issues such as corruption, mob lynching and Chinese incursions.

In his last Independence Day speech before Lok Sabha elections, Modi presented a picture of rising India under his government, contrasting it with what he termed was "policy paralysis" under the UPA.

Congress's communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala alleged that the prime minister in his address did not utter a single word that was "meaningful" to the common person.

Surjewala claimed that people were now tired of the "fake achche din" promised by the BJP and were waiting for "sachche din (days of truth) when he departs as the prime minister of the country.

In 2013, Modi had created a Red Fort-like replica in Chhattisgarh and from there he had challenged then prime minister Manmohan Singh to an open debate on the issues of corruption, China and Pakistan threatening the territorial integrity of India, falling rupee and failing economy, rampant unemployment as also discrimination vis-a-vis farmers and India's women, Surjewala said.

"We ask you Prime Minister Narendra Modi today, five years after you have taken over as prime minister, are you ready for a debate on these very issues with Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

"Will you debate on the issue of corruption and Rafale and Vyapam and other corruption scams of your government for you did not utter a single word from the precincts of the Red Fort on corruption," he told reporters at the AICC headquarters here.

Gandhi had dared the prime minister to a debate on the Rafale deal and claimed that he will not be able to answer his questions on the issue "even for a second".

Surjewala also asked if Modi was ready to have a debate with the Congress president on issues such as the state of India's farmers, "mob lynching that is happening under the instigation and protection of BJP leaders" and "insecurity" of women.

"You (prime minister) did not utter a word, whether on Bihar or Unnao or any other rape incident that happened in the country," Surjewal claimed, referring to the shelter home case of Bihar's Muzaffarpur district and the rape case in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao involving a BJP MLA.

"Will you today debate on the failing economy and falling rupee, for the rupee has hit a new low that is 70 and the trade deficit has gone over USD 18 billion. Will you today debate as to the manner in which China has occupied Doklam, they are intruding into Ladakh and has been engulfing India from all sides," the Congress spokesperson alleged.

He also urged the prime minister to debate on Pakistan-sponsored terrorism and "rampant unemployment" in the country.

The last speech of Modi's tenure as prime minister has proved to be "hollow" because neither he made a mention of corruption in the Rafale deal nor did he say a word about the Vyapam or the PDS scams.

"He also did not talk about incursions by China in Doklam and other places. He also did not speak about the environment of hate in the country, on the conspiracy of making brothers fight and how people are killing each other, on how hate is being propagated on the basis of religion, caste, regionalism, colour, dress and food," he said.

"We wish that at least in his last speech, he would have spoken the truth, and if not 'mann ki baat', he could have at least done 'kaam ki baat'," Surjewala said, taking a swipe at Prime Minister's 'Mann ki Baat' Radio programme.

The Congress leader also said there was a need to fight a second struggle for independence -- independence from discrimination, independence from unemployment, independence from poverty, independence from lack of opportunities and from empty rhetoric and promises.

Asked about the remarks of Modi that India's stature rose on the world stage in the last four years, he said the prime minister should not undermine India's contribution in the last 70 years.

India was always a power and it did not happen in the last four years, he said, adding that the prime minister's statement of this nature was "myopic, parochial and uncalled for" on a day like the Independence Day.

"He (Modi) makes promises to break them. His and his party's path has been one of spreading hate and divisiveness," Surjewala said.

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News Network
January 30,2020

New Delhi, Jan 30: In a major shift of strategy ahead of the Delhi assembly polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has decided to rope in its senior leaders for massive public rallies.

Its star campaigners like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP chief JP Nadda, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and other union ministers would now be addressing massive public rallies in addition to ongoing neighbourhood meetings.

"The big rallies would begin from February 1. While 'Nukkad' meetings will take place till the last day of campaigning, there would be big rallies of the top leadership of the party, " informed a senior party leader.

Sources said the BJP has changed its strategy after the success of its grassroots contact programme as the party wants to consolidate its gains.

"As part of the reworked strategy the BJP has asked its various Mandals to organise public meetings of 10,000-15,000 people in each assembly segment to reach out to the masses," sources added.

While there are two planned for Prime Minister Modi, two have been planned for JDU chief and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar along with Nadda and Amit Shah. Yogi Aadityanath too would be addressing 12 rallies.

The party is leaving no stone unturned to secure massive gains, which it feels can be converted to victory in the forthcoming polls.

Party sources feel that the relentless campaigning under the guidance of Amit Shah and Nadda has ensured that the morale of party cadre is at an all-time high.

"The neighbourhood meetings have ensured that we have been able to make the people of Delhi aware of the lack of work under the Arvind Kejriwal led Aam Aadmi Party government. They have also been apprised about the anti-national views of the opponents and we think that this is expected to turn the polls into our favour," sources added.

Delhi is scheduled for assembly polls on February 8 and the results for the 70 constituencies will be declared on February 11.

As part of the new strategy, senior leaders like JP Nadda, Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, ministers like Rajnath Singh and Smriti Irani would be holding public rallies in various parts of the city. Several other chief ministers from various BJP ruled states are also expected to be roped in for the campaign.

The strategy for reach out to the masses is an attempt at weakening the hold of AAP on Delhi. With positive feedback coming after the success of the neighbourhood meetings in the past week, the BJP is now looking to increase its potential reach with polls just days away.

Till now the party had deployed 70 union ministers to hold at least one public meeting and one 'padayatra' each as part of the campaign.

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News Network
February 1,2020

New Delhi, Feb 1: Activist Sharjeel Imam's mobile phone and laptop along with some anti-CAA posters have been seized from his house in Bihar's Jehanabad and rented flat in Vasant Kunj, police said on Friday.

Imam was arrested by the Delhi Police's Crime Branch from Jehanabad in a sedition case and he is being questioned by police for his alleged inflammatory speeches in Aligarh and at the Jamia Millia Islamia University here.

During investigation, a laptop and a desktop belonging to Imam were recovered from his rented flat at Vasant Kunj, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rajesh Deo said.

His mobile phone was recovered from his house at his native place in Jehanabad's Kako area on the instance of his brother, he said.

Imam had prepared anti-CAA and anti-NRC pamphlets with "misleading and intimidating facts" and then distributed them in various mosques, the copy of which have been recovered, police said.

The shop from where he made photocopies of the pamphlets has also been identified, they added.

Imam was arrested on Tuesday. He was brought to Delhi on Wednesday and produced at the residence of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Purushottam Pathak in the evening amid tight security after which police were granted his five-day custody.

The PhD scholar at the Jawaharlal Nehru University's Centre for Historical Studies has been booked for sedition and other charges in several states after videos of his alleged inflammatory speeches, made during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), were circulated on the social media.

An FIR was registered against Imam by the Delhi Police on January 25 under IPC sections 124A (sedition) and 153A (promoting or attempting to promote disharmony or feelings of enmity on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, caste or community or any other ground whatsoever) among others.

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News Network
July 27,2020

Tokyo, Jul 27: Gold hit an all-time high on Monday as tit-for-tat consulate closures in China and the United States rattled investors, boosting the allure of safe-haven assets, although sentiment was mixed with tech gains supporting some Asian stocks.

MSCI's ex-Japan Asia-Pacific index rose 1.3 percent as Taiwan's TSMC, Asia's third-largest company by market capitalisation, rose almost 10 percent.

The chipmaker's gains boosted other tech stocks in the region and came after rival Intel signalled it may give up manufacturing its own components due to delays in new 7-nanometer chip technology.

Also soothing sentiment, Chinese shares eked out gains after big falls late last week, with CSI300 index rising 0.5 percent.

S&P500 futures were last up 0.4 percent in choppy trade while Japan's Nikkei fell 0.5 percent, resuming trade after a long weekend and catching up with falls in global shares late last week.

Global shares had lost steam last week after Washington ordered China's consulate in Houston to close, prompting Beijing to react in kind by closing the US consulate in Chengdu.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo took fresh aim at China last week, saying Washington and its allies must use "more creative and assertive ways" to press the Chinese Communist Party to change its ways.

"US President (Donald) Trump used to say China's President Xi Jinping is a great leader. But now Pompeo's wording is becoming so aggressive that markets are starting to worry about further escalation," said Norihiro Fujito, chief investment strategist at Mitsubishi Securities.

Gold rose 1.0 percent to a record high of $1,920.9 per ounce, surpassing a peak touched in September 2011, as Sino-US tensions boosted the allure of safe-haven assets, especially those not tied to any specific country.

The yellow metal is also helped by aggressive monetary easing adopted by many central banks around the world since the pandemic plunged the global economy into a recession.

Some investors fret such an unprecedented level of money-printing could eventually lead to inflation.

MORE STIMULUS

Hopes of a quick US economic recovery are fading as coronavirus infections showed few signs of slowing.

That means the economy could capitulate without fresh support from the government, with some of earlier steps such as enhanced jobless benefits due to expire this month.

Investors hope US Congress will agree on a deal before its summer recess but there are some sticking points including the size of the stimulus and enhanced unemployment benefits.

US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said the package will contain extended unemployment benefits with 70 percent "wage replacement".

Democrats, who control the House of Representatives, want enhanced benefits of $600 per week to be extended and look to much bigger stimulus compared with the Republicans' $1 trillion plan.

Investors are looking to corporate earnings from around the world for hints on the pace of recovery in the global economy.

"It looks like rising coronavirus cases are starting to slow down recovery in many countries," said Masahiro Ichikawa, senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management.

Concerns about the US economic outlook started to weigh on the dollar, reversing its inverse correlation with the economic well-being over the past few months.

The dollar index dropped 0.3 percent to its lowest level in nearly two years.

The euro gained 0.3 percent to $1.1693, hitting a 22-month high of $1.16590 as sentiment on the common currency improved after European leaders reached a deal on a recovery fund in a major step towards more fiscal co-operation.

Against the yen, the dollar slipped 0.5 percent to 105.605 yen, a four-month low while the British pound hit a 4 1/2-month high of $1.2832.

Oil prices dipped on worries about the worsening Sino-US relations.

Brent futures fell 0.46 percent to $43.14 per barrel while US crude futures lost 0.44 percent to $41.11.

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