'PM unusually silent, govt incompetent manager of economy': P Chidambaram

News Network
December 5, 2019

New Delhi, Dec 5: Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram who was released from Tihar Jail after 106 days of confinement in the INX media money laundering case in a press conference on Thursday said, ''My record as a minister and my conscience are absolutely clear. Officers who have worked with me, business persons who have interacted with me and journalists who have observed me know that very well.''

Attacking the current government on the current state of the economy, Chidambaram said, ''Prime Minister (Modi) has been unusually silent on the economy. He has left it to his ministers to indulge in bluff and bluster. The net result, as the Economist put it, is that the government has turned out to be an ‘incompetent manager’ of the economy.''

Chidambaram said the BJP government believed problems faced by the economy were cyclical even after seven months of this financial year.

"The government is clueless on economy, it is stubborn and mulish in defending catastrophic mistakes like demonetisation, flawed GST, tax terrorism,'' he said.

''We will be lucky to end the year if growth touches 5 pc. Please remember Dr Arvind Subramanian’s caution that 5 pc under this government, because of suspect methodology, is not really 5 pc but less by about 1.5 pc,'' he added.

Chidambaram also raised concern about the situation in Kashmir post the revocation of Article 370 and said, "As I stepped out and breathed the air of freedom at 8 pm last night, my first thought & prayers were for the 75 lakh people of the Kashmir Valley who have been denied their basic freedoms since August 4, 2019.'' He further said that given the chance he would visit Kashmir.

Chidambaram sais that he was particularly concerned about the political leaders who have been detained without charges. ''Freedom is indivisible, if we must preserve our freedom, we must fight for their freedom,'' he said.

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News Network
February 3,2020

Mumbai, Feb 3: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, whose party severed ties with the BJP after the state elections, on Monday said that if somebody breaks a promise, "pain and anger is obvious".

"No, I did not get any shock," Thackeray said in an interview with Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana while talking about forming an alliance with NCP and Congress, and becoming the Maharashtra Chief Minister.

"I am a son of Shiv Sena Pramukh (Balasaheb Thackeray), several people tried to give a shock to me but they didn't succeed. This is a field where you have to accept in the beginning that there will be a bit pushing and pulling," Thackeray said.

He added that accepting the Chief Minister's post was not a shock for him and neither was it his "dream at any point of time".

"But I can say one thing for sure that I had decided to go to any level to fulfil the promise which I made to Balasaheb Thackeray. I want to further clear it that me becoming Chief Minister is not the fulfilling of the promise made to Shiv Sena Pramukh but it's just a step towards that. I will fulfil every promise which I made to my father," Uddhav Thackeray said.

"There are several types of shock. Did people like it or not, it is the important part. I have spoken on this issue (alliance with NCP and Congress) several times and even people have understood this. Making promises and keeping them are two different things. If someone breaks a promise, pain and anger is obvious," he added.

The Chief Minister said that he does not know if BJP "has come out their shock till now or not."

"But I have to say if they had kept their promise what would have happened, what a big deal had I asked for? Did I ask for stars and moon? I only asked for what was decided before Lok Sabha polls, when we decided seat distribution," he said.

He further said, "Maharashtra and the country are watching (who betrayed/shocked whom), I don't need to say much on this."

Soon after the Assembly election results, Shiv Sena demanded rotation of the chief minister's post and equal power-sharing in the state government, which was rejected by then ally BJP. The weeks of political stalemate led to the imposition of President's rule on November 13.

Firm on its demands, Sena, the second-largest party in the state, did not hesitate to cobble up with the ideological opponents -- NCP and Congress -- and was given the chief minister's post.

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Agencies
February 27,2020

Bengaluru, Feb 27: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said that the situation is moving towards normalcy in Delhi after recent incidents of violence.

"Situation is moving towards normalcy," Rajnath told media here.

Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Narendra Singh Bundela on Thursday said that the law and order and traffic situation in violence-affected parts of Delhi is normal.

"The situation is quite normal and peaceful as far as security and traffic are concerned. We have held talks and conducted patrols with people of all communities. Services such as road cleaning have resumed and traffic flow is normal," Bundela told ANI here.

"People can go out to get their daily needs from the market but we are advising them not to come out in groups," he added.

Meanwhile, the death toll in the incidents of violence in North-East Delhi has risen to 34.

Delhi Police has registered 18 FIRs and 106 people have been arrested in connection with the violence.

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Agencies
May 27,2020

New Delhi, May 27: The government has further extended the deadline for bidding to buy its entire 52.98 per cent stake in the country's second-biggest oil refiner, Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL), by over one-and-a-half months to July 31.

This is the second extension for submission of expression of interest (EoI) for BPCL stake by interested bidders. The government had first invited bids showing interest in buying its stake, by May 2. It was then extended till June 13.

This has now been extended to 5 p.m. on July 31 in "view of further requests received from the interested bidders and the prevailing situation arising out of COVID-19", an official notice put up by disinvestment department DIPAM late on Tuesday said.

Accordingly, the last date for submission of written queries or preliminary information memorandum has been pushed back to June 23 from the earlier deadline of May 16.

The disinvestment in BPCL involves the government selling its entire 52.98 per cent stake in the company to a strategic investor with transfer of management control. The government has barred PSUs from bidding for BPCL and expects private sector Indian players and global MNCs to bid for its stake. The government's stake in BPCL is worth around Rs 50,000 crore.

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