Rahul Gandhi returns from sabbatical

April 16, 2015

New Delhi, Apr 16: Rahul Gandhi today returned from his 56-day "unexplained" sabbatical that had raised a lot of questions over his leadership of the party at a time when Congress has been battered in elections repeatedly.

Rahul GandhiThe Congress Vice President arrived here at 11.15 AM on a Thai Airways plane from Bangkok.

The plane, which was scheduled to land at 10.35 AM, was delayed by 40 minutes, sources said.

Congress chief Sonia Gandhi reached the 12, Tughlaq Road residence of Rahul before 11 AM and was soon followed by daughter Priyanka.

A day before the Budget session began on February 23, party sources had said that Rahul Gandhi had gone on leave.

The party had then said that he "requested Congress President Sonia Gandhi for some time to reflect on recent events and future course of the party".

Ever since the announcement of his temporary break from political life, there has been speculation that he was unhappy for not getting a free hand to run the party, a contention which the party has officially denied.

Rahul's leave had come amid talk of an AICC session, where he was expected to be elevated as Congress President.

During his absence, several party leaders came out in the open pitching for Sonia Gandhi to continue as president and raised questions over his leadership.

Congress leaders had announced that Rahul would be back by April 19 as he would be addressing a farmers' rally on land bill issue at the Ramlila maidan here on that day.

The rally is being held on the eve of the second phase of the Budget session of Parliament. Rahul had skipped the first phase which saw the Congress taking on the government over the land bill issue as he went on the sabbatical shortly before it commenced.

Congress has been performing badly at the hustings, starting with the Lok Sabha elections last year. It was followed by a string of electoral reverses in Assembly elections including in Delhi recently.

Sources also said that plans are underway to organise an interaction of Rahul Gandhi with a delegation of farmers on April 17 two days before he will address the Kisan-Khet Mazdoor rally of the party.

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News Network
April 20,2020

Mumbai, Apr 20: At least 53 media persons from Mumbai have tested positive for coronavirus, a city civic official said on Monday.

During a special camp organised at the Azad Maidan here on April 16 and 17 for COVID-19 testing of scribes, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) collected swab samples of 171 mediapersons, including electronic and print media journalists, photographers and cameramen.

“Out of the 171 mediapersons, 53 tested positive for coronavirus,” BMC spokesperson Vijay Khabale said, adding that most of those who tested positive are asymptomatic at present.

All the mediapersons found infected with coronavirus will be kept in isolation and a process was underway to find out suitable places to the purpose, he said.

Efforts were also on to trace their high and low risk contacts.

Till Sunday, Mumbai recorded 2,724 coronavirus cases and 132 deaths due to the disease.

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Agencies
July 15,2020

Mumbai, Jul 15: In a mega investment announcement, Reliance Industries (RIL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani on Wednesday said that Google will invest ₹ 33,737 crore in Jio Platforms for an equity stake of 7.73%.

Google is investing at an equity valuation of ₹ 4.36 lakh crore, said an RIL regulatory filing.

"Jio Platforms Limited, a subsidiary of the Company, today signed binding agreements with Google International LLC pursuant to which Google would invest ₹ 33,737 crore for a 7.73 % equity stake in Jio Platforms Limited on a fully-diluted basis. Google is investing at an equity valuation of ₹ 4.36 lakh crore," it said.

The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals.

Speaking at the Annual General Meeting of RIL, Ambani said that he looks forward to working with investors in Jio Platforms in a collaborative way.

Making another major announcement, the RIL Chairman said that Jio has designed a complete 5G solution and it will be available for trials as soon as spectrum is available.

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News Network
February 18,2020

New Delhi, Feb 18: Election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor on Tuesday questioned the Nitish Kumar government's development model, even as he sneered at the chief minister for making ideological compromises to stay in an alliance with the BJP.

Kishor, who has been vocal about his opposition to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), said Kumar needs to spell out whether he is with the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi or those who support Nathu Ram Godse.

"Nitish ji has always said that he cannot leave the ideals of Gandhi, JP and Lohiya... At the same time, how can he be with the people who support the ideology of Godse? Both cannot go together. If you want to stay with the BJP, I don't have any problem with it but you cannot be on both sides," he said.

"There has been a lot of discussion between me and Nitish-ji on this. He has his thought process and I have mine. There have been differences between him and me that the ideologies of Godse and Gandhi cannot stand together. As the leader of the party you have to say which side you are on," he added.

In a direct assault on Kumar's model of governance, Kishor said Bihar was the poorest state in 2005 and continues to be so.

"There has been development in Bihar during the last 15 years, but the pace has not been as it should have," he added.

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