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‘Sardar Patel’s order banning RSS should be displayed at 'Statue of Unity'’

Agencies
October 16, 2018

Pune, Oct 16: Without naming the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), senior Congress leader Anand Sharma Monday said Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's 1948 order banning the organisation should be placed at the foot of his gigantic 'Statue of Unity', to be inaugurated soon in Gujarat's Narmada district.

Speaking to media here, he noted that the move would tell people what the first home minister of the country thought of "them" (RSS).

"They (RSS-BJP) do not have heroes of their own....So they are making the Statue of Unity of Sardar Patel and that too, has been made in China," the Congress leader said.

"There is a written order by Patel in 1948 about banning, following the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi...the same order should be placed at the base of the statue, so that the country will get to know Patel's thoughts about them," he said.

Though the senior Congress leader did not name the RSS, he apparently referred to the ban on the organisation following Gandhi's assassination, which was later lifted.

Sharma also accused the BJP of conducting a massive "cover-up operation" in the Rafale deal.

"There is a massive cover-up operation going on to hide the Rafale scam and that is why we are appealing the Supreme Court to put a seal (place in a sealed cover) on all the files and notings related to the deal," he said.

The former Union minister also questioned the decision to make National Security Advisor Ajit Doval head of the newly formed Strategic Policy Group instead of the cabinet secretary.

"With this decision, the cabinet secretary, three services chiefs, defence secretary, foreign secretary, revenue secretary, finance secretary and chiefs of IB and RAW have come under the NSA, which is a political appointment," he said.

During Doval's tenure, "even a country like Maldives has gone out of India's influence" and "everyone knows about his achievements regarding Pakistan", Sharma said.

"It is a wrong decision and in the larger interest of the country, the security, defence, governance, administration, the cabinet secretary, three services chiefs, chiefs of IB and RAW cannot be subordinated to a political appointee," the Congress leader said.

On the #MeToo movement and allegations of sexual harassment by some women journalists against Union minister M J Akbar, he said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who claims to be concerned about women's safety, should have reassured the country on the issue.

"His (Modi's) silence is unacceptable," Sharma added.

Comments

Anti-Bakth
 - 
Tuesday, 16 Oct 2018

when people are suffering from price hike this FEKU going to build statue, for whoms benifit, these gujarat pig will ruin our country one day, always choose your leader who is truthful what ever the religion, i bet he will not make you down. when you elect the lier he will lie entire his life and make you belive in him like fool. only he will develop rest all in same situation.

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News Network
May 23,2020

Karachi, May 23: Ninety-seven people were killed and two survived when a passenger plane crashed into homes in Pakistan's southern city of Karachi, health officials said Saturday.

The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane had made multiple approaches to land at the city's airport when it came down in a residential area, damaging buildings and sparking a rescue operation that lasted into the night.

All passengers and crew had been accounted for and the bodies of those killed had been recovered from the crash site, the Sindh Health Ministry said, adding that 19 had been identified.

A local hospital earlier reported it had received the bodies of people killed on the ground.

The site remained cordoned off on Saturday morning.

The crash sent plumes of smoke were into the air as rescue workers and residents searched the debris for people and as firefighters tried to extinguish the flames.

An AFP reporter witnessed charred bodies being loaded into ambulances.

PIA said the plane lost contact with air traffic control just after 2:30 pm (0930 GMT) travelling from Lahore to Karachi.

The disaster comes as Pakistanis prepare to celebrate the end of Ramadan and the beginning of Eid al-Fitr, with many travelling back to their homes in cities and villages.

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Agencies
August 6,2020

Mumbai, Aug 6: Former Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan said on Thursday that overly focusing on what sovereign rating agencies think can take one's eyes off what needs to be done for the economy.

"It is also important to convince both domestic and international investors that after the crisis associated with the pandemic is over, we will return to fiscal responsibility over the medium term, and the government should do more to convince them of that," Rajan told the Global Markets Forum.

India was placed under one of the strictest lockdowns in the world in late March for more than two months to stem the spread of the coronavirus, but cases have continued to rise steadily since the government eased restrictions in June, stymieing hopes of an economic recovery.

The government has announced several initiatives to help the poor and small- and medium-size businesses, but actual cash outgo from the government's measures has been estimated at just about 1% of GDP.

Several attribute the fiscal prudence to fear of a downgrade after Moody's cut India's rating and outlook in early June followed closely by a change in outlook from Fitch.

The central bank on its part too has reduced the key lending rate by 115 basis points on top of the 135 bps last year and is widely expected to cut rates by another 25 bps later on Thursday.

"The RBI and government have certainly been cooperating, but it seems like it is elsewhere, the ball is in the government's court to do more," Rajan said.

He said the RBI needs to focus on whether credit is reaching the stressed areas of the economy and also if the viable firms were able to access credit and not the unviable ones.

"And I think that's where it has to focus its attentions, because resources, as you well know, are limited in India today."

Recently analysts, however, have cited the growing possibility the RBI may prefer to pause and cut rates only at its October meeting.

Government officials too have suggested the possibility of any more fiscal stimulus being announced, would only come in the second half of the fiscal year, once a recovery has taken root and coronavirus cases have peaked.

"What India should focus on at this point is protecting its economic capabilities, so that when it has dealt with the virus it can go resume activity in a reasonable way. That should be the focus," Rajan said.

"And if it does that, there is no reason why the rating agencies will not see that as an appropriate policy".

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News Network
May 19,2020

New Delhi, May 19: In a fresh blow to saffronite journalist Arnab Goswami, the Supreme Court of India today rejected his plea seeking transfer of the investigation of a case, filed against him for defaming Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi, to the CBI. The court also refused to quash the FIRs filed against him.

Goswami, editor-in-chief of Republic TV, has been booked in connection with a TV show on the gathering of migrants outside Bandra railway station on April 14. This apart, multiple FIRs have been filed against him for his show on Palghar lynching. In that show, he had posed certain questions on the incident to Congress President Sonia Gandhi, following which Congress workers lodged complaints against him in various states.

Extending Goswami’s interim protection from arrest by three weeks, the Supreme Court said, “Right of a journalist under 19 1 (a) higher…Free citizens can’t exist if news media can’t speak.”

During the earlier hearing, Senior Advocate Harish Salve, appearing for Goswami, had urged the court to transfer the probe to an agency like CBI. He said the “nature of the” second FIR against Goswami over a show on the migrant gathering outside Bandra station on April 14 “shows that it’s arm-twisting tactic”. 

“They are trying to stifle an unpleasant voice. This is a political party targeting a journalist. All complainants are members of one political party. They have a problem with the government. They want to teach this journalist a lesson,” he added.

Objecting to Salve’s plea to transfer the case to the CBI, Maharashtra government counsel, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, had said, “CBI investigation will go into your hands”. 

Sibal denied that Goswami was being harassed and said he was only asked relevant questions. He said Goswami should “stop this communal violence and communal mongering”.

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