Show of opposition might at Kumaraswamy's oath-taking ceremony

Agencies

May 23, 2018

Bengaluru, May 23: The swearing-in ceremony of newly elected Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Wednesday marked a rare occasion where opposition parties from all over the country set aside their differences to join hands in a show of might against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Centre.

Notable opposition leaders present at the Vidhan Soudha were Congress' Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, Samajwadi Party's Akhilesh Yadav, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Rashtriya Janata Dal's (RJD) Tejashwi Yadav, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Communist Party of India (Marxist)'s Sitaram Yechury, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Nationalist Congress Party's Sharad Pawar.

The rival-turned-allies in Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav and BSP's Mayawati arrived amid loud cheers and shook hands on the podium set up to seat the political dignitaries.

The ceremony also saw a reluctant union of rival parties in West Bengal as Trinamool Congress' Banerjee was seen sharing stage with Yechury.

The high-voltage Karnataka polls were seen as the election that would set the tone for the 2019 general elections, and post the verdict, it seems, it indeed has given us a glimpse of the alliance which may come up before next year's parliamentary elections. The BJP, which bagged the highest number of seats, was dealt a heavy blow after the Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) joined hands following the poll results.

The alliance of Congress and the JD(S) has brought together other political parties in support of the non-BJP government.

Speaking to ANI earlier, CPI(M)'s Yechury welcomed the move "that stopped the BJP from forming a government."

The former ally of BJP in Andhra Pradesh, Telugu Desam Party (TDP)'s N. Chandrababu Naidu termed the resignation of the three-day chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa as a "victory of democracy."

The election result for 222 out of 224 assembly constituencies resulted in a fractured mandate, with the BJP emerging as the single largest party (104 seats) only seven seats short of a simple majority mark of 111.

The Congress with 78 seats and JD(S) with 37 seats, and two Independent candidates formed a post-poll alliance with a total of 117 MLAs.

What followed was a high-voltage political drama in the state, as Governor Vajubhai Vala invited Yeddyurappa to form a government on May 16, and gave him 15 days to prove majority, amid huge uproar by the opposition.

On May 18, the Supreme Court, on the plea of the Congress and the JD(S), shifted the floor test to May 19. Unable to garner the required number by the deadline, Yeddyurappa stepped down from the post of the chief minister before the floor test could be conducted, mere three days after he was sworn in.

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India would not discriminate among religions, we are not a theocratic country like Pakistan: Rajnath Singh

News Network

January 22,2020

New Delhi, Jan 22: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said Indian values consider all religions equal, and that is why the country is secular and never became a theocratic state like Pakistan.

Speaking at the NCC Republic Day Camp in Delhi, Singh said: "We (India) said we would not discriminate among religions. Why did we do that? Our neighbouring country has declared that their state has a religion. They have declared themselves a theocratic state. We didn't declare so."

"Even America is a theocratic country. India is not a theocratic country. Why? Because our saints and seers did not just consider the people living within our borders as part of the family, but called everyone living in the world as one family," the minister said.

Singh underlined that India had never declared its religion would be Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist and people of all religions could live here.

"They gave the slogan of 'Vasudev Kutumbakam' -- the whole world is one family. This message has gone to the whole world from here only," he added.

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Very thoughtful and eye-catching statement by Defense Minister, Rajnath Singh.

Sir, I kindly request you to convey this beautiful message to your Party’s comrades, who are deprived of this dosage for long times and are badly need of this.

Also, for those from your Party, who are, time and again, spitting the venomous rhetoric against Dalits, Muslims, Christians and others alike.

Yashwant Sinhaji is now doing a wonderful job in this regard.

You will also follow his suit for sure in the days to come; that’s what your honest statement indicates.

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Deeply grateful for support shown by global community to India's membership of UNSC: PM Modi

News Network

June 18,2020

New Delhi, Jun 18: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said he is "deeply grateful" for the overwhelming support shown by the global community for India''s membership of the UN Security Council.

India will work with all member countries to promote global peace, security, resilience and equity, he said.

India garnered 184 votes out of the 192 ballots cast in the General Assembly to win the election for the non-permanent seat in the powerful Security Council.

India''s two year term will begin on January 1, 2021.

This is the eighth time that India will sit at the UN high-table, which comprises five permanent members and 10 non-permanent members.

"Deeply grateful for the overwhelming support shown by the global community for India''s membership of the UN Security Council," the prime minister wrote on Twitter.

India will work with all member countries to promote global peace, security, resilience and equity, he said.

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Sachin Pilot shouldn't go Scindia way; he has future in Congress: Digvijaya Singh

News Network

July 19,2020

New Delhi, Jul 19: Blaming the BJP for the political drama in Rajasthan, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Sunday asked Sachin Pilot not to leave the grand old party.

In an interview to news agency, the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister said Pilot should not follow Jyotiraditya Scindia into the BJP, as he has bright future in Congress.

His remarks follow Pilot's open rebellion against the Ashok Gehlot government, which has been on shaky ground with at least 18 legislators backing the rebel leader.

Pilot was sacked as Rajasthan deputy chief minister and the state Congress chief recently and the Congress has accused the BJP of making efforts to topple the Gehlot-led government by indulging in horse-trading.

"The BJP is behind the crisis in Rajasthan," Singh said.

The Congress veteran said he tried to call Pilot but his calls and text messages went unanswered.

"Age is on your side. Ashok (Gehlot) may have offended you, but all such issues are best resolved amicably. Dont make the mistake that Scindia made. BJP is unreliable. Nobody who joined it from any other party has succeeded there," Singh said.

He said this is the first time that Pilot hasn't responded to him.

"Sachin is like my son. He respects me and I also like him. I called him three-four times and also texted him. He didn't revert. He used to respond immediately earlier," he said.

"It is good to be ambitious. How can one move forward without having ambitions, but along with ambition, one must also have commitment to your organisation, ideology and the nation," Singh said.

For latest updates on the Rajathan Political Crisis, click here

"I heard that he (Pilot) may form a new party. But what is the need for it. Has Congress not given him anything? He was made an MP at 26, a Union minister at 32, the state Congress president at 34 and deputy chief minister at 38. What else does he want? Time is on his side," Singh said.

If Pilot had any issue, then as the state party unit president, he should have called a meeting and discussed the matter, he said. Pilot could have involved Congress national general secretary and Rajasthan in-charge Avinash Pande in talks with Gehlot to resolve differences, he added.

"If you have faith in your legislators, why have you have confined 18-19 of them in ITC Grand hotel at Manesar in Haryana," Singh said.

This is the same hotel where the BJP kept MLAs from Maharashtra, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh (during political dramas in those states), he said.

Pilot should forget whatever has happened, come back and sit across the table to discuss how Congress could be strengthened, he said

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