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Vajpayee the demagogue: excerpts from former PM’s speeches

Agencies
August 16, 2018

New Delhi, Aug 16: Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who passed away in New Delhi on Thurday, was known for his oratory skills.

Here are some excerpts from his speeches on a range of subjects, from nuclear tests and Kashmir to education and freedom of the press

*Education, in the truest self of the term, is a process of self-discovery. It is the art of self-sculpture. It trains the individual not so much in specific skills or in specific branch of knowledge, but in the flowering of his or her latent intellectual, artistic and humanist capacities. The test of education is whether it imparts an urge for learning and learnability, not this or that particular set of information. [December 28, 2002 - inaugural speech of the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of the University Grants Commission]

*The Pokhran-2 nuclear tests were conducted neither for self-glorification, nor for any display of machismo. But this has been our policy, and I think it is also the policy of the nation, that there should be minimum deterrence, which should also be credible. This is why we took the decision to conduct tests. [In Parliament on the 1998 nuclear tests]

*You can change friends but not neighbours. [In Parliament in May 2003]

* One cannot wish away the fact that before good neighbours can truly fraternise with each other, they must first mend their fences. [June 23, 2003 - At Peking University]

*If I break the party and forge new alliances to come to power, then I will not like to touch that power even with a pincer. [While replying to the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha in 1996]

*We should strive hard to ensure that every R&D rupee brings greater benefits to the nation.

*Mutual suspicions and petty rivalries have continued to haunt us. As a result, the peace dividend has bypassed our region. History can remind us, guide us, teach us or warn us; it should not shackle us. We have to look forward now, with a collective approach in mind. [Talking on South Asia at the 12th SAARC Summit in Islamabad January 2004]

*We in India are inheritors to a great civilisation whose life chant has been “Shanti” — that is, Peace — and “Bhaichara” — which means, Brotherhood. India has never been an aggressor nation, a colonizer or a hegemon in her long history. In modern times, we are alive to our responsibility to contribute to peace, friendship and cooperation both in our region and around the world. [January 31 2004 - PM’s speech at inauguration of Global Convention on Peace and Non-violence].

*Poverty is multidimensional. It extends beyond money incomes to education, health care, skills enhancement, political participation at all levels from the local to the global, access to natural resources, clean water and air, and advancement of one’s own culture and social organisation. [September 25, 2003 - address at 58th Session of UN General Assembly]

*The freedom of the press is an integral part of Indian democracy. It is protected by the Constitution. It is guarded in a more fundamental way by our democratic culture. This national culture not only respects freedom of thought and expression, but also has nurtured a diversity of viewpoints unmatched anywhere in the world.

*Persecution on account of one’s beliefs and insistence that all must accept a particular point of view is unknown to our ethos. [September 13, 2013 - Vajpayee’s speech at the 125th anniversary of The Hindu]

*Gun can solve no problem; brotherhood can. Issues can be resolved if we move forward guided by the three principles of Insaaniyat (humanism), Jamhooriyat (democracy) and Kashmiriyat (Kashmir’s age old legacy of amity). [April 23 2003, Vajpayee in Parliament on the issue of Jammu and Kashmir].

The Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, who is on a three-day private visit to the tourist resort of Kumoan, rendered his latest poem on persistent demand from mediapersons. After his famous poems, ``Haar nahi manoonga' (I will not accept defeat) and ``Geet naya gata hoon' (I sing a new song), it is ``Geet nahi gata hoon'' (I do not sing a song) this time. 

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News Network
April 4,2020

Srinagar, Apr 4: Two militants were reportedly killed in an encounter with security forces in Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, police said.

The security forces launched a cordon and search operation based on intelligence inputs about the presence of militants in Hardmand Guri village in Kulgam, a police spokesperson said.

"This operation based on a credible police input was launched this morning. Two terrorists have been reportedly killed so far," the spokesperson said, adding that the exchange of fire was going on.

Earlier, the police tweeted on its official handle that three militants had been trapped in the cordon. "Same group of #terrorists trapped who killed 3 civilians recently," the police said.

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News Network
April 27,2020

New Delhi, Apr 27: A private hospital here claimed that a coronavirus patient, who was administered plasma therapy for the first time in the facility, was discharged on Sunday after being completely cured.

The 49-year-old man had tested positive for COVID-19 on April 4 and was admitted to Max Hospital, Saket, it said in a statement.

As his condition deteriorated, he was put on ventilator support on April 8, the hospital added.

When the patient showed no signs of improvement, his family requested for administration of plasma therapy on compassionate grounds, it said, adding that the family arranged a donor for extracting plasma.

The patient was administered fresh plasma as a treatment modality as a side-line to standard treatment protocols on the night of April 14, the statement said.

Subsequently, the patient showed improvement and by the fourth day, was weaned off ventilator support and continued on supplementary oxygen. He was shifted to a room with round-the-clock monitoring on Monday after testing negative twice within 24 hours, it said.

He has now fully recovered and was discharged, the hospital said, adding that he will stay at home for another two weeks.

Group medical director of Max Healthcare and senior director of the Institute of Internal Medicine Dr Sandeep Budhiraja said, "We can say that plasma therapy could have worked as a catalyst in speeding up his recovery. We cannot attribute 100 per cent recovery to plasma therapy only, as there are multiple factors which carved his path to recovery."

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News Network
May 14,2020

May 14: Customs officials on Wednesday intercepted China-bound consignments of raw material for masks, misdeclared as packing materials for pouches, in large quantities, a senior official said.

It has also seized multiple shipments containing 5.08 lakh masks, 57 litres of sanitiser and 952 PPE kits bound for the US, the UK and the UAE, the official said.

The export of such goods is prohibited by the government in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"On the basis of specific intelligence, 2,480 kg of raw material for masks was intercepted by air cargo export, Delhi Customs. The goods were misdeclared as packing materials for pouches and were being illegally attempted to be smuggled/ exported to China," he said. 

These goods are prohibited for export as per the latest guidelines issued by the Directorate General of Foreign trade (DGFT), he said, adding that investigation into the case is under progress.

In another catch, the air cargo officers intercepted multiple shipments containing 5.08 lakh masks, 57 litres of sanitiser in 950 bottles and 952 PPE kits at the courier terminal in New Delhi. These were attempted to be smuggled or exported out of the country, the official said.

"These goods are also prohibited for export," he added. 

These items were being illegally exported to the United States, United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. "No arrests have been made so far," the official said.

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