Will work with like-minded parties to defeat communal forces: Sonia

Agencies
February 8, 2018

New Delhi, Feb 8: Declaring that Congress president Rahul Gandhi was her boss too, Sonia Gandhi today said the process to revive the party's fortunes had begun and she would work with "like-minded parties" to ensure the BJP's defeat in the next elections.

The Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chairperson launched an all-out attack on the BJP and the Modi government and alleged that the government was orchestrating violence against minorities to polarise society for narrow political gains.

This would be seen in Karnataka too, which goes to the polls in a few months, the former Congress president, who handed over the party's reins to her son after 19 years in December last year, told the CPP.

Sounding an upbeat note, Gandhi told party MPs to work with dedication, loyalty and enthusiasm with Rahul Gandhi to strengthen the party and said he was her boss to.

"We have elected a new Congress president and on your behalf and on my own, I wish him all the very best. He is now my boss too - let there be no doubt about that - and I know that all of you will work with him with the same dedication, loyalty and enthusiasm as you did with me.

"I am confident that we will work cohesively under his leadership to revive our party's fortunes. That process has begun," she said.

Gandhi also dubbed the Modi government as one not in sync with reality.

This, she said, was evident in the prime minister's speech in the Lok Sabha yesterday.

As CPP chairperson, she said she would work with the Congress president and other colleagues "in discussions with like-minded, political parties to ensure that in the next election, the BJP is defeated and India is restored to a democratic, inclusive, secular, tolerant and economically progressive path".

Minorities, the Congress leader added, feel unsafe and are subjected to barbarous attacks, even as Dalits have come under renewed and widespread atrocities, as have women.

"In many cases this violence, specially against minorities and Dalits is not sporadic or random, but orchestrated to polarise our society for narrow political gains."

This was witnessed in both Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat and would no doubt be seen again in Karnataka, she said.

"Such polarisation is criminal in a democracy, yet those in power look the other way," she said.

Comments

Abu Muhammad
 - 
Thursday, 8 Feb 2018

Congrats Madam, this is very positive, realistic and need of the hour. Please beware of your own party leaders who are Congress in the day and RSS in night.

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News Network
June 3,2020

New Delhi, Jun 3: Seasoned diplomat and former spokesperson of the External Affairs Ministry Raveesh Kumar has been appointed as India's next Ambassador to Finland, the government announced on Wednesday.

Raveesh Kumar, a 1995-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, served as the spokesperson of the MEA from July 2017 to April 2020 during which he deftly articulated India's position on a number of sensitive issues including last year's Balakot strike, reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir and the controversy surrounding the National Register of Citizens.

"He is expected to take up the assignment shortly," the MEA said.

Before becoming the MEA spokesperson, Kumar was serving as Consul General of India in Frankfurt.

Kumar started his career at the Indian Mission in Jakarta and it was followed by his postings in Thimpu and London.

In his nearly 25-year career, Kumar also looked after the East Asia desk in the headquarters of the MEA in Delhi and served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Jakarta followed by his posting as Consul General in Frankfurt from August 2013 to July 2017.

In Finland, he succeeds Vani Rao.

Finland is an important country for India in Europe, and bilateral trade has been on an upswing in the last few years.

Around 35 Indian companies have invested in Finland in IT, healthcare, hospitality and automotive sectors while over 100 Finnish companies have operations in India in energy, textiles, power plants and electronics sectors.

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May 18,2020

New Delhi, May 18: Very severe cyclonic storm ‘Amphan’, over central parts of South Bay of Bengal, has intensified into extremely severe cyclonic storm, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Monday. The weather department has warned that ‘Amphan’ may turn into a “super cyclonic storm’.

According to experts, North Odisha coast will face the maximum impact of cyclone Amphan when it makes landfall.

“Wind speed expected to be 110-120 kmph, gusting up to 130 kmph. Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Mayurbhanj dist can be affected on 20 May (when it makes landfall), IMD Bhubaneswar scientist Umashankar Das told news agency ANI.

The IMD has said that ‘Amphan’ will cross West Bengal - Bangladesh coasts between Digha (WB) and Hatiya island - in the afternoon/evening of May 20 as very severe cyclonic storm.

Earlier, the IMD had warned that ‘Amphan’, over central parts of South Bay of Bengal, will intensify into an extremely severe cyclonic storm on Monday.

“Very Severe Cyclonic Storm (VSCS) ‘AMPHAN’ over central parts of South Bay of Bengal near latitude 12.5°N and longitude 86.4°E, about 870 km nearly south of Paradip (Odisha). To intensify further into an Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm (ESCS) in the next six hours,” the IMD said in a tweet on Monday.

National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has sent its 10 teams to Odisha and seven teams to West Bengal in view of the approaching Cyclone Amphan, news agency reported.

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News Network
February 18,2020

New Delhi, Feb 18: India emerged as the world's fifth-largest economy by overtaking the UK and France in 2019, says a report.

A US-based think tank World Population Review in its report said that India is developing into an open-market economy from its previous autarkic policies.

"India's economy is the fifth-largest in the world with a GDP of $2.94 trillion, overtaking the UK and France in 2019 to take the fifth spot," it said.

The size of the UK economy is $2.83 trillion and that of France is $2.71 trillion.

The report further said that in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms, India's GDP (PPP) is $10.51 trillion, exceeding that of Japan and Germany. Due to India's high population, India's GDP per capita is $2,170 (for comparison, the US is $62,794).

India's real GDP growth, however, it said is expected to weaken for the third straight year from 7.5 per cent to 5 per cent.

The report observed that India's economic liberalisation began in the early 1990s and included industrial deregulation, reduced control on foreign trade and investment, and privatisation of state-owned enterprises.

"These measures have helped India accelerate economic growth," it said.

India's service sector is the fast-growing sector in the world accounting for 60 per cent of the economy and 28 per of employment, the report said, adding that manufacturing and agriculture are two other significant sectors of the economy.

The US-based World Population Review is an independent organisation without any political affiliations.

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