Lok Sabha election, AAP dominate India discussions at Davos

January 23, 2014

AAP_dominateDavos, Jan 23: The Aam Aadmi Party and talks about next Lok Sabha election seem to be hogging the limelight when it comes to discussions around India at the World Economic Forum's annual talk-fest of the rich and famous from across the globe.

While not many are willing to go on record with their take on 'India's newest political phenomenon' — Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party — and its potential impact on the upcoming general elections, almost every foreign leader is quizzing their Indian counterparts about these issues.

Some Indian leaders have dismissed AAP's emergence calling it a Delhi-centric development and saying such authoritarian and mob-based politics has no place in the Indian democracy.

Still, they admit that AAP has caught the imagination of people in India and it cannot be wished away as it is making the right noises about the need to improve governance.

While trying to convince foreign investors about the continuity of the Indian growth story, the Indian leaders are also facing tough questions here about the widespread anticipation that the next elections could throw a fractured mandate, said many participants at the WEF.

According to them, AAP's emergence on the political scene has further added to the uncertainty about the outcome of Lok Sabha poll and corporates have begun looking into the possibility of engaging with this new political force.

An Indian-origin chief of a large global conglomerate said he was so impressed with speeches made by Kejriwal that he called him up from overseas and expressed his desire to meet him on his next visit to Delhi.

While seriously wanting to engage with this new phenomenon, the businessman said he could not pursue the same as it would have attracted unnecessary publicity about being aligned with one particular political force that is currently in the eye of storm of every other party.

Industry body CII's director general Chandrajit Banerjee said the political scenario is always very important for the economic policies of a country and therefore general elections are definitely a crucial issue.

"As far as AAP is concerned, it is too early to make a judgement, although emergence of this party has definitely been a curtain raiser sort of thing for everybody," he said, while adding that the CII is also looking at engaging with AAP like it has done with all other political parties.

He admitted that the emergence of AAP has brought to the fore one clear theme — about governance and accountability of the government.

"This could be a big game changer and anybody who comes to power would have to focus a lot on governance and ensure that there is accountability on their part," Banerjee said.

IT major Tech Mahindra's vice-chairman Vineet Nayyar said political elections are always an issue and they create their own anticipations.

"The world cannot be indifferent when one-seventh of the world is going to get a new government. Obviously there is an interest (among foreign leaders here) in Indian elections, because India is very important on the global economic platform," he said.

Global rights group Amnesty International's secretary general Salil Shetty said the emergence of AAP has shown that people "do not accept nonsense anymore" and similar trends are being seen in Brazil, Russia and many other places.

"Accountability to the population has to be there. AAP emergence has at least created a scare among the political leadership that you have to be accountable," he said.

Bharti Group chairman Sunil Mittal said that AAP is an expression of people's thinking.

"I am a keen political observer. For me, AAP is nothing but an expression of people's thinking....

"It will be one of the most difficult elections to predict, but it will be one of the most interesting elections," he said while participating in a session on India here on Wednesday.

During the session, finance minister P Chidambaram had said that AAP should quit if they don't know how to govern.

"That (holding two-day long dharna on Delhi streets) is not governance. That is abdicating governance. If you don't know how to govern, quit," he had said.

On why the Congress party was continuing to support the minority AAP government in Delhi, Chidambaram had said, "Opinion in the party was divided. Local unit took that decision, right or wrong. The point is whoever is in government, must govern".

"You can't mask your inability to govern by street agitations. The line that divides agitation and anarchy is a very thin line and they may have crossed that line in the last few days," he said.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
April 9,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 9: Kerala, which was among the first state in the country to report a Corona positive case, has turned its entire public healthcare system into a single interconnected grid to generate uninterrupted information and provide flawless services, thanks to the daily zoom or video conferences of top health authorities for chalking out a dynamic strategy to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.

The daily zoom or remote conferences held by Health Minister K K Shailaja and top health sector officials with the medical and paramedical personnel on the ground have lent a cutting edge to the state government’s all out efforts in monitoring the situation on the ground and formulating effective responses to address the various needs and concerns of the people, an official release said on Thursday.

The Minister is joined in this meticulous exercise by top administrators and planners, including Dr Rajan N Khobragade, Principal Secretary, Health; Dr. Rathan U Kelker, State Mission Director, National Health Mission, Dr Saritha, Director of Health Services, Dr Ramla Beevi, Director of Medical Education and other senior officials.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
April 17,2020

New Delhi, Apr 17: A total of 3,336 Indians tested positive for coronavirus in 53 countries while 25 others died of the infection, government sources said on Thursday.

They said the Indians stranded abroad will have to be patient as the government is not evacuating them as part of a larger policy decision to check the spread of the coronavirus in the country.

"They need to be patient and stay where they are. Our missions have been told to extend all possible help to the stranded Indians," said a source.

According to the sources, evacuation of around 35,000 foreign nationals from 48 countries has been facilitated so far from India.

The sources said the majority of Indians who tested positive for the coronavirus infection are living in the Gulf region. A sizeable number of Indians staying in France and the US have also tested positive.

They said that Indian missions in the Gulf region have been told to extend all possible assistance to the Indians in distress.

Around eight million Indians are living in the Gulf countries and there has been growing anxiety among them over their livelihood in view of the pandemic as it has majorly impacted the oil-driven economy of the region.

Almost all Gulf countries have taken a series of drastic measures including imposing total lockdown, travel restrictions and even closing borders to stem the spread of the coronavirus infection.

The United Arab Emirates has already warned of possible action against countries refusing to allow their citizens to return.

Around 3.3 million Indians are living in the UAE and they constitute roughly 30 per cent of the country's population. Among the Indian states, Kerala is the most represented followed by Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

A large number of Indians are working in the construction sector in Qatar which is hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2022.

As a matter of policy, India has decided not to bring back the stranded Indians from abroad till the nationwide lockdown ends.

The issue of Indians in Gulf region figured prominently during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's video conference with heads of Indian missions abroad on March 30.

Welfare of Indians in the Gulf was the major focus area in the discussions Modi had with leaders of countries in the region over the last few weeks, officials said.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
January 15,2020

New Delhi, Jan 15: The mother of 23-year-old paramedic student, who was raped and brutally assaulted by six men in December 2012, on Tuesday said she knew that the curative petitions of the convicts will be rejected and is confident that they will be hanged on January 22.

Her remarks came after the Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to stay the execution of two of the four death row convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case while dismissing their curative petitions against their conviction and capital punishment.

"The curative please had to be rejected. This was the third time they had gone to the Supreme Court. Whatever pleas they file, we are ready to face them and we will fight it out. We feel that they will be hanged on January 22. We want that to happen," Nirbhaya's mother told PTI over phone.

The four convicts -- Vinay Sharma (26), Mukesh Kumar (32), Akshay Kumar Singh (31) and Pawan Gupta (25) -- are to be hanged on January 22 at 7 am in Tihar jail as a Delhi court issued their death warrants on January 7.

Vinay and Mukesh had filed curative petitions on January 9.

Shortly after the apex court refused to stay the execution of two of them, Mukesh moved a mercy petition before President Ram Nath Kovind.

Mukesh also approached the Delhi High Court for quashing the death warrant. The high court is expected to take up his petition on Wednesday.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.