Modi playing up his humble background a hypocrisy: Brinda

January 20, 2014

BrindaLucknow, Jan 19: Calling him a “hypocrite,” CPI (M) Politburo member Brinda Karat on Sunday lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi for trumpeting his humble background as a tea-seller. Ms. Karat dared Mr. Modi to state a “single example” where he has issued license to a tea-vendor to run his shop without having to face police harassment.

“This is utter hypocrisy. On one hand he is talking of being a 'kaamdaar' and his background as a tea-seller, while on the other bulldozers are razing slums for the corporate. I dare him to name even a single policy that has benefitted the tea-sellers in Gujarat,” Ms. Karat told reporters here.

Ms. Karat was reacting to Mr. Modi’s speech at his party’s national council in Delhi. “The Gujarat government has razed jhuggis (shanties) to make way for the corporate and not rehabilitated the displaced,” Ms. Karat added. She said that the Gujarat Chief Minister was trying hard to get a “makeover” from communalism by talking of his ‘poor background and backward class.’

Crucially, in a bid to woo the OBC community, which leans towards the Samajwadi Party in UP, the BJP is scheduled to launch a month-long social justice programme in each district of the State on February 15.

The BJP hopes to makes the most of Mr. Modi’s tea-seller credentials as it will intensify the “Namo chai ki chaupal” campaign to gather support for the three remaining rallies in UP, in Gorakhpur, Meerut and Lucknow, party leaders say.

While Ms. Karat said her party, and other left parties, would be open to alliances in UP, she dismissed any coalition with the Aam Aadmi Party. “There is no question. The party has no ideology, on matters of national importance. We cannot support a party which does a u-turn.”

Addressing a seminar on communalism, Ms. Karat claimed that the RSS’ pretentions of a cultural organization not engaged in politics were exposed with the candidature of Mr. Modi. “The RSS has a direct role to play in the BJP’s election campaign and Modi is the face of that ideology. The RSS-BJP will contest with the dual agenda of Hinduvta and corporatism.”

The RSS front organizations want to communalize the atmosphere to polarise votes on religion, she added. She, however, added that the Congress and the BJP were two sides of the same coin. “Neo-liberal policies and communalism go together,” she said. Ms. Karat also said that for the upcoming elections the BJP had raised two other issues for its campaign: nationalism and the dignity of Hindu women. But it was ironic, that, Mr. Modi maintained silence on the rapes of women during the Muzafarrnagar riots, Ms. Karat said. She also accused the BJP of being two-faced on the issue of terror.

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News Network
February 1,2020

New Delhi, Feb 1: Activist Sharjeel Imam's mobile phone and laptop along with some anti-CAA posters have been seized from his house in Bihar's Jehanabad and rented flat in Vasant Kunj, police said on Friday.

Imam was arrested by the Delhi Police's Crime Branch from Jehanabad in a sedition case and he is being questioned by police for his alleged inflammatory speeches in Aligarh and at the Jamia Millia Islamia University here.

During investigation, a laptop and a desktop belonging to Imam were recovered from his rented flat at Vasant Kunj, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rajesh Deo said.

His mobile phone was recovered from his house at his native place in Jehanabad's Kako area on the instance of his brother, he said.

Imam had prepared anti-CAA and anti-NRC pamphlets with "misleading and intimidating facts" and then distributed them in various mosques, the copy of which have been recovered, police said.

The shop from where he made photocopies of the pamphlets has also been identified, they added.

Imam was arrested on Tuesday. He was brought to Delhi on Wednesday and produced at the residence of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Purushottam Pathak in the evening amid tight security after which police were granted his five-day custody.

The PhD scholar at the Jawaharlal Nehru University's Centre for Historical Studies has been booked for sedition and other charges in several states after videos of his alleged inflammatory speeches, made during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), were circulated on the social media.

An FIR was registered against Imam by the Delhi Police on January 25 under IPC sections 124A (sedition) and 153A (promoting or attempting to promote disharmony or feelings of enmity on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, caste or community or any other ground whatsoever) among others.

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News Network
January 17,2020

Mumbai, Jan 17: A 68-year-old convict of the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, Jalees Ansari, went missing on Thursday morning while being on parole, officials said.

Ansari, a resident of Mominpura in Agripada here who is serving a life term, is suspected to be involved in many bomb blast cases across the country, an official said.

He was on parole for 21 days from the Ajmer Central Prison, Rajasthan, and was expected to surrender before prison authorities on Friday, he said.

During the parole period, he was ordered to visit the Agripada Police Station everyday between 10.30 am and 12 pm to mark his attendance, he said.

However, Ansari did not visit the police station on Thursday during the designated time, the official said.

In the afternoon, his 35-year-old son Jaid Ansari approached the police station with a complaint about his “missing” father, he said.

According to the complaint, Jalees Ansari woke up in the early hoursand told family members he is going to offer namaz, but did not return home.

On his complaint, the Agripada Police registered a missing case, he said.

The Crime Branch of the Mumbai Police and the Maharashtra ATS have launched a massive manhunt to trace him, he said.

Jalees, who is known as Doctor Bomb, was allegedly connected with terror outfits like SIMI and Indian Mujahidin and taught terror groups how to make bombs, he said.

He was also questioned by the NIA in 2011 in connection with the 2008 bomb blast in Mumbai, he said.

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News Network
January 3,2020

New Delhi, Jan 3: The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on Thursday said the homegrown payments technology RuPay will offer 40 per cent cashback for its international card users for transactions in select countries.

Indians travelling to the UAE, Singapore, Sri Lanka, the UK, the US, Spain, Switzerland and Thailand will be able to earn up to Rs 16,000 cashback per month by getting their RuPay International Card activated, the NPCI said in a release.

With RuPay International cards --JCB, Discover and Diners Club--customers using multiple cards can earn more cashbacks under the 'RuPay Travel Tales' campaign.

To avail the cashback benefit, customers will have to do a minimum transaction of Rs 1000 and the maximum cashback is capped at Rs 4,000 for a single transaction.

The offer can be availed by customers using RuPay International Card four times a month that can give them a chance of earning up to Rs 16,000 as cashback.

Praveena Rai, COO, NPCI said, "We always aim to create an end-to-end value proposition for RuPay International cardholders to make their overseas travel experience seamless and memorable. The campaign is not only providing an exciting platform for travelers to earn cashbacks but also motivating them to migrate towards digital transactions nationally and globally".

Apart from earning cashbacks, RuPay International cardholders can access to RuPay affiliated domestic/international airport lounges.

They also can avail attractive offers on booking international fights and hotels in association with Thomas Cook and Make My Trip, the release said.

RuPay has a partnership with Discover Financial Services (DFS) and Japan based JCB International, allowing RuPay users the access to across 190 countries.

As on date, there are over 1,100 banks live on RuPay platform including SBI, HDFC Bank, Axis bank, among others.

RuPay card base has crossed 600 million, half of which are in the mid and premium segments, NCPI said.

NPCI was incorporated in 2008 as an umbrella organization for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India. An initiative of RBI and IBA under the provisions of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, NPCI was initiated for creating a robust payment and settlement infrastructure in the country.

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