Modi,Sharif finally greet after cold vibes

November 28, 2014

modi shariefKathmandu, Nov 28: On the last day of the 18th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) summit here, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif shook hands and exchanged pleasantries.

New Delhi, however, was quick to point out that Modi’s handshake with Sharif should not be construed as a signal of India’s willingness for an early restart of the stalled bilateral dialogue with Pakistan. “India is for peaceful and cooperative relation with Pakistan. We are interested in meaningful dialogue. If this interaction today (Thursday) or this handshake leads to that, we would welcome that,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin told journalists in Kathmandu shortly after the summit concluded. “The emphasis, however, is on meaningful dialogue,” he added.

Nepal Prime Minister Sushil Koirala and leaders of other south Asian nations looked on smilingly, as Modi and Sharif, who completely avoided each other during the inaugural ceremony on Wednesday, not only greeted each other, but also chatted briefly and shook hands. The day also saw signing of the Saarc Framework Agreement for Energy (Electricity) Cooperation.

Even before the public display of cordiality, Modi and Sharif warmed up to each other at a retreat in the backdrop of the majestic Himalayas in Dhulikhel, a hill town nearly 30 km south-east of Kathmandu.

As Koirala led other Saarc leaders to the terrace to enjoy the picturesque landscape, Modi and Sharif were seen standing close to each other, soaking in the pristine environs. Modi and Sharif also shook hands and exchanged greetings at an informal meeting and chatted while having lunch with leaders of the six other south Asian nations.

The retreat also provided an opportunity to the leaders to have a candid discussion, which succeeded in ending the impasse over one of the three agreements proposed to be signed during the summit.

Modi and other leaders succeeded in persuading Sharif to approve the Saarc Framework Agreement for Energy (Electricity) Cooperation.

Later, as Koirala declared the summit closed, Modi found himself surrounded by President Mahinda Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka, President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan, President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom of Maldives, Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay of Bhutan and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh, as they all came to greet him.

Sharif, who was on the other end of the podium, too, joined later and extended his hand to Modi.

On Modi’s invitation, Sharif had attended the swearing-in ceremony of the new government at Rashtrapati Bhavan on May 26. They also had a meeting the next day and decided to explore possibilities of restarting the dialogue that New Delhi had suspended in January 2013.

The foreign secretary-level dialogue with Islamabad was later called of to protest Pakistan’s consultation with Kashmiri separatist leaders before holding official parleys with India.

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Agencies
February 25,2020

New Delhi, Feb 25: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday told a meeting of Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and party leaders that "professional assessment" is that the violence in north-east Delhi has been "spontaneous".

He also said adequate forces have been already deployed in affected areas even as he urged political parties to avoid provocative speeches and statements which could flare up the situation and desist from rumour-mongering. He also instructed Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik to re-activate local peace committees. 

"Shah noted that the professional assessment is that the violence in the capital has been spontaneous. He expressed confidence in Delhi Police and said that the force has shown maximum restraint to get the situation under control," a statement issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said.

However, on Monday, government sources had claimed that violence in the national capital "appeared to be orchestrated" to coincide with the high-profile visit. A PTI report from Hyderabad on Tuesday also quoted Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy as saying that the violence in Delhi has been perpetrated intentionally and the Narendra Modi government would not tolerate such incidents. 

While Shah said adequate forces have been deployed, there were also reports that the Delhi Police Commissioner told MHA top brass that it did not have adequate forces to control the violence that erupted in north-east Delhi. However, Delhi Police later tweeted that the Commissioner has denied that "no such information was given to MHA" and such reports were "totally baseless". 

Urging parties to avoid provocative speeches and statements which could flare up the situation, the statement said, Shah expressed confidence in Delhi Police and said that the force has shown maximum restraint to get the situation under control.

Appealing to all to maintain restraint and desist from rumour-mongering while instructing the Delhi Police Commissioner to re-activate local peace committees, Shah said Delhi's borders with Uttar Pradesh and Haryana have been under surveillance for the last three days. 

Shah also urged parties to ask their local leaders to hold meetings in sensitive areas and instructed senior police officers to visit vulnerable police stations at the earliest

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News Network
January 13,2020

New Delhi, Jan 13: The Delhi High Court on Monday sought response of the city police, Delhi government, WhatsApp Inc, Google Inc and Apple Inc on a plea of three JNU professors to preserve data, CCTV footage and other evidence relating to the January 5 violence on the varsity campus.

The Delhi Police informed the court that it has asked the JNU administration to preserve and hand over CCTV footage of the violence.

Justice Brijesh Sethi listed the matter for further hearing on Tuesday.

The court was told by Delhi government Standing Counsel (criminal) Rahul Mehra that the police has not yet received any response from the university administration.

The counsel said police has also written to WhatsApp to preserve data of two groups "Unity Against Left" and "Friends of RSS" including messages, pictures and videos and phone numbers of members, related to JNU violence incident.

The petition was filed by JNU professors Ameet Parameswaran, Atul Sood and Shukla Vinayak Sawant seeking necessary directions to the Delhi Police Commissioner and Delhi government.

The petition also sought direction to the Delhi Police to retrieve all CCTV footage of JNU campus.

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Agencies
April 14,2020

Mumbai, Apr 14: Activist and scholar Anand Teltumbde was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday after he surrendered before it in connection with the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case.

Teltumbde surrendered at the NIA office at Cumbala Hill in south Mumbai following the Supreme Court's directives.

He was subsequently arrested by the NIA and shall be produced before a court here shortly, an official said.

Earlier, the scholar reached the NIA office in the afternoon along with his wife Rama Teltumbde and brother-in- law and Dalit leader Prakash Ambedkar.

Anand Teltumbde is the grandson-in-law of Dalit icon Dr B R Ambedkar, whose 129th birth anniversary is being observed on Tuesday.

Civil rights activist Gautam Navlakha, a co-accused in the case, also surrendered before the NIA in Delhi. His anticipatory bail plea was also rejected by the apex court.

According to the official, Navlakha will be produced before the court in Mumbai through video conference.

The Supreme Court on March 17 this year rejected the pre-arrest bail pleas of Anand Teltumbde and Gautam Navlakha, and directed them to surrender before the investigating agency.

Teltumbde, Navlakha and nine other civil liberties activists have been booked under the stringent provisions of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for having alleged Maoist links and conspiring the overthrow the government.

The apex court while rejecting Teltumbde and Navlakha's bail pleas on March 17, directed them to surrender before the prosecuting agency withing a period of three weeks.

The duo later sought extension of the time.

On April 9, the Supreme Court extended the time by one week by way of last chance.

The activists were booked initially by Pune Police following violence that erupted at Koregaon-Bhima there.

According to police, the activists made inflammatory speeches and provocative statements at the Elgar Parishad meet held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which triggered violence the next day.

The police also said these activists were active members of banned Maoist groups.

The case was later transferred to NIA. Teltumbde and Navlakha were given interim protection by the Bombay High Court while their pre-arrest bail pleas were being heard.

After the high court rejected their applications, the duo approached the Supreme Court.

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