Modi flags off BJP poll campaign; slams UPA

August 11, 2013
Hyderabad, Aug 11: Slamming UPA and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over Government’s Pakistan policy in the wake of the LoC attack, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday alleged that national security is being ignored due to “vote bank politics“.

“This government of Delhi cannot provide security to the nation. This government, neck deep in vote bank politics, cannot provide security to our nation... When the Indian jawans were beheaded, the Prime Minister had said that Pakistan will be accounted for it,” Mr. Modi said addressing his much-publicised rally in Hyderabad.

“Now when the Pakistani Army, this week, shot dead our jawans, I want to ask the Prime Minister...he had made the promise that we will not tolerate such things. What is the reason that a country of 125 crore is silently tolerating when Pakistan is going back on its promise one by one?”

The LoC attack in Poonch sector in Jammu and Kashmir early this month in which specialised troops of Pakistan were involved left five jawans dead.

“What is the protocol with those, who behead our soldiers,” he asked.

Mr. Modi, the chief of BJP’s national election campaign, began his speech in Telugu drawing applause from his supporters, who had come to listen to him by paying Rs. 5 as entry fee.

He also alleged that the jawans of Indian Army deployed on the Bangladesh border have been asked not to use weapons even if there was an assault from the other side.

Raising the issue of Chinese incursion, the Gujarat Chief Minister attacked External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid for his remarks on his visit to Beijing.

“Shame, Shame Shame on You. Shame on You, who are running the government of India. You are spraying acid on the wounds of 125 crore Indians...,” he said.

After his visit to Beijing recently, Mr. Khurshid said he would “love to live in Beijing.”

Mr. Modi also slammed Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah over the detention of BJP leader Arun Jaitley at airport and preventing him from visiting riots-hit Kishtwar and said it smacks of an attempt to “hide” the “tale of a crime” that has happened there.

Mr. Modi also accused Congress of creating a wedge between people of Telangana and Seemandhra regions.

Appeals to non-Cong parties to come together, woos TDP

Launching his Southern election campaign, Mr. Modi appealed to all non-Congress parties to come together to dislodge the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre and to end “dynastic” rule.

In a bid to woo fresh allies, the Gujarat Chief Minister, who is the BJP’s national election campaign chief, made a specific appeal to Telugu Desam (TDP), which has inherited the legacy of late N.T. Rama Rao, a former chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, saying it was its duty to see that the government at the Centre be made Congress-free.

“Congress party is a burden on this nation. Today I want to remember NTR when I come here. NTR did service not only to Andhra but the whole of India when he gave boost to anti-Congress politics. It was NTR’s efforts that paved the way for formation of a non-Congress government at the Centre.

“I appeal to all political parties in Andhra Pradesh here, what can be a supreme tribute to NTR than providing a non-Congress government,” said Mr. Modi while addressing a huge gathering at the Lal Bahadur stadium here organised by BJP.

“All those who claim NTR’s legacy, their first duty is to do everything to bring a non-Congress government. It should be their duty to do everything in this regard. I am confident that Andhra Pradesh’s political parties will not leave any stone unturned to bring a non-Congress government and end this dynastic rule,” he said.

Addressing TDP specifically, a party which has inherited NTR’s legacy, Modi said, “It is their duty also to fulfill NTR’s dreams.”

The TDP, headed by N Chandrababu Naidu, is a former constituent of BJP-led NDA and supported the Vajpayee government from 1998 to 2004. The TDP severed its alliance with BJP after the 2004 election defeat.

“Desh mein Congress mukt bharat ki hawa ban chuki hai (An atmosphere has been created for a Congress-free India),” Mr. Modi said.

Mr. Modi ended his 45-minute speech taking a leaf out of U.S. president Barack Obama by making the crowd chant “yes we can“.

modi

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Agencies
August 6,2020

Mumbai, Aug 6: Former Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan said on Thursday that overly focusing on what sovereign rating agencies think can take one's eyes off what needs to be done for the economy.

"It is also important to convince both domestic and international investors that after the crisis associated with the pandemic is over, we will return to fiscal responsibility over the medium term, and the government should do more to convince them of that," Rajan told the Global Markets Forum.

India was placed under one of the strictest lockdowns in the world in late March for more than two months to stem the spread of the coronavirus, but cases have continued to rise steadily since the government eased restrictions in June, stymieing hopes of an economic recovery.

The government has announced several initiatives to help the poor and small- and medium-size businesses, but actual cash outgo from the government's measures has been estimated at just about 1% of GDP.

Several attribute the fiscal prudence to fear of a downgrade after Moody's cut India's rating and outlook in early June followed closely by a change in outlook from Fitch.

The central bank on its part too has reduced the key lending rate by 115 basis points on top of the 135 bps last year and is widely expected to cut rates by another 25 bps later on Thursday.

"The RBI and government have certainly been cooperating, but it seems like it is elsewhere, the ball is in the government's court to do more," Rajan said.

He said the RBI needs to focus on whether credit is reaching the stressed areas of the economy and also if the viable firms were able to access credit and not the unviable ones.

"And I think that's where it has to focus its attentions, because resources, as you well know, are limited in India today."

Recently analysts, however, have cited the growing possibility the RBI may prefer to pause and cut rates only at its October meeting.

Government officials too have suggested the possibility of any more fiscal stimulus being announced, would only come in the second half of the fiscal year, once a recovery has taken root and coronavirus cases have peaked.

"What India should focus on at this point is protecting its economic capabilities, so that when it has dealt with the virus it can go resume activity in a reasonable way. That should be the focus," Rajan said.

"And if it does that, there is no reason why the rating agencies will not see that as an appropriate policy".

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Agencies
June 8,2020

Lucknow, Jun 8: The coronavirus which has now been assigned a gender, is being worshipped in Uttar Pradesh also after Bihar as superstition run deep. Women in some villages in Tumkuhiraj, Kasia, Hata, Captanganj and Khadda tehsil in Kushinagar district have started worshipping 'Corona Mai' and are pleading with her to spare lives.

These women have dug a small pit in the field, filled it with water and each one offers nine cloves and nine 'laddoos' to 'Corona Mai' to appease her.

Women from adjoining villages are now flocking to the 'temple' to pray to 'Corona Mai'.

Some local people have appealed to the district administration to stop such activities which spread superstition and misinformation.

Radhey Lal, a school teacher in Kasia, said, "The authorities must stop such activities which promote superstition. Everyone knows that there is no cure for corona and this kind of activities must be stopped."

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Agencies
January 12,2020

Lucknow, Jan 12: The controversy over renowned Pakistani poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz's iconic poem 'Hum dekhenge' may have caused an upheaval in the literary world but it has also helped in resurrecting the famous poet for the young generations.

Students and young professionals are making a beeline for books on Faiz, his biography and his poems and book sellers are ordering supplies of Faiz books.

"Earlier, we sold hardly one book in a month or on Faiz but after the controversy, people are curious to know more about the poet and his poems. We have placed orders for the entire literary range on Faiz Ahmad Faiz," said a leading book seller in Hazratganj in Lucknow.

The bookseller said that the highest demand was for books written in Devnagri script.

"Not many in the young generation can read or write Urdu so they prefer Devnagri," the book seller said.

In Kanpur, most of the leading bookshops have already run out of stocks and book stalls in the ongoing Handloom Expo are drawing huge crowds for Faiz books.

Suchita Srivastava, B.Ed student in Kanpur said, "I have never been fond of Urdu poetry because I do not understand much of the language but after the controversy, I want to read poems of Faiz to understand what he wanted to say. I am taking help of Google to understand difficult words in Urdu."

Krishna Rao, another student at the Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology, said that since books on Faiz had been sold out, he had ordered a Kindle edition and was reading them.

"Reading his poems actually widens one's perspective of things and becomes even more precious if you take into account the time and context in which they were written," he said.

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