by admin | May 25, 2021 | Business Summit, Corporate, Corporate Governance, Economy, Events, News, Politics, Social Round-up
By Gaurav Sharma,
Wuhan (China) : India and China on Saturday agreed on a joint economic project in Afghanistan, sources said after a two-day summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping here.
The long-standing border issue also figured in the meeting where Modi and Xi decided to give “strategic guidance” to their armies to prevent a Doklam-like military stand-off in 2017.
“The two leaders endorsed the work of the Special Representatives in their efforts to find a fair, reliable and truly acceptable settlement. They also underscored that in the meantime it is important to maintain peace and tranquility in all areas of the India-China border region,” India’s Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said here.
“And to this end, the two leaders decided that they would issue strategic guidance to their respective militaries to strengthen communication and to build trust and understanding to implement the various confidence-building measures which have already been agreed upon the two sides and to strengthen existing institutional mechanism to prevent and manage situations in the border areas,” he added.
Earlier on Saturday, Modi and Xi walked by the East Lake as they began their second round of talks.
On Friday, the two leaders agreed that healthy bilateral ties were important for a better world as they met to re-set the ties between the two nations hit by the military face-off.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Corporate, Corporate Governance, News, Politics
By Gaurav Sharma,
Wuhan (China) : Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping agreed that healthy bilateral ties were important for a better world as the two met in the Chinese city Wuhan to re-set the ties between India and China hit by last year’s military face-off.
On the opening day of the two-day summit, when the Chinese rolled out the red carpet for Modi, both the leaders said they would want more such informal meetings. Modi invited Xi to India in 2019.
Modi and Xi, who will have more substantive talks on Saturday, said healthy Sino-Indian ties were imperative to maintain peace and stability in the world.
India and China share a tense relationship owing to their 1962 war. Their ties touched a new low last year when their militaries were locked in a face-off near their disputed boundary.
While they had a half hour one-on-one meet at the Hubei Provincial Museum, the planned 30-minute delegation level meeting stretched to two hours.
“Our two countries have established a closed partnership. Our exchanges and cooperation have made positive progress. China and India have a combined population of 2.6 billion which has an enormous potential,” Xi said.
“As we meet, international security is at a crucial period of adjustment. China and India are both important engines for global growth and we are central pillars for promoting a multi-polar and globalised world.
“A good China-India relation is an important and positive factor for peace and stability in the world.
“I believe in the future, we will meet in a format like this from time to time. I look forward to in-depth communication with your Excellency,” Xi added.
Modi sounded equally positive.
“I agree with your message for peace and stability in the world. India and China can play a big positive role for world peace and stability.”
“During the five-yearly Congress last year, you talked about the new era (of China). In India, I am talking about new India. This reflects our similar mindset. Your dream of China’s new era and our attempt for a new India will benefit the world.
“I think the closeness and mutual trust we have established will gradually give way for people-to-people contact and will be good for the bright future.
“I am grateful for your invite and the welcome extended by you. This is perhaps the first time you have received an Indian Prime Minister twice away from Beijing,” Modi said. “This is a matter of pride for India as you yourself came to Wuhan to welcome me.
“This is just not an informal summit of two leaders but it has a historical context too.”
Modi was earlier welcomed at the Hubei Provincial Museum with an impressive cultural performance. Xi and Modi shook hands for 30 seconds. Both leaders then took a tour of the site for around an hour.
“India and China cultural connect goes back many centuries and is reflected in present times through the popularity of Bollywood, yoga and other aspects of Indian culture,” Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar quoted Modi as saying.
“In the history of 2,000 years, the economies of India and China were the anchors of the world economy for 1,600 years. In these 1,600 years, Indian and Chinese economies together accounted for 50 percent of the world’s economy.”
Xi took Modi on a tour of the exhibition of Marquis Yi of Zeng Cultural Relics and Treasure at the museum.
Modi presented Xi reprints of two paintings done by the celebrated Chinese painter Xu Beihong (1895-1953) during his stay in Shanti Niketan in 1939-40. Xu came to Shanti Niketan as the first visiting professor from China.
Modi and Xi saw an exhibition of fine relics from the Chinese civilization.
They also exchanged views on the relationship and communications between the ancient civilizations of China and India.
On Saturday, Modi and Xi will walk by the East Lake, have a boat ride and hold discussions at the East Lake guesthouse.
(Gaurav Sharma can be contacted at sharmagaurav71@gmail.com)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday accused the Congress of spreading lies by hiring foreign agencies and dividing societies on caste lines. He said political purity cannot come unless the Congress culture ends.
In an interactive session with BJP candidates, state office bearers and leaders of Karnataka via the Narendra Modi app, the Prime Minister urged them not to fall for the Congress’s lie and focus on people-to-people contact till the voting.
“If you analyse last few elections, you will realise how a few political parties have indulged only in dividing societies on religious lines. They give lollipops to a community before elections and then forget them,” he said.
Modi said that this is the working style of the Congress in which they exploit emotions of some community before elections and forget them after the elections.
“They will never give account of their works. They keep indulging in dividing the society. The political purity can not be established in the country till the Congress culture is finished from the mainstream,” he added.
Hitting out at the Congress for spreading “rampant” lies, Modi asked the party workers not to fall for the opposition’s trap of falsehoods.
“Congress has resorted to rampant lying after a series of defeats in elections. Earlier, the Congress used to spread lies over five to 10 issues they raised. Now out of 50 issues, 40-45 are based on lies,” the Prime Minister said.
Modi said, in such circumstances, karyakartas must stand their ground, expose their lies and also fight their means of deceiving people by “hiring foreign agencies”.
The Prime Minister said that the other political parties hesitate to talk on development because development can be quantified.
“This was unacceptable to those parties which only concentrated on division. We govern and also fight elections based only on development model,” he said.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Business Summit, Events, News, Politics, Social Round-up
By Gaurav Sharma,
Beijing : China on Tuesday said President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi may arrive at some important consensus to resolve the “outstanding issues”, including the boundary row when they meet at the “unprecedented” two-day summit in Chinese central city of Wuhan.
The leaders of the world’s fastest economies will meet at a “one of its kind” summit on April 27-28, which will be keenly watched as the neighbours make an unseen rapprochement in the changing world order.
Both leaders will have a “heart-to-heart” conversation but will not sign any deal or issue joint statement, China’s Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou told a group of Indian and Chinese journalists ahead of the “historic” meet between Xi and Modi.
“The informal summit will not produce any joint document, but leaders of the two sides may reach very important consensus. Such consensus will also help advance the process of resolving outstanding issues,” Kong said.
He said this time, both sides decided to hold an informal summit of the two leaders, since both countries “attach great importance to each other and not because the boundary question that remain unresolved and we need to talk about it at the informal summit”.
Kong, however, said that the boundary question was very important too. “Both sides need to work together to create favourable conditions and gradually set with proper settlement of the boundary question and deepen cooperation in different sectors along with mutual understanding and trust.”
“China and India need to make deep efforts to build mutual trust. The boundary incident which happened last year somewhat reflected lack of trust,” he said.
India and China fought a brief, but bloody war in 1962 over their long-winding border. The two sides, which share a border of some 4,000 km, were also locked in a 73-day military stand-off in 2017 near their disputed boundary.
Besides this, there are other pesky issues between the two Asian giants. Kong said both the leaders will have strategic vision and historical responsibility.
“Both of them have been widely supported by their people. Both leaders have attached great importance to India-China relationship and have devoted a lot of energy to grow this relationship.
“Over the past few years they met 10 times, visited each others capitals and home towns. They also met at multilateral occasions,” Kong said, adding that every time they had very good talks and reached important consensus.
At the informal summit, they will have strategic communication on the major changes in the international landscape unseen in more than 100 years. They will have in-depth exchange of views on overarching issues, he said.
“Such exchange of views will deepen the mutual trust between the two countries, set the direction and set objectives for the further growth of bilateral ties. It will also open up new prospects in China-India cooperation.
“The summit will not only benefit the two countries but will also deliver peace and development in the region and beyond, he said.
Over the past few days and months, authorities of both the countries carried out intense engagement with each other about the upcoming informal summit to work together for a sound momentum in the India-China relations.
(Gaurav Sharma can be contacted at sharmagaurav71@gmail.com)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
New Delhi : Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Monday accused the BJP-led NDA government of “crushing” the Supreme Court and said that the Dalits may get killed and women may face rapes but Prime Minister Narendra Modi was only interested in himself and in becoming PM again.
Addressing a gathering here to mark the party’s “Save the Constitution” campaign, he accused Modi of destroying country’s reputation abroad and slammed his government’s record in protecting the weaker sections and minorities.
The campaign, launched against the backdrop of uproar in the country over the rape and murder of a minor girl in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua and incidents of rapes in other parts of the country including in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao where the accused is a BJP MLA, is also aimed at boosting Congress prospects for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Citing Modi’s slogan of ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’, Gandhi said it had become “Beti Bachao from BJP.”
Claiming that institutions such as the Supreme Court, high courts, Parliament, assemblies and the Election Commission, IITs, IIMs have been built on the basis of the Constitution which has been given to the country by B.R. Ambedkar and the Congress, Gandhi alleged that people with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) background were being inducted in these institutions by the Modi government.
“It has happened for the first time that four judges of the Supreme Court went to the people to seek justice. The Supreme court is being crushed, it is being suppressed. Parliament was not allowed to run and the press is also being crushed,” he said on a day when the impeachment notice given against Chief Justice of India by members of Congress and six other opposition parties was rejected by Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu.
Referring to Modi’s radio programme “Mann ki baat”, Gandhi said people will tell him their “mann ki baat” in 2019.
“Dalits may get killed, minorities face atrocities, country may burn, women may face rapes, it is nothing. Narendra Modi only wants to understand one thing that how he can become Prime Minister (again). What all has to be done to be prime minister.. only this is his interest,” he said, alleging Modi was afraid to face Parliament on issues like the PNB fraud scam, deportation of Lalit Modi and Vijay Mallaya and the Rafale fighter deal.
“If I am allowed to speak for 15 minutes on Rafale issue in Parliament before Modi, he will not be able to withstand it,” he said.
Referring to the second half of the budget session of Parliament, Gandhi said it was for the first time that the treasury benches “disrupted” the Houses, instead of the opposition.
Noting IMF chief Christine Lagarde had told Modi recently that atrocities were being committed against women in India, he said that even despite this, the Prime Minister was quiet.
He also questioned Modi for associating spirituality with cleaning of toilets, saying for him, the only spirituality was in “becoming the Prime Minister”.
Gandhi, who faced a question during his address, asked media persons if they could pose a query to Modi when he was speaking.
“That’s the difference between us and them. You attack us and we protect you. That is what we are. We defend the press. That is the difference between us and them. We will continue to do so. And will support you because we know you are brave people. And we will support your fight,” he said.
—IANS
