by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
New Delhi : Congress leader Shakeel Ahmad on Sunday said the “theory” by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and CBI that former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and then Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran did something in tandem in the Aircel-Maxis case is too far-fetched.
In a tweet, the Congress leader said Chidambaram had strained relation with Maran.
“Attempts by PM Modi & Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to float a theory that Mr P Chidambaram and Mr DN Maran have done something in tandem to benefit each other in Aircel-Maxis Deal is too far fetched. Their strained relation was known to all of us, when they were in government. I was MoS with both of them,” said Ahmad in a tweet.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday searched the houses of Chidambaram and his son Karti in Delhi and Chennai in connection to the Aircel-Maxis case.
Following the raids Chidambaram had said that there is no FIR against him or his son in the Aircel-Maxis case.
“There is no predicate scheduled offence. Hence the ED has no jurisdiction. Yet the ED, at the instance of the government, continues to misuse its powers.
“I belong to the Opposition party. Let the government misuse the ED. I shall neither bend nor break and I shall continue to speak and write,” he said.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Corporate, Corporate Buzz
New Delhi : With Israel asserting that its relationship with India is much stronger than one vote in the UN, the stage is set for for the arrival here on Sunday of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu on a six-day trip to give a fillip to 25 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
This is the first prime ministerial visit from Israel to India since the visit of then Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
The visit comes less than a month after New Delhi voted in the UN General Assembly against US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
However, Israeli Ambassador to India Daniel Carmon, at a media briefing here, set at rest all speculation over this saying, “I think the relationship is much stronger than one vote in the UN here and there.”
He also added: “Sometimes it is India that comes to Israel with a request and sometimes Israel comes to India with a request. We cannot always fulfil those requests. That is why we are two countries, two members of the UN.”
B. Bala Bhaskar, Joint Secretary (WANA) in the Ministry of External Affairs, told the media that when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Netanyahu will sit for a bilateral summit here on January 15, both sides “will be discussing a lot of issues”.
Netanyahu’s visit also assumes significance as it comes just over six months after the visit of Modi to Israel, the first ever Indian prime ministerial visit to the West Asian nation
Stating that bilateral cooperation has been expanded to several areas, Bhaskar said: “It all started with agriculture, now we have large areas of cooperation predominantly dominated by technology collaboration, innovation, R&D, science, space, so these are actually very qualitative engagements characterised by technological collaboration and innovation.”
According to Carmon, though cooperation in agriculture and water were the highlights of Modi’s visit to Israel in July last year, this time innovation will top the agenda.
“Innovation that would, you know, touch any of the areas in which we cooperate. Innovation could be in the field of defence, innovation could be in the field of agriculture, innovation could be in the field of IT, of R&D,” he said.
The Ambassador described innovation as a “cross-cutting issue” and said this would be reflected in the discussions between Modi and Netanyahu.
Carmon referred to Netanyahu’s scheduled visit to the iCreate Innovation Centre for Entrepreneurship and Technology on the outskirts of Ahmedabad and said that the centre “has a big clement of Israeli ecosystem in innovation”.
Bhaskar said the ties between the two countries have been expanding in the areas of agriculture, water, innovation, entrepreneurship development, space, education, culture, homeland security and defence.
“We have upgraded our relationship to the strategic level with a special focus on agriculture and water,” he said.
He said the bilateral commerce between the two countries stood at $5 billion in 2016-17 which did not include defence trade.
There is speculation about the revival of talks on India’s purchase of 8,000 Spike anti-tank guided missiles from Israel that was cancelled last year.
Carmon, on his part, said that the Spike project is an example of Israel engaging in the Make in India programme.
Stating that the project would be a boost to India’s economy, the Ambassador said: “If there is a problem, I hope it would be solved.”
Apart from the summit-level meeting, the second India-Israel CEOs Forum will be held as also a series of other meetings between both sides in New Delhi and Mumbai during the course of the visit. Netanyahu will be accompanied by a delegation of 130 Israeli business leaders.
Asked about the status of the India-Israel free trade agreement (FTA), Carmon said that “the FTA is definitely on our agenda”.
Netanyahu is also scheduled to visit a Centre of Excellence in Agriculture at Vadrad, Gujarat, that has been set up with Israeli assistance.
Carmon said that by the end of this month, there will be 22 centres of excellence set up with Israeli aid up and running across India.
These centres cover areas like vegetables, citrus fruits, dates, mangoes, flowers, beekeeping, he said, adding that “we are now starting work on a dairy farm in Haryana”.
Netanyahu will also be accompanied by Moshe Holtzberg, whose parents, Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg, were killed in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
Moshe, who was only two years old then, will visit Chabad House, where his parents were killed.
Another major highlight of Netanyahu’s visit will be his participation in this year’s Raisina Dialogue, India’s flagship conference on geopolitics and geo-economics.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
Ali Anwar Ansari
New Delhi : Rebel Janata Dal-United leader Ali Anwar on Tuesday attacked the Centre over filling up of open salt mines in Rajasthan by “threatening” people ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit on January 16.
“The government has filled up over 20 open salt mines to facilitate re-laying of the foundation stone of the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) refinery in Pachpadara village in Barmer district,” Anwar told the media here.
He said there are about 200 open salt mines in Pachparda area since the time of British rule.
“With the government’s move to fill up the open mines, danger looms over 180 more salt mines, on which over 5,000 persons are dependent for livelihood,” he said.
“We are not against the refinery project, but the government must promise them jobs as their livelihood is in danger now,” he said.
He said the villagers will put up black flags on their rooftops to protest against the government’s move to fill up the mines.
Hitting out at the government, the rebel JD-U leader said: “It is unfortunate that the Prime Minister will again lay the foundation stone of the project, which was earlier laid by Congress President Sonia Gandhi and then Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot in March 2013.”
He said the Bharatiya Janata Party wants to ride on the shoulders of Modi by calling him to the state ahead of the bypolls to the Lok Sabha constituencies of Alwar and Ajmer and Mandalgarh assembly seat on January 29.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
New Delhi : Gujarat Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani on Tuesday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking why atrocities were being committed against Dalits, minorities and farmers in India and charged the BJP and RSS with instigating anti-Dalit violence in Bhima Koregaon in Maharasthra.
“The way in which Hardik (Patel), Alpesh (Thakore) and Jignesh (Mevani) with the support of the youth in Gujarat brought the BJP down from over 150 seats (target set by BJP in Gujarat) to 99 seats… That is the reason we are being targetted,” Mevani told his Yuva Hunkar rally here.
“And this is the reason why the people of the (Rashtriya Swayamsewak) Sangh and BJP spread violence in Bhima Koregaon,” he said, referring to the violence that broke out in Bhima Koregaon near Pune last week in which one person lost his life and several vehicles were damaged.
The rally for which the Delhi Police had originally denied permission was held at Jantar Mantar, a short distance from Parliament House in central Delhi. But Mevani and his supporters shelved plans to take out a procession to the Prime Minister’s Office.
The newly elected MLA also said that when he fought elections in Gujarat he always spoke about bringing people together.
“Throughout the election campaign, we said that for 22 years the BJP followed the politics of division, while we always spoke about binding people together,” he said. “We don’t follow love-jihad.”
“We only talk about love and harmony. We will celebrate April 14 and Valentine’s Day too,” he said.
Referring to the violence that marked the 200th anniversary of the Bhima Koregaon battle in Pune last week, he asked: “Why the violence took place in Bhima Koregaon?
“I don’t have to answer it but you have to answer me… This you have to answer why Rs 15 lakh didn’t come in everyone’s account, why no jobs to youth? Why farmers were shot dead in Mandsaur? Why no justice to the Una Dalit victims? Why Najeeb Ahmed went missing? Why Rohit Vemula died? We’ll ask all these questions from you, (Prime Minister Narendra) Modiji.”
Mevani, who won from Vadgam in Gujarat in Assembly elections, said elected representatives were not allowed to speak and that was Gujarat’s model.
Further targeting Modi, Mevani said he supported the government’s “Digital India” initiative but asked the Prime Minister to ensure a technology first “so that no one is made to die inside a sewer”.
He also sought an immediate release of Bhim Army founder Chandrashekhar Azad — a Dalit leader who has been jailed and the National Security Act (NSA) slapped against him for allegdly instigating violence in Saharanpur in June last year.
Former Jawaharlal Nehru University student leader Kanhaiya Kumar said the rally had been called “to protect the Constitution and not for any religion”. He alleged that the BJP was creating communal divisions to rule.
“The BJP does not want ‘Ram Rajya’… In the fight between Allah and Ram, the victory will always go to Nathuram (Godse),” said the student leader.
Earlier, scores of people gathered around the barricaded Parliament Street for the protest march planned by Mevani.
“No permission has been given to anyone (to hold a rally),” Joint Commissioner of Police Ajay Chaudhary told reporters here.
The Gujarat lawmaker slammed the police and the central government for denying permission to the protest.
“An elected representative is not allowed to speak… This is extremely unfortunate.”
Some 1,500 security personnel in riot gear, with tear gas launchers and water cannons, were deployed on Parliament Street. As many as 42 organisation — parties, associations and student groups — took part in the rally.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Opinions
By Amulya Ganguli,
For the third time since the Narendra Modi government’s assumption of office, the Dalits have come into conflict with the Hindutva brigade. The first time was in Una in Gujarat, where a group of Dalits were thrashed by saffron activists for skinning a cow, a traditional occupation of the “untouchables”.
The second time was in Hyderabad central university where a standoff between members of the Ambedkar Students Association and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) student wing, led to the suicide of a Dalit student, Rohith Vemula.
Now, perhaps the most serious of all these incidents has taken place in Maharashtra following the objections of Hindu Right organisations to the celebrations by Dalits of an 1818 battle in the village of Koregaon on the banks of the Bhima river near Pune in which the “untouchable” Mahar soldiers of a British army defeated the upper caste Marathas.
Considering that these celebrations have been held for decades without the rest of the country noting it as an event of great significance even when B.R. Ambedkar participated in them in 1927, it is noteworthy that they should have led this time to a violent outbreak which spread from Pune to Mumbai and other Maharashtra towns.
Evidently, the Hindu Right groups have been emboldened by the BJP’s political ascendancy to decide to stop an instance of Dalit assertion, not least because it targeted the upper caste Peshwa rulers of the state of the 19th and earlier centuries.
The episode was a much larger version of the clash which took place in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, between Dalits and the Rajputs in May last year when the former objected to the processions taken out by the Rajputs to celebrate the birth anniversary of Maharana Pratap. A few weeks earlier, the latter had objected to the celebrations of Ambedkar’s birth anniversary by the Dalits.
What these episodes show is that unlike in the past, the Dalits are unwilling to commemorate their days of pride in a low key and are also ready to object to the noisy festivities of the upper castes.
The Bhima-Koregaon event may have kindled the ire of the Hindu Right all the more because of the unapologetic participation of the Dalit soldiers with the British army to defeat a Hindu ruler.
This is something which evidently riles the ultra-nationalists associated with the saffron brotherhood at a time when they are engaged in rewriting history to suit their own fads and prejudices as is evident in their objections to a yet-to-be-released film on a fabled Rajput queen.
In such a time of triumphal chauvinism, the Dalit-East India Company collaboration is obviously unacceptable to the Hindu Right, especially when Ambedkar had noted that the “untouchable” Dusads had helped Robert Clive to win the battle of Plassey in 1757, just as the “untouchable” Mahars, a community to which Ambedkar himself belonged, had helped the “foreigners” to win in Koregaon.
Not surprisingly, Ambedkar had not been a favourite of the BJP till recently when the party changed its mind about him after realising the high political cost of alienating both the Muslims and Dalits.
However, the party’s “mann ki baat” or speaking one’s mind about the Dalits was succinctly expressed by Arun Shourie, who was a minister in Atal Behari Vajpayee’s government, in his book, “Worshipping False Gods”, in which he said that “there is not one instance, not one single solitary instance, in which Ambedkar participated in any activity connected with the struggle to free the country”.
Considering that there are not too many instances of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) participating in “any activity” to free the country, Shourie’s charge cannot be taken seriously. But it does underline the traditional Brahmin-Bania outlook of the Sangh Parivar towards the Dalits and their foremost leader.
The objections voiced by the RSS chief, Mohan Bhagwat, about the continuing reservations for Dalits in government jobs and educational institutions also denote the saffron attitude which is resented by the latter.
The BJP has tried to make amends by nominating a Dalit, Ramnath Kovind, as the country’s President, but it is unlikely to make any difference to the longstanding antipathy of the community towards a party whose hardliners swear by the Manusmriti, an ancient book which was once “ceremonially” burnt by Ambedkar along with hundreds of his followers for its anti-Dalit pronouncements.
For the BJP, the latest confrontation with the Dalits carries a disturbing message on the eve of elections in as many as eight states this year, including those where the party is expected to face the anti-incumbency factor.
While the BJP’s success in winning 69 of the 85 reserved seats in Uttar Pradesh last summer showed that the party was gaining the support of the Dalits, the trend was not in evidence in the recent Gujarat elections where, among other things, the victory of the previously unknown Jignesh Mewani, by a margin of 19,000 votes, pointed to the disaffection of the Dalits with the saffron organisation. Mewani emerged from nowhere after the Una incident to become a well-known figure in today’s politics.
There is little doubt that farily large sections of the Dalits, who make up 16.6 per cent of the population, as well as Muslims, who comprise 14.2 per cent, harbour reservations about the BJP, notwithstanding its attempt to placate at least the Muslim women by bringing the triple talaq bill. The BJP cannot but be deeply worried, therefore, about the impact of their alienation on the forthcoming elections.
(Amulya Ganguli is a political analyst. The views expressed are personal. He can be reached at amulyaganguli@gmail.com)
—IANS
