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Tensions have increased in recent days between the U.S. and Israeli governments.
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#Kevin #McCarthy #issued #statement #support #Israel #Prime #Minister #Benjamin #Netanyahu #chaos #country #proposed #judicial #overhaul
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )
Tag: Country
Kevin McCarthy issued a statement in support of Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu amid chaos in the country over a proposed judicial overhaul.
’44 airports in country don’t have night landing facility’
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New Delhi: There are a total of 44 operational airports in the country which do not have night landing facilities for civil operations, the Rajya Sabha was told on Monday.
These airports include Shimla, Kushinagar, Darbhanga, Deoghar, Bilaspur and many others.
The provision of night landing facility, which is purely based on the demand and operational requirements of the airlines, is a continuous process and is undertaken by Airports Authority of India (AAI) and other airport operators from time to time depending on the availability of land, commercial viability, socio-economic considerations, traffic demand and willingness of airlines to operate to/from such airports etc., said a written reply by the Ministry of Civil Aviation on Monday in Rajya Sabha.
The Central government has granted ‘in-principle’ approval to set up 21 Greenfield airports in the country.
Out of these, Mopa (Goa), Noida (Jewar), Navi Mumbai, and Dholera will also act as additional airports to the existing airports.
As a second airport to Chennai, the state government of Tamil Nadu has submitted an application to Ministry of Civil Aviation for grant of ‘Site-Clearance’ for development of a new Greenfield airport at Parandur, Kancheepuram District, Tamil Nadu and the proposal is under examination by Airports Authority of India (AAI), Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Ministry of Defence (MoD), said another reply by the Ministry on Monday.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation had received an application for ‘Site-Clearance’ for the development of a new Greenfield airport at Pantnagar in Uttarakhand.
However, in December 2022, the Uttarakhand government requested to keep their application in abeyance, as expansion of existing Pantnagar airport is being alternatively considered, said the reply.
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#airports #country #dont #night #landing #facility( With inputs from www.siasat.com )
Israel’s leaders must find compromise on legislation that is tearing country apart, White House says
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Protests against the measures have been widespread for weeks. Opponents have characterized the plans as anti-democratic and a boost to Netanyahu’s power at a time when the prime minister himself is facing criminal charges.
“It’s an attack on the very soul and nature of our democracy,” former Prime Minister Ehud Barak said earlier this month. Barak urged Israelis to resort to mass civil disobedience to block the judicial reforms.
On Saturday, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant spoke out against the legislation; on Sunday, Netanyahu fired him, saying, “We must all stand strong against refusal.”
Protests against Gallant’s firing immediately broke out in Israel’s major cities. The Associated Press reported that “protesters in Tel Aviv blocked a main highway and lit large bonfires, while police scuffled with protesters who gathered outside Netanyahu’s private home in Jerusalem.”
The White House statement said that disagreements over Netanyahu’s current policies would not disrupt the U.S.-Israel relationship, which traditionally has been very close.
“U.S. support for Israel’s security and democracy remains ironclad,” the statement said.
Given America’s close relationship with Israel, and the Biden administration’s general hesitation to openly criticize such an important Middle Eastern ally, the White House statement on Sunday was relatively pointed.
The administration has known for a while that this Netanyahu-led coalition is an unusually extreme one, but it had hoped that Netanyahu could keep it in line. The prime minister had insisted that the far-right members of his coalition were joining him and not the other way around, and that he was in charge.
As a result, Biden administration officials had said they intended to hold him responsible for whatever happened. But they were also keenly aware of the many factors that Netanyahu is juggling, including his desire to avoid further prosecution on corruption charges — one of the reasons he is believed to have acquiesced to some of the demands of his coalition partners.
When asked on Sunday whether the administration had any immediate Israel-related plans beyond issuing the statement, U.S. officials did not offer comment.
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#Israels #leaders #find #compromise #legislation #tearing #country #White #House
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )Areas neglected earlier role model for country now: Jitendra Singh
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Hiranagar: Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh on Sunday said areas like border districts which were neglected earlier have now become role model for the country.
He said bringing governance at the doorsteps of the people to the last man in the last queue is possible only under Narendra Modi whose endeavour, after being sworn in as the Prime Minister of India in 2014, has been to address the people’s issues on the spot through ‘public darbars’ with district administration.
The governance cannot be restricted to the district headquarters only and a departure from this practice was necessary so that people’s issues could be addressed on the spot with district administration, Singh said at a ‘public darbar’ here.
He asserted that development has reached the last man in the queue under PM Narendra Modi, and said the areas which were neglected earlier like the border districts under the previous governments have now become the role models for the country, the best example being the border district of Kathua, “which is considered now the epitome of development and governance in the country”, according to an official statement.
Singh, who is the Lok Sabha member from Jammu and Kashmir’s Udhampur constituency, said it is for the first time after 20 years that hundreds of acres of border land have been brought under cultivation “bringing back the lost smiles on the faces of border dwellers in Kathua” which has been possible only under the present government which believes in the mantra of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ under PM Modi.
He said Kathua is now considered the role model of development in the country due to various development initiatives undertaken there.
During the ‘public darbar’, Singh addressed certain issues on the spot related to the Delhi-Katra express highway such as land compensation, crossings at certain points for public convenience.
The minister directed the top officials of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) present during the public darbar to speed up the work on the express highway and also look into the genuine issues raised by the public in a time bound manner, the statement issued by the Personnel Ministry said.
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#Areas #neglected #earlier #role #model #country #Jitendra #Singh( With inputs from www.siasat.com )
Congress protests disqualification of Rahul Gandhi from LS across country
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New Delhi: Congress workers across the country on Sunday organised “Sankalp Satyagraha” to protest against the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi from Lok Sabha, with party president Mallikarjun Kharge lashing out at the ruling BJP and asking why it is pained if fugitives such as Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi are criticised.
While in Delhi, the police denied permission to the Congress to hold its protest programme at Rajghat, the police in Gujarat detained several party functionaries for holding the stir.
In the national capital, the Congress put up a stage outside Mahatma Gandhi’s memorial for its day-long protest programme after the permission was denied.
In her address at the protest programme, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi said a martyred prime minister’s son, who walked thousands of kilometres for national unity, can never insult the country.
She was referring to her father and late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi who was assassinated in 1991.
Priyanka Gandhi said the time had come to raise her voice against an “arrogant government” as barring Rahul Gandhi from contesting elections does not bode well for the country and its democracy.
“My family’s blood has nurtured democracy in this country. We are ready to do anything for this country’s democracy. Great leaders of Congress laid the foundation of democracy in this country. If they think they can scare us, they are wrong. We will not be scared,” she said.
The Congress leader alleged that Rahul Gandhi was disqualified for questioning the prime minister on industrialist Gautam Adani, and said people will give a befitting reply to those behind the action.
Slamming the BJP over its charge that Rahul Gandhi insulted OBCs with his remark for which he has been convicted in a criminal defamation case, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said why is the ruling party pained if fugitives such as Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi are criticised.
Kharge also thanked all Opposition parties for standing with Rahul Gandhi and the Congress to save democracy.
“They talk of OBC now, is Lalit Modi OBC, is Nirav Modi OBC, is Mehul Choksi OBC, they ran away with people’s money. If they are fugitives why are you pained if they are criticised? You (BJP) punish the person who works to save the country and send those abroad who loot the country,” Kharge said.
“Rahul Gandhi ji is fighting for the people of this country, for the women, for the youth, fighting against unemployment and inflation,” he said.
Gandhi was disqualified from the Lok Sabha on Friday, a day after a court in Gujarat’s Surat convicted him in a 2019 defamation case. The disqualification will prevent Gandhi (52), a four-time MP, from contesting elections for eight years unless a higher court stays the conviction.
Congress workers in many states and union territories like Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana and Gujarat took part in the protest programme.
In Gujarat, the police detained state Congress chief Jagdish Tahor, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Amit Chavda and senior leader Bharatsinh Solanki along with party workers when they arrived at Lal Darwaza in Ahmedabad to protest.
The protesters were taken to the police stadium where they continued to shout slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party.
“We have the power of Truth and resolution of Satyagraha. To expose the loot of BJP, with a firm determination to protect democracy, each and every worker of Gujarat Pradesh Congress is with Rahul Gandhi,” Thakor tweeted.
“Even before we could start the programme, the police detained us. We will continue our protest against the dictatorship of the BJP government, which puts even the erstwhile British rule to shame,” said Vadodara Congress party leader Rutvij Joshi.
Jammu and Kashmir Congress protest:
In Srinagar, scores of party activists led by former JKPCC president Ghulam Ahmad Mir protested at the party’s headquarters at M A Road.
Speaking to reporters, Mir said not only the Congress party, but all non-BJP secular parties have come together, and are “wailing over the death of democracy” in the country.
“The BJP government has not left any sign of the Constitution in the country, all the steps it takes are illegal and undemocratic,” he charged.
Punjab, Haryana Congress protest:
The Punjab and Haryana units of Congress also observed the satyagraha.
Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring alleged that the action against Rahul Gandhi was taken because the BJP-led Centre was “scared” of his next speech in Parliament on the Adani issue.
Warring said a “tearing hurry” was shown by the Lok Sabha Secretariat in disqualifying Rahul Gandhi allegedly at the behest of the BJP-led government.
Haryana Congress chief Udai Bhan said Rahul Gandhi has been raising his voice against the BJP-led Centre on various issues.”They want to silence his voice, but they are mistaken,” he said.
Charging that institutions are being attacked in the country, Punjab’s Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa said it is time for “all democratic forces to get together”.
Rajasthan Congress protest:
In Congress-ruled Rajasthan, the party’s state unit chief Govind Singh Dotasra, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas and several other leaders took part in the protest.
Dubbing Gandhi’s disqualification as a “murder of democracy”, Dotasra charged that the BJP labels anyone who raises their voice against it as “anti-nationals” and distorts their public image through social media.
“Rahul Gandhi is someone whose grandmother and father sacrificed their lives for the sake of the nation,” he added.
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#Congress #protests #disqualification #Rahul #Gandhi #country( With inputs from www.siasat.com )
Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification: Cong says it will launch ‘Jan-Andolan’ across country
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New Delhi: The Congress on Friday announced a nationwide agitation against Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification from Lok Sabha, alleging that the government acted with lightning speed to “gag” him, and called for taking forward the opposition unity in a systematic manner.
Soon after Gandhi’s disqualification by the Lok Sabha Secretariat, the Congress leadership got into a huddle at the party headquarters and deliberated on the way forward.
Top Congress leaders, including former AICC chief Sonia Gandhi, party president Mallikarjun Kharge, general secretaries Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, K C Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh, Rajiv Shukla and Tariq Anwar, and senior leaders P Chidambaram, Anand Sharma, Ambika Soni, Mukul Wasnik, Salman Khurshid and Pawan Kumar Bansal among others attended the meeting where the party decided to take this forward into a “Jan Andolan”.
Congress general secretary Ramesh said, “We will go all over the country as Rahul Gandhi was deliberately disqualified for raising his voice against the Modi government on the Adani issue, on the government’s foreign policy and the clean chit given to China for incursions at the border.”
Ramesh said the BJP was rattled with the success of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, which, he said, became a movement.
The Congress leadership has welcomed the statements of support of all opposition leaders, he said, and asserted that “we should now take the issue of opposition unity forward in a systematic way”.
“It was noted today that many opposition parties have condemned the action taken unilaterally with such lightning speed to disqualify Rahul Gandhi,” he said.
“Yes, there was a consensus that we should now take the job of building opposition unity in a systematic way. Every day Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge has been meeting floor leaders of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. So we are coordinating in Parliament and now coordination has to be outside Parliament,” he said.
“It is also heartening to note that parties which were not part of this floor coordination have now issued public statements condemning this action of disqualification of Rahul Gandhi,” Ramesh said.
The Congress’ state units and frontal organisations will launch programmes across the country and they will begin from Monday with a countrywide agitation, he said.
“We will go all over the country saying that Rahul Gandhi has been deliberately disqualified as he has been raising his voice against the Modi government on various issues, including demonetisation, GST, foreign policy, and the government’s intentions and policies,” Ramesh said.
Urging people to “understand the chronology”, the Congress leader said nine days after Gandhi’s Adani speech in Lok Sabha on February 7, the defamation case against him was fast-tracked by the complainant, who withdrew his own stay in the high court on February 16.
On February 27, the arguments resumed after a year and on March 17, the judgment was reserved, he said, adding that the verdict was pronounced on March 23. “This is no coincidence,” Ramesh added.
In a tweet later, he said the prime minister was using the G20 to proclaim to the world that India is the ‘Mother of Democracy’.
“That Mother is weeping today at the Murder of Democracy in India,” Ramesh alleged.
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#Rahul #Gandhis #disqualification #Cong #launch #JanAndolan #country( With inputs from www.siasat.com )
No proposal to establish any new defence industrial corridor in country: Govt
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New Delhi: There is no proposal to establish any new defence industrial corridor in the country, Parliament was informed on Friday.
Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt said this in written response to a query in the Lok Sabha.
The government, in its budget for 2018-19, announced setting up of two defence industrial corridors (DICs) to develop a holistic defence manufacturing ecosystem in the country, he said.
One corridor has been established in Uttar Pradesh with six nodes, namely Aligarh, Agra, Jhansi, Kanpur, Chitrakoot and Lucknow. The second is in Tamil Nadu with five nodes, namely Chennai, Hosur, Coimbatore, Salem and Tiruchirappalli, he said.
“As per the information received from the government of Uttar Pradesh, 108
Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) have been signed with industry/organisation having potential investment of Rs 12,191 crore. Investment of Rs 2,445 crore has already taken place in Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor (UPDIC),” he said.Further, as per information received from the government of Tamil Nadu, arrangements have been made with 53 industries for potential investment of Rs 11,794 crore. Investment worth Rs 3,894 crore has already taken place in Tamil Nadu Defence Industrial Corridor (TNDIC), the minister said.
Asked if there is any proposal to establish more defence industrial corridors in the
country, Bhatt said there is no proposal to establish any new defence industrial corridor.In response to another query on “whether it is a fact that more than a dozen papers have been submitted by DGPs and IGPs in the recently concluded conference conducted by Intelligence Bureau on the subject ‘Chinese influence in the neighbourhood and implications for India’”, the minister said, “The information sought is sensitive in nature and cannot be divulged on the floor of the House in the interest of the national security.”
In response to another query on whether Hindustan Aeronautics Limited is in talks with various countries to sell its light combat aircraft Tejas, he said, “The information sought is sensitive in nature and cannot be divulged on the floor of the House in the interest of the national security.”
The minister of state for defence, in a separate written query, was asked whether the government has reduced the construction restrictions near defence establishments to just 50 metres from 500 metres.
He said in his written response: “The revised NoC guidelines issued by MoD on 23.12.2022 reducing the restricted distance in vicinity of defence establishment of Army, Navy and Coast Guard at specific locations to 50 metres have been kept in abeyance till standard operating procedure is formulated in consultation with stakeholders for issue of NoCs.”
On a written query on whether arrears of one rank one pension (OROP) been paid to the eligible pensioners of armed forces, the minister said the payment of arrears of OROP to eligible pensioners of the armed forces is in progress as per policy of the government.
“So far, Rs 5,065.70 crore has been paid as arrear of OROP to eligible pensioners of Armed Forces as on 13.03.2023,” he said.
In a separate question, the minister was also asked for details of private companies engaged in defence sector.
“Defence industry sector was opened up in May 2001 up to 100 per cent for Indian private sector participation. Since the opening up of defence sector, till date, a total of 601 industrial licenses have been issued to 368 companies operating in defence sector,” the minister said in a written response.
Bhatt also shared his written response on query on bullet proof jackets and helmets for armed forces and other law enforcement forces.
The government undertakes procurement of bullet proof jackets and helmets
for armed forces and other law enforcement forces from time to time from domestic
manufacturers, he said.These are procured as per laid down specifications and authorization after due
testing and evaluation. Bullet proof helmets procured by Indian Army and Central Armed Police Forces are “compliant to the specifications and NIJ (National Institute of Justice of USA) protection/ threat levels approved by the competent authorities,” he said in his response.The upgradation, procurement and provisioning of improved version of bullet
proof jackets and helmets, is a continuous process for which necessary steps
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#proposal #establish #defence #industrial #corridor #country #Govt( With inputs from www.siasat.com )
New National Education Policy accepted by all, whole country working to implement it: Amit Shah
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Gandhinagar: The new National Education Policy (NEP) has been accepted by all and the whole country is working to implement it, unlike the NEPs in the past which created controversies owing to ideological links, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said. Addressing graduating students at the 4th convocation of the Central University of Gujarat on Sunday, Shah said the NEP 2020 will work to bring education out of the scope of narrow thinking, and teachers must read it “between the lines” to understand its implications.
“Normally, education policies have a history of being mired in controversies. There were two NEPs in the past and were always surrounded by controversies. Many commissions were also formed in between for the implementation of educational reforms, but they were always surrounded by controversies,” Shah said.
Referring to controversies, he said, unfortunately, we had a tradition of linking education policy with ideology and turning it into the mould of that ideology.
“But nobody could protest or make allegations against the education policy bought by Narendra Modiji in 2022. In a way, the entire society has accepted it and the whole country is moving forward to implement it,” he said.
Shah appealed to teachers to especially study the New Education Policy, because only when they read it “between the lines”, could they understand its implications.
He said the education policy is going to bring Indian education out of the scope of narrow thinking and offer a platform to the students right from their childhood till the end of their education.
“The aim of education is to (make a student) a complete human, and this NEP gives you a choice to become so. The task of the new education policy is to create such a citizen who is imbued with the feelings of national pride as well as the world welfare,” he said.
Shah also asked graduating students to take at least one pledge regarding their contribution to the country when it celebrates its centenary 25 years later.
“If 130 crore people take a pledge each, then it will be enough to make the country great. If each of 130 crore people walks one step, the country will walk 130 crore steps,” the home minister said.
He said the Modi government has also worked towards job creation, and its start-up policy has seen their number jump from 724 in 2016-17 to more than 70,000 in 2022.
As many as 107 Indian start-ups have become unicorns, he said, adding the number of patent applications also rose from 3,000 in 2014 to 1.5 lakh in 2021-22.
“Of the 24,000 patents granted, 23,000 are individual patents,” Shah added.
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#National #Education #Policy #accepted #country #working #implement #Amit #Shah( With inputs from www.siasat.com )
Unity must or country will see dictatorships post 2024 polls: Uddhav
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Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday said Maha Vikas Aghadi constituents including the faction led by him, NCP, and Congress should unite at the grassroots or else the country will see dictatorship post the 2024 polls.
He targeted the BJP, saying it gave the option to Opposition to either join them or go to jail.
Addressing a meeting of MVA leaders and office-bearers who have come from different parts of the state in Mumbai, the former chief minister said the unity of MVA was not for forming a government but to save democracy.
At the meeting, senior Congress leader Ashok Chavan said MVA will contest the local bodies’ elections together in an alliance.
“I appeal to all the three parties to unite and work together irrespective of whether you get a ticket to contest elections to local bodies, state Assembly or Lok Sabha. If we don’t unite at the grassroots, 2024 will be the last election and we will go towards dictatorship,” he said.
The MVA was formed after the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly elections when Shiv Sena (undivided) fell out with ally Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which had emerged as the single largest party, and joined hands with ideologically incompatible Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) to form a coalition government, which remained in power till June 2022.
“We have fought against each other for so long, so it is difficult to unite at the local level but we have to work towards it,” Thackeray said and thanked his supporters for backing him in MVA.
“I will never let down the confidence they have in me,” he said.
Referring to the ongoing hearing in the Supreme Court on the events that unfolded during the June 2022 Maharashtra political crisis triggered by a revolt in the then undivided Shiv Sena by MLAs loyal to Eknath Shinde, Thackeray said he was confident that the judiciary will never allow the “vastraharan” (disrobing) of democracy.
“We have to give an alternative to what we can offer to the people of the state. The MVA unity was not only for Shiv Sena or forming a government, but it is to save the democracy,” he added.
Thackeray said the unity among MVA allies should percolate to the grassroots and shouldn’t remain restricted only among state leaders.
“How could I have fought along with the people who had been sold,” Thackeray asked, apparently referring to criticism that he did nothing to prevent revolt in Shiv Sena last year.
Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar (NCP) said the meeting of minds of the MVA rank and file was necessary so is the coordination of all three parties from the state to village level.
Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole said the state will lead the way in defeating BJP in upcoming elections.
Senior Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat said the MVA will return to power.
MVA leaders appealed to office-bearers of all three parties to ensure that rallies proposed to be held at the divisional level are a huge success.
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#Unity #country #dictatorships #post #polls #Uddhav( With inputs from www.siasat.com )
Finish Modi and country will be saved, says Congress’ Rajasthan in-charge
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Jaipur: Launching a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress’ Rajasthan in-charge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa on Monday levelled allegations against PM Modi, questioning the Pulwama incident. He said that if Modi is finished the country will be saved, however, if Modi stays then the country will be ruined.
Randhawa said, “Our fight is not with Adani, but with the BJP. Kill BJP and Adani-Ambani will die automatically. When the Congress comes, Adani-Ambani should not come. They should go to jail. Many of our leaders did not take them along. This has to be taken care of.”
He added, “I tell all leaders to end their fighting and talk about ending Modi-BJP. If Modi is finished then the country will be saved. If Modi stays then the country will be ruined. Modi talks about patriotism. They don’t even know what patriotism is.”
Randhawa questioned the Pulwama incident and said that Modi says “Pakistan mein ghuskar marenge”. First of all, tell me, how did Pulwama happen? Get it checked. Wasn’t it done keeping in mind the elections.”
He stated “All those who went to jail during the freedom struggle were from Congress families. Five generations of Congress families have gone to jail for the country. There is blood of every Congressman in Andaman’s Cellular Jail. Modi says what has the Congress done. The Congress has given freedom to the country, it has given the country to a dishonest person like you,” he commented.
Randhawa was speaking at the Raj Bhavan gherao programme organised by the Congress under the leadership of Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee president Govind Singh Dotasara on Monday in protest against the crony capitalism policy of the BJP central government in favour of Adani.
Randhawa said, “When the British came, they had brought the East India Company to do business. Modiji has brought a man like Adani by making him like the East India Company which looted the country for 200 years and took it over. The country is moving towards slavery again. Not Modi but Adani is deciding what will happen in the country,” he said.
He added, “First take out Modi, if Modi goes out then Adani will automatically end. First kill BJP, Adani will end automatically. Narendra Modi is destroying the country and selling the country.”
He lashed out at factionalism and selfish leaders in the Congress and said, “We have to work for the Congress, not for any individual.”
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#Finish #Modi #country #saved #Congress #Rajasthan #incharge( With inputs from www.siasat.com )
