Tag: handling

FIA president facing criticism over handling of alleged sexism

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Mohammed ben Sulayem, the president of Formula One’s governing body the FIA, is facing fresh criticism following a claim of alleged sexism within his organisation. The Guardian understands the allegations were not taken seriously in what is the latest in a series of incidents considered poorly handled by Ben Sulayem which have led to widespread unhappiness with his leadership in the F1 paddock.
The Daily Telegraph reported on Tuesday that Shaila-Ann Rao, the FIA’s former interim secretary general for motorsport who left the organisation suddenly last December, had sent a letter to Ben Sulayem and to the president of the FIA senate, Carmelo Sanz de Barros, detailing instances of sexist behaviour at the FIA and also complained that the complaint was not investigated properly.
A senior source within the sport confirmed the existence of the complaint. The FIA, however, issued a rebuttal stating it took the allegations seriously and that it had followed procedures.
“With regards to the specific allegations surrounding Shaila-Ann Rao, due process was followed, with an amicable negotiation conducted by the president of the senate and, as such, no referrals were made to the ethics committee. As previously stated, both parties agreed she would leave her position in November 2022 and mutual privacy terms were agreed as is common business practice,” the statement read.

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F1 makes key changes to sprint race format
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Formula One has agreed to implement a new format for its sprint race weekends, beginning at this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix. With unanimous support from the teams the decision was confirmed at a meeting of the F1 commission on Tuesday.
The sport hopes the new structure will address the shortcomings of the previous format to encourage drivers to race harder in what will now be a standalone race on a Saturday.
The sprint weekend will now consist of a single practice session on Friday after which the cars will enter “parc fermé conditions”. Qualifying for the grand prix will follow using the current three-session format across an hour and deciding the grid for Sunday’s race and where pole position will be awarded.
Saturday morning will now host another qualifying session, which will be known as the sprint shootout. It will be run in the same three-session format but over a shorter time, across 12, 10 and eight-minute runs, with the intent on putting greater pressure on drivers to deliver their best lap. It will decide the grid for the sprint which will be a standalone race over 100km on Saturday afternoon and from which points will be awarded for the top eight, from eight points to one. Giles Richards
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“With regards to the other allegations, there have been no complaints received against the president. Should the FIA ethics committee or compliance officer receive any complaint from a member of staff it will be dealt with in a comprehensive manner by our panel of independent elected ethics committee members which has been in place since 2012.”
The row is the latest in a series of controversies for Ben Sulayem that have caused confidence in the 61-year-old from the UAE to plummet. In relation to this latest altercation one insider told the Guardian: “He is, sadly, an open and running joke in the paddock.”
Ben Sulayem had already become embroiled in accusations of sexism when quotes he had made on his old personal website more than 20 years ago became public in which he stated he did “not like women who think they are smarter than men … for they are not, in truth”.
The FIA reacted to that by stating that the comment did not reflect the president’s current beliefs but Ben Sulayem made no formal statement or apology.

Ben Sulayem has become increasingly at odds with F1’s owners, not least after he made public comments questioning the sport’s commercial value, to which F1 reacted strongly with a legal letter, warning he had interfered with their rights in an “unacceptable” fashion. His initial objection to the increase in sprint races, supported by all the teams and F1, was contentious as was the FIA’s insistence on policing the letter of the law in relation to Lewis Hamilton wearing jewellery while racing. Both were agendas understood to have been pushed personally by Ben Sulayem.
The FIA’s investigation into the controversial decision at the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP which decided the championship that season was also dismissed as ineffectual, while its decision to clamp down on drivers expressing their opinions on social and political issues has been met with condemnation from within and without the sport.
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( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )

April 26, 2023
Rajasthan BJP chief C P Joshi attacks Gehlot over handling of Jaipur blasts case

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Kota: Newly appointed Rajasthan BJP chief C P Joshi on Monday attacked Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, alleging that the failure of his government to put up a strong legal team led to the acquittal of the accused in the 2008 Jaipur serial blasts case.
Joshi asked what was the reason and under “whose pressure he did not deploy even a single legal counsel” in the case.
On Wednesday, the Rajasthan High Court acquitted four accused who were convicted by a special court in 2019 for the serial blasts on May 13, 2008 in Jaipur that left 71 people dead and 185 injured.

Later, Chief Minister Gehlot had said the government would file a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in this matter in the Supreme Court.
Joshi said the terrorists had at least 18 lawyers defending them “meanwhile, his AAG was not present there? Whose pressure was it”.
“When he had to save his government”, Gehlot deployed top lawyers, said Joshi who was on his maiden visit to Kota, a saffron bastion in Hadouti region, after assuming charge as the state BJP chief.
“Who were those he (CM Ashok Gehlot) wanted to please by not calling any counsel in the serial blasts case,” Joshi said.
Replying to queries, the BJP leader said Gehlot had been speaking against the Rashtriya Swamsevak Sangh (RSS) to save his government and to please his party leaders in Delhi.

“Ashok Gehlot called doctors, who are revered by all, ‘gaddar’ (traitors). However, he had even called his own party colleague Sachin Pilot a ‘gaddar’,” Joshi said.
Gehlot also “supported demand for Khalistan”, he alleged.
During his recent visit to Kota, Gehot had alleged that 4-5 doctors who had links with RSS were behind the doctors’ stir against the Right To Heath Bill and had called them traitors.
Joshi was given a rousing welcome at several places by party workers. There was some commotion as three workers slipped from a crowded stage at the Kunhari petrol pump in the city but no major injury was reported.
Referring to Congress-in-charge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa’s remark, Joshi said, “Those who gave a call to kill(Prime Minister) Modi have died and crores of people of the country are standing with him (Modi) as his strength.’
Joshi also refuted claims of factional fighting in the state BJP.
“Entire Rajasthan and country are now a bastion of the BJP and the lotus is blooming in almost every state,” he said.
At a meeting in Kota, Joshi called upon the party workers to keep up their enthusiasm till the state election later this year to dislodge the Congress government.
The people of the state would not forgive the state government that restricted several religious processions, Joshi said.
Meanwhile, former BJP state president Arun Chaturvedi said the state government should stop the pretense of providing justice to the victims and instead file a strong appeal in the Supreme Court in the Jaipur blasts case.
The government is doing politics of appeasement, he alleged.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 3, 2023
India’s handling of Covid example before world: VP Jagdeep Dhankhar

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New Delhi: India’s handling of COVID-19 was an example to the world of how the country utilised its digital resources to roll out vaccines for a large population and successfully controlled the disease at home while helping other nations, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar said on Friday.
Dhankhar, who inaugurated the “International Symposium on Health Technology Assessment: ISHTA 2023” here, lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to call for a people’s curfew as well as people for following it. “… what was advised to contain Covid could be translated into action”.
He further said the prime minister cheered and motivated the Covid warriors and the country was quick to come up with a legislation that accorded them protection.
“India’s handling of Covid exemplifies the best practices beyond doubt now. In that perspective, when I have gone abroad on two visits, how satisfying it was for me to note that when India was facing Covid, it innovatively came out with vaccines.
“India could vaccinate 220 crore people and put it on digital mapping. It was also giving assistance to other countries through ‘vaccine maitri’ that is something reflective of our age-old ethos,” Dhankhar said.
Referring to the sessions at the event, he said “affordability of healthcare services” is a very critical aspect.
Keeping this in view, the prime minister came up with the idea of Ayushman Bharat and the world’s largest and most transparent, accountable and impactful mechanism is benefitting 140 crore people of the country effectively, the vice-president said.
He said because of the Ayushman Bharat Jan Arogya Yojana, there has been an increase in the number of diagnostic centres, medical, nursing colleges and clinics in the country and that has brought about a plateau kind of development, touching the lives of those who are physically vulnerable.

“If they have to suffer on account of affordability, the growth of children is impeded and families’ economy goes haywire,” Dhankhar added.
Speaking about another session on “availability of healthcare technologies”, the vice president said technology is a game changer and a turning point.
Referring to the third aspect — “accessibility to healthcare technologies” — he said, “We have wellness centres not just in tier-2 cities, in semi-urban areas, but even in villages and that is a milestone achievement.”
On the session on “health technology assessment”, he said, “That is the way forward stance. For any institution, the safest way to degenerate is to keep it away from accountability, keep it away from scrutiny and keep it away from assessment.”
The symposium, based on the theme of “Affordability, Availability and Accessibility of Healthcare Technologies through evidence generated by HTA for Universal Health Coverage”, was organised by WHO India and Centre for Global Development, Europe.
Dhankhar further narrated how the “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan” launched by the prime minister changed the country’s landscape.
“Consequentially, what we never thought or imagined — every household has a toilet. We are on our way to getting fresh potable water at home and the side-effects are such that there has been industrial growth, startups and entrepreneurship have grown,” he said.
He said 1.5 lakh health and wellness centres have come up in the country, generating huge opportunities for entrepreneurs.
Mentioning that more than 33.8 crore Ayushman Bharat health accounts have been created and there are 50 crore beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, Dhankhar said, “These numbers to the world at large may be staggering but in our country, the development is proportionally manageable. It has been in a very structured manner, not in isolated instances or otherwise.”
Affordability of medicines for the common man is of critical consequence, he said, adding that this has been done through the more than 9,000 jan aushadhi kendras set up across the country to enhance access to generic medicines.
Cancer is a deadly disease and what has been done in that area is amazing by providing medicines that are affordable, the vice president pointed out.
“India is an example in the world where we have used technology for making available efficient services to people.
“There was a time, when I was a student or even a member of Parliament, there used to be long queues for payment of bills. But in the health sector, revolutionary things have been done and over 80 million (eight crore) teleconsultations have been conducted through e-sanjeevani, the national telemedicine service of India,” he said.
The vice president also complimented the Union health minister on doubling the number of MBBS seats and post-graduate medical seats in the country.
Stating that “India is on the rise at the moment as never before and the rise of this country is unstoppable,” Dhankhar said this is based on two “great” concepts highlighted by the prime minister in the last year and a half.
“One, he gave a message to the world that we are not in an era of expansion. Expansion by nature is invasive action. Expansion by nature is comprising someone else’s sovereignty. Historically, this country has never engaged in expansion.
“Second, he indicated to the world at large, setting a global discourse which is catching up — war is no solution to any problem,” he said.
Dhankhar urged all the stakeholders that “if we have to make this world healthy and happy, we have to subscribe to an ecosystem and in all modesty, I can say that this country has evolved this ecosystem over thousands of years and that is Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the world is one family)”.
“Let us work to handhold each other to the best of our capacity to contribute to each other’s good health, happiness and satisfaction,” he said.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 10, 2023
Twitter breaks for millions as only 1 engineer left handling crucial APIs

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Delhi: Twitter went down for millions as users reported several issues with the platform — from links not opening to images stopped loading and more — as there was only one person handling the platform’s application programming interface (API).
When users clicked on links, they were greeted with a mysterious error message reporting that “your current API plan does not include access to this endpoint”.
Images stopped loading as well and some users said that they could not access TweetDeck.
About 85 per cent users had trouble with the web version of Twitter while 13 per cent had issues with the mobile platform
In a tweet, the company said that “some parts of Twitter may not be working as expected right now”.
The company’s support account tweeted, “We made an internal change that had some unintended consequences.”
The change in question was part of a project to shut down free access to the Twitter API, according to Platformer.
Last month, Twitter announced it will no longer support free access to its API.

It ended the existence of third-party clients and drastically limited the ability of outside researchers to study the network.
The change had cascading consequences inside the company, bringing down much of Twitter’s internal tools along with the public-facing APIs, reports The Verge.
Musk tweeted on Tuesday: “A small API change had massive ramifications”.
“The code stack is extremely brittle for no good reason. Will ultimately need a complete rewrite,” he posted.
There have been at least six high-profile Twitter outages this year, as Musk has fired thousands of employees, including those handling APIs and codes.
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#Twitter #breaks #millions #engineer #left #handling #crucial #APIs
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 7, 2023
Oversight Republicans are launching an investigation into the Department of Transportation’s handling of a toxic train derailment in Ohio.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has come under criticism for his response.

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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

February 24, 2023
GOP intelligence chair ‘stumped’ by Biden-Pence-Trump document handling

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Since the revelations that all three of them have possessed classified documents, members of Congress have expressed outrage at the apparent mishandling, though much of it has fallen along defensive partisan lines. There’s also been a certain befuddlement, particularly among those in Congress who sometimes handle classified material, as to why anyone would take any of this material home.
“They are not to be taken lightly. And we’re just amazed as people keep finding them stuffed in the strangest places, like behind Biden’s Corvette,” Turner said, referring to the discovery of documents in Biden’s garage.
Sensitive materials have been found in Biden’s Wilmington, Del., home, and in a private office space associated with him. The FBI found a classified document in a consensual search of Pence’s suburban Indianapolis home Friday, after one of his lawyers found a dozen classified documents in the home in January.
In the first high-profile discovery, law enforcement found a large number of classified documents while executing a search warrant for former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate last year.
Turner has previously pondered how and why these classified documents ended up where they did.
“I can’t imagine a circumstance where anyone would believe that they need to have them in their home,” he said last month on ABC’s “This Week.”
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

February 12, 2023
Manchin ‘raising hell’ over White House handling of marquee Dem bill

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He’s even talked directly to Yellen several times about the matter. Summing up his approach of late, Manchin said: “I’ve been raising hell.”
“They almost act like they gotta send $7,500 or a person won’t buy a car. Which is crazy, ludicrous thinking for the federal government,” Manchin said in an interview this week. “I just totally and absolutely am disagreeing with what they’re doing.”
A frustrated Manchin is nothing new for Democrats, but the current situation is plainly untenable for them. He’s still undecided on reelection next year in a state that’s critical to keeping their Senate majority. And as Energy Committee chair, he has the power to wreak havoc by slowing down nominees, hauling in Biden officials for public testimony and pushing legislation against the administration’s wishes.
What’s more, Manchin’s grievances go beyond just the tax credit. He dislikes the public perception of the law he insisted on calling the Inflation Reduction Act, which he sees as an energy security measure rather than a climate change-fighting one — a distinction with a political difference in a deep-red, fossil-fuel state like West Virginia.
Notably, the Manchin-backed law also requires new sales of oil and gas leases that his progressive colleagues might otherwise have opposed. So as he weighs a bid for reelection, he’s touting the power of the bill he wrote in order to puncture Democratic hopes of ending U.S. reliance on fossil fuels.

At Wednesday’s Senate Democratic retreat, Manchin handed out a one-page summary of his perspective on the proposal he revived last summer in a nearly singlehanded show of force, telling colleagues that the U.S. is on track to energy independence as a result of it, according to a person briefed on the meeting who spoke candidly on condition of anonymity.
“This is bullshit. So they’re gonna basically starve us out of energy that we have a tremendous, abundant supply of because of their aspirational thoughts?” Manchin said of fellow Democrats who want to quickly transition the nation away from oil and gas. “I will continue to fight and I’ll do everything I can to make sure the public knows what they’re doing and what it will do to you and your economy and your lifestyle.”
Manchin’s approval ratings back home took a hit after he supported the Inflation Reduction Act. And being at odds with the White House is just good politics for red-state Democrats. In a similar turn, Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) is openly skeptical of the Biden administration’s response to the Chinese spy balloon that flew over his state last week, and he will hold a hearing Thursday on it.

Some in the administration and the Senate see Manchin’s moves as catering to his state’s conservative voters as he considers whether to run again for six more years in deep-red territory. West Virginia continues to depend on energy production for its economy, and Manchin’s fight to preserve a fossil-fuel bridge to a clean energy future may play well there.
Still, at the moment the schism is alarming enough that Democrats are working to patch things over. Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), a close Biden ally, recently traveled to Europe with Manchin and is among those hoping to turn down the temperature.
“I recognize that this is a tense and challenging dynamic, but one where I hope to be able to contribute,” Coons said.
And Republicans, all of whom opposed the Inflation Reduction Act, are reveling in the discord.
“It’s clear the Democrats have no clue what they voted for. Only a full repeal would fix it,” said Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), the No. 3 Senate Republican and the ranking member of the Energy Committee.
This is not the nadir of relations between the president and Manchin. It was only 14 months ago that the senator pulled the plug on the sweeping, more expensive and liberal-leaning party-line bill known as “Build Back Better,” with the White House accusing him of a “breach of his commitments to the president.” Since, the two Joes have rekindled their partnership — until the last few weeks.
The president is subtly working to smooth things over. On Tuesday evening during the State of the Union, Biden stated that “We’re still going to need oil and gas for a while,” adding that it would be at least 10 years, if not more, before the country can wean itself off those fuels.
And the White House is done going after Manchin. In a statement, spokesperson Michael Kikukawa said that Biden “has great respect for Senator Manchin and communicates with him frequently about the important task of implementing the Inflation Reduction Act in a way that achieves President Biden’s and Congress’ goals.”
Manchin is not nearly as cool to Biden as he was toward former President Barack Obama, whom he did not support in the 2012 election. To hear Manchin tell it, Biden is caught between his personal views and a more progressive Democratic Party that runs much of the day-to day-work in his administration.
“Joe’s been pushed pretty hard,” Manchin said. “I’m pleased that he’s worked his way back to where I think he always has been, that center left. But, the headwinds are strong there, and they keep going.”
The Treasury Department is expected to finalize its guidance for the credit in March, giving consumers at least a few more weeks of access to the full tax credit regardless of the sourcing used for electric-vehicle parts. Treasury did not comment for this story, but released a white paper outlining how complicated the issue is and said last month it needed extra time “to work through significant complexities.” The department has already implemented an income cap on tax credits.
Manchin said that, during his conversations with Yellen, he’s told her she’s “absolutely out of your wheelhouse” in her implementation of the law. Some Democrats, however, are perfectly comfortable with it.
“I completely agree with Joe Manchin in creating industrial policy to build that stuff here. But we also have to manage the supply chain between now and when those factories open,” said Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), “It takes three years to build a factory.”
For Manchin, that’s kind of the point. He took the leap to plow hundreds of billions of dollars into clean and domestic energy, shore up health care access and raise taxes on corporations, in part to reorient the economy toward his vision. He wants a supply chain anchored domestically, with his state competing for the accompanying energy jobs — and if that means fewer tax credits designed to boost clean cars for a while, so be it.
The Inflation Reduction Act “was passed for energy security, not purely for accelerating the environmental pathway. That’s not going to happen until the technology’s there,” Manchin said. “It’s not going to happen overnight. They know it. We know it.”
Josh Siegel contributed to this report.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

February 9, 2023
Dems concerned over handling of Biden documents

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Senate Democrats returned on Monday after a long recess — and after the Justice Department found additional classified documents during a 13-hour search of Biden’s home in Wilmington, Del. The discovery of those documents, on top of classified materials found in November and December, has created a political headache after Democrats sought to hammer Trump for his handling of classified material.
The issue is also an unwelcome one for the party, as Democrats have sought to focus their attention on House Republicans’ chaotic start to the 118th Congress. What’s more, classified documents could animate the presidential campaign if Biden runs for a second term, as is expected.
“I hope they found them all,” Durbin said of the Biden administration’s hunt for more documents. As for the president, Durbin observed: “He has done well by cooperating every step of the way, unlike Trump, but he still has documents that I don’t understand why he’d have in his personal possession.”
When asked about the criticism from Democratic senators, White House spokesperson Ian Sams told reporters on Monday that Durbin had also emphasized that Biden was “handling this in the right way” and that “full cooperation is the right way that this should be handled.”
It’s also not a full-on rebellion. Democrats reject comparisons with Trump, who is under investigation for retaining highly sensitive national security documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida — and for allegedly obstructing investigators seeking to recover them. They argue that unlike Trump, Biden’s legal team turned over the documents upon their discovery and invited the Justice Department to search for more.
Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.), however, said the discovery of the Biden documents “neutralizes the issue” politically.
“They’re trying to attack former President Trump. Biden was chair of the Foreign Relations Committee” when he was in the Senate, Thune said. “He should have known better. And they were trying to claim the high ground on this issue when the shoe was on the other foot. And I think it’s a very tough issue for them to have to navigate right now.”
Other Democratic senators defended Biden and are still highlighting a contrast with Trump. Retiring Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, the No. 3 Democratic leader, said Biden was “doing exactly the right thing,” adding: “I wish former President Trump had done that rather than arguing they were his papers.”

Still, not every Democrat wants to make the comparison with Trump. Kelly suggested that the distinction between Biden and Trump’s situations was “up to somebody who actually does an investigation.”
And he said it was an issue he was paying close attention to: “I spent 25 years in the United States Navy. I take this stuff very seriously, personally. … Folks, you know, shouldn’t be taking classified documents out of federal government buildings and out of classified settings.”
Many Democrats are not eager to opine on the Biden documents, and several said they would withhold judgment and wait until the results of special counsel Robert Hur’s investigation. (The Justice Department previously appointed a different special counsel to investigate Trump’s handling of classified documents.)
“You have to get the answers to the questions before you reach a judgment,” said Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), who is running for reelection in 2024. “If it’s a handful of documents and they’re not very serious, and maybe they were once classified but they’re not anymore, and there’s a good explanation for why he had them — but you don’t know the answer to those questions.”
Meanwhile, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), who is also up for reelection in a purple state, said Biden was “cooperating thoroughly and proactively.”
Some Democratic committee chairs, while declining to criticize Biden, have said they want to look at the handling of classified documents broadly. Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Mark Warner (D-Va.) earlier this month called for a briefing related to both the Biden and Trump documents. He told reporters on Monday that he hoped for an update soon.
Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), chair of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said his panel was also looking broadly at the retention of records. Peters, who also runs Democrats’ campaign arm, said he wanted to deal with the issue “for presidencies in general. And we’re going to try to do that in a nonpoliticized way.”
Jordain Carney and Kyle Cheney contributed to this report.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

January 24, 2023
Garland defends handling of Biden, Trump classified document probes

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Earlier this month, Garland appointed a special counsel to determine whether laws were broken in connection with the presence of the apparently-classified records at the Penn Biden Center in Washington and later at Biden’s Delaware home.
Asked if he had any regrets about the way the matters had been handled thus far, Garland called the law enforcement decisions “appropriate” and unaffected by politics.
“That is what we’ve done and that is what we will continue to do,” Garland said, flanked by a Justice Department task force handling fallout from the Supreme Court’s decision in June to overturn the federal constitutional right to abortion.
While Garland said Monday that the Justice Department has pursued the Trump- and Biden-related cases “without regard to who the subjects are,” there remain special protections for a sitting president under longstanding Justice Department legal opinions. Those opinions preclude criminal charges against a president while he remains in office, but they do not rule out the possibility of such charges once a president leaves office.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

January 24, 2023
Jaishankar hails Vajpayee’s handling of diplomatic situation post 1998 nuclear tests

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New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday lauded then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s handling of the diplomatic situation following the nuclear tests in 1998 and said that within a space of two years India had engaged all the major countries of the world.
Presiding over the third Atal Bihari Vajpayee memorial lecture that was delivered by former Singaporean diplomat Bilahari Kausikan here, Jaishankar also hailed Vajpayee’s stint as an external affairs minister, and his role in strengthening India’s ties with the US and Russia.
The external affairs minister said the fundamentals of mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interest that are talked about now in terms of the modus vivendi with China, a lot of it is credited to Vajpayee.
Asserting that Vajpayee was never “impervious” to the challenges of terrorism, Jaishankar hailed his realism in using all instruments at his command to actually try to forge a basis of relationships in this region which would very explicitly abjure terrorism.
Talking about the 1998 Pokhran nuclear tests, the external affairs minister urged people not to look just at the tests but also look at the diplomacy that followed them.
“Within a space of two years after the tests, we had engaged all the major countries of the world, had actually brought them around. When you had the visit of a president (Bill) Clinton, PM (John) Howard, PM (Yoshiro) Mori, visit of president (Jacques) Chirac. It was actually the post-test diplomacy, which I think anybody who is in the field of diplomacy, should look at and seek to draw lessons,” he said.
“I was at that time posted in Japan and it was a relationship that was particularly affected by the nuclear tests. But we always drew from the prime minister’s confidence that we would find a way of settling it down and indeed today when I look at that relationship, I marvel at the wisdom and the maturity with which prime minister Vajpayee got all of us to look at that particular challenge,” Jaishankar said.
India conducted five nuclear tests of advanced weapon designs in May, 1998 at the Pokhran range in Rajasthan.

Jaishankar said Vajpayee also transformed the relationship with the US in the post Cold War environment. He said Vajpayee also imparted continuity and stability into our ties with Russia.
Vajpayee served as prime minister thrice — first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months from 1998 to 1999 and then for a full term between 1999 and 2004.
The lecture was delivered by Kausikan, former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore. Kausikan is currently serving as chairman of the Middle East Institute at National University of Singapore.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 23, 2023