Tag: minister

Karnataka minister booked for hate speech against Christians

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Bengaluru: Karnataka Minister Munirathna has been booked by the police for his alleged hate speech against Christians. A case was registered against the Minister on a complaint by a gazetted officer who charged him with promoting enmity among people.
In an interview with a private news channel on March 31, Munirathna, Horticulture Minister in the Basavaraj Bommai government, had purportedly said, “Christians are converting people in this moment also. Conversion is the maximum in the slums.”
“In places where 1,400 people are there, 400 have been converted. If they come (for conversion) then kick them out or give complaint at the police station,” he added.

The Rajarajeshwarinagar police booked the BJP MLA from RR Nagar under Section 117 (abetting Commission of offence), 153A (promoting enmity between various groups or religion) of the Indian Penal Code and 125 of People’s Representation Act (Promoting enmity between classes in connection with election). PTI GMS SS
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#Karnataka #minister #booked #hate #speech #Christians
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 6, 2023
Blinken calls for release of WSJ reporter in call with Russian foreign minister

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Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is escorted by officers from the Lefortovsky court to a bus, in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, March 30, 2023. | Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo
Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the State Department said Sunday, calling for the release of Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter who was arrested in Russia on Thursday on espionage charges.
Blinken “conveyed the United States’ grave concern over Russia’s unacceptable detention of a U.S. citizen journalist,” and called for Gershkovich’s immediate release, State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said in a statement.
The call between Blinken and Lavrov marks a rare communication between high-level U.S. and Russian officials amid tension over Russia’s war in Ukraine. Gershkovich’s detention is the most high-profile arrest of a U.S. citizen since the war began, though WNBA star Brittney Griner was arrested days before Russia launched its invasion. She has since been released.
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#Blinken #calls #release #WSJ #reporter #call #Russian #foreign #minister
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

April 2, 2023
West has bad habit of commenting on others: External Affairs Minister Jaishankar

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Bengaluru: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday said that the West has had a “bad habit” for a long time, of commenting on others, and it thinks it has a “God-given right” to speak about the internal matters of other countries.
He said this during a ‘Meet and Greet’ interaction organised by Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya and Bengaluru Central MP P C Mohan with over 500 young voters, joggers and visitors at Cubbon Park here.
The Minister was responding to a question on Germany and United States’ remarks on the disqualification of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as a Member of Parliament.

“There are two reasons. It is because the West has had a bad habit for a long time of commenting on others. They somehow think it is some kind of God-given right. They will have to learn only by experience that if you keep doing this, other people will also start commenting and they will not like it when it happens. I see that happening,” Jaishankar said.
He said, “The second part of the truth — in our arguments, you are inviting the people to comment on you. Then more and more people are tempted to comment. We also need to stop giving generous invitations to the world saying there are problems in India; America and Europe, why are you standing by and doing nothing?
“So if somebody from here goes and says ‘why are you standing by and saying nothing’, then obviously they are going to comment. Part of the problem is them, part of the problem is us. And I think both need fixing,” he added.
Bengaluru South and Central MPs Surya and Mohan were present during the interaction.
Responding to a question on freebie culture, Jaishankar said some people in Delhi were masters of it. “They are doing it because they do not have the responsibility of raising resources,” he commented.

“You can’t run a country on the basis of freebies. Somewhere, somebody has to pay for it. Anybody who is giving a freebie here is taking away something elsewhere,” he said. Freebie culture was a way of getting quick popularity in a very irresponsible way, he said, adding that it was not sustainable.
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#West #bad #habit #commenting #External #Affairs #Minister #Jaishankar
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 2, 2023
AAP again raises question on genuineness of Prime Minister Modi’s degrees

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New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday raised questions on the genuineness of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s degrees and claimed that they would turn out to be fake if a probe is conducted.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his party have launched a fresh attack on the issue since the Gujarat High Court on Friday quashed a seven-year-old order of the Central Information Commission (CIC) that had asked the Gujarat University to provide information on Modi’s degree to Kejriwal and also imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on the AAP chief.
AAP had raised the issue in 2016 also and the then BJP chief Amit Shah and the then finance minister Arun Jaitley had displayed Modi’s degrees during a press conference to debunk its allegations and demanded an apology from the Delhi chief minister for trying to defame Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

On Sunday, AAP Rajya Sabha MP and national spokesperson Sanjay Singh asked the prime minister to reveal the truth before the nation, saying if his degrees turn out to be fake, he would lose his Lok Sabha membership and also become ineligible to contest elections for submitting wrong information to the Election Commission.
“Entire BJP is rattled since the issue of the prime minister’s degree came to the fore. All the ministers and spokesperson of the BJP have scrambled to prove that the prime minister’s degree is not fake,” the AAP leader told a press conference here.
“If a probe is conducted the prime minister’s degrees would turn out to be fake and his (Lok Sabha) membership will be cancelled,” he claimed, referring to the Election Commission’s rules.
“He will neither remain an MP nor remain eligible to contest elections because the prime minister has committed a big fraud,” he alleged.
The BJP has, however, alleged that Kejriwal was attacking Prime Minister Modi as probe agencies have been unearthing “proof” of corruption of the AAP government including in the Delhi excise policy scam.

Addressing a separate press conference, AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj said the question is not about Prime Minister Modi’s academic qualification but “moral turpitude” if he has made a false claim about his qualification and obtained a fake degree.
“Should a person, who is morally so narrow-minded and has even procured a fake degree, be a prime minister, chief minister, minister, deputy chief minister, MLA or MP?” Bharadwaj said.
The answer to this question is no, he added.
According to the Election Commission’s rules, Singh said, candidates contesting elections have to submit details about their assets and properties as well as academic qualifications.
And the Election Commission rules say that if you submit wrong information about your degree or property, your membership can be cancelled, Singh added.
At the press conference, the AAP leader showed a purported copy of Modi’s degree issued by Gujarat University and highlighted the alleged wrong spelling of the word University in the document in a bid to substantiate his claim that it is fake.
“The degree of the prime minister which has been made public and once shown by home minister Amit Shah at a press conference raises many questions,” he said
“Here spelling of the word university has been written as unibersity This is the degree which Home Minister Amit Shah had shown at a press conference, saying Modi did MA from Gujarat University,” the AAP leader said, pointing to the purported document.
He also claimed that the font used to print ‘Master of Arts’ in his degree was introduced in 1992 while the prime minister said that he had done his MA from the varsity in 1983.
“He has come after studying entire political science from Unibercity,” the AAP leader said while taking a dig at this.
Singh also ran a purported video of Modi where he could be heard saying that he did not continue his studies after school education in his village and asked if prime minister Modi got his bachelor’s degree in 1979 from Delhi University and he did MA from Gujarat University in 1983 why did he make such a statement after becoming Gujarat chief minister in 2005-06.
The AAP leader also termed as “shocking and ironical” the Gujarat High Court’s verdict on the prime minister’s degree issue.
“Gujarat High Court verdict was ironical and shocking as the CIC had ordered Gujarat University to show Modi’s degree and the varsity filed an appeal against this order.”
“But, Gujarat High Court imposed a fine on Arvind Kejriwal who had nothing to do with it. He had not even gone to file the appeal, the AAP leader told reporters.
Kejriwal had filed the RTI application in the matter.
“I have only one question today. Whether in the 21st century, India’s prime minister should be educated or not. Does India need an educated PM,” the AAP chief had said on Saturday, adding if there is a valid degree of Modi, why is Gujarat University not showing it.
Gujarat University is unwilling to part with the information on Modi’s degree either due to his arrogance or his degree is fake, Kejriwal charged, firing a fresh salvo at the prime minister.
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#AAP #raises #question #genuineness #Prime #Minister #Modis #degrees
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 2, 2023
Remark against Uddhav: Raigad court discharges Union minister Rane

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Mumbai: A magistrate court in Raigad district of Maharashtra on Saturday discharged Union minister and BJP leader Narayan Rane in a case pertaining to his controversial remark against the then chief minister Udhav Thackeray.
Rane was discharged from the case by Chief Judicial Magistrate ( Raigad-Alibaug) S W Ugale. A detailed order is not available yet.
An FIR was registered against Rane at Mahad in Raigad district under sections 189 (threat of injury to public servant), 504 (intentional insult to provoke breach of public peace) and 505 (statements conducive to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code in 2021.

Rane was arrested from the coastal Ratnagiri district for his remark that he would have slapped Thackeray over the latter’s ignorance of the year of India’s independence.
“Rane allegedly made a statement on the (then) chief minister’s conduct. He didn’t make any statement which was promoting enmity between different groups on the ground of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, caste or community or any other ground whatsoever,” his lawyer Satish Maneshinde had submitted during the hearing of the discharge application.
Furthermore, the alleged statement was not likely to cause any disharmony or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will between religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities, the advocate had argued.
He had said the case was politically motivated and hence, bad in law.
Rane faces four FIRs across Maharashtra over his controversial remark.

“It is shameful that the chief minister (Uddhav Thackeray) does not know the year of independence. He leaned back to enquire about the count of years of independence during his speech. Had I been there, I would have given (him) a tight slap,” Rane had said.
He had claimed Thackeray forgot the year of independence during his August 15 address to the people of the state.
Rane had defended his remarks against Thackeray, saying he hasn’t committed any crime by making them.
Thackeray had served as the chief minister from November 2019 to June 2022.
(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by Siasat staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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#Remark #Uddhav #Raigad #court #discharges #Union #minister #Rane
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 1, 2023
Even war can take place for shortage of water: Goa Minister

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Panaji: Goa Agriculture Minister Ravi Naik on Friday advised the need of storing rainwater as in the coming future war could take place due to scarcity of water.
Naik, speaking during the Assembly session, said that stored rainwater can be used for agriculture and horticulture purposes.
“Everywhere water shortage is taking place, there could be more scarcity. In the future war can happen due to shortage of water,” Naik, the former Goa Chief Minister, said.
He added that if rainwater is stored in the state, then it can be exported to Arab countries and get petrol from them.
“We get a significant amount of rain in the state, which is not utilised. If we construct dams and store the water for agriculture and other purposes, it will help us. We can even export the water to Arab countries and bring fuel from them. We get around 126-inch rain. But this water goes to the sea, we can bring it in use by constructing dams,” Naik said.
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#war #place #shortage #water #Goa #Minister

( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 31, 2023
Kevin McCarthy issued a statement in support of Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu amid chaos in the country over a proposed judicial overhaul.

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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 )

March 30, 2023
Of 272 km Udhampur-Baramulla Rail Link, 161 km Commissioned: Union Minister

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SRINAGAR: The Centre on Wednesday said out of the total 272 km Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link, 161 km has already been commissioned, while Rs 26,786 Crore expenditure has been incurred till March 2022 out of the anticipated cost of Rs 37,012 Crore.
In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Union Railways Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, said that 272 km Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail link (USBRL) project was sanctioned in 1994-95.
He said the anticipated cost of the project is Rs 37,012/- crore, against which, expenditure of Rs 26,786 crore has been incurred up to March, 2022 on the project.
“Out of the total 272 km length of the USBRL project, a length of 161 Km has already been commissioned. Work on the balance stretch of Katra-Banihal section of 111 Km has been taken up,” he said.
He also said the completion of any Railway projects depends on various factors like quick land acquisition by State Government, forest clearance by officials of forest department, deposition of cost by State Government in Cost sharing projects, shifting of infringing utilities, statutory clearances from various authorities, geological and topographical conditions of area, law and order situation in the area of projects site, number of working months in a year for particular project site due to climatic considerations etc. “All these factors affect the completion time of the projects.”
On whether the government is likely to increase the number of trains deployed to Kashmir with the completion of USBRL project, he said at present, 19 passenger special train services are running on Baramulla-Budgam-Banihal section of USBRL Project. Moreover, introduction of new train services or extension of existing train services is an ongoing process over Indian Railways subject to traffic demand, operational feasibility and availability of rolling stock.
On whether the government is proposing to provide transport linkages to tourist destinations nearby the USB rail link, the minister said the new line projects are considered on the basis of demands raised by State Governments, Central Ministries, Member of Parliament, other public representatives and Railways’ own requirements. “As receipt of such proposals is a continuous and ongoing process, centralized compendium of such requests is not maintained.”
He added the proposals are taken up on the basis of remunerativeness, last mile connectivity, augmentation of congested/saturated lines, socioeconomic considerations, missing links and alternate routes including connectivity to tourist destinations etc., depending upon liabilities of ongoing projects, overall availability of funds and competing demands which is a continuous and ongoing process. (KNO)

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#UdhampurBaramulla #Rail #Link #Commissioned #Union #Minister
( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

March 30, 2023
Of 272 km Udhampur-Baramulla rail link, 161 km already commissioned: Union Minister in Lok Sabha

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Srinagar, Mar 29: The Centre on Wednesday said out of the total 272 km Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link, 161 km has already been commissioned, while Rs 26,786 Crore expenditure has been incurred till March 2022 out of the anticipated cost of Rs 37,012 Crore.
In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Union Railways Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, as per the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) said that 272 km Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail link (USBRL) project was sanctioned in 1994-95.
He said the anticipated cost of the project is Rs 37,012/- crore, against which, expenditure of Rs 26,786 crore has been incurred up to March, 2022 on the project.
“Out of the total 272 km length of USBRL project, length of 161 Km has already been commissioned. Work on balance stretch of Katra-Banihal section of 111 Km has been taken up,” he said.
He also said the completion of any Railway projects depends on various factors like quick land acquisition by State Government, forest clearance by officials of forest department, deposition of cost by State Government in Cost sharing projects, shifting of infringing utilities, statutory clearances from various authorities, geological and topographical conditions of area, law and order situation in the area of projects site, number of working months in a year for particular project site due to climatic considerations etc. “All these factors affect the completion time of the projects.”
On whether the government is likely to increase the number of trains
deployed to Kashmir with the completion of USBRL project, he said at present, 19 passenger special train services are running on Baramulla-Budgam-Banihal section of USBRL Project. Moreover, introduction of new train services or extension of existing train services is an ongoing process over Indian Railways subject to traffic demand, operational feasibility and availability of rolling stock.
On whether the government is proposing to provide transport linkages to tourist destinations nearby the USB rail link, the minister said the new line projects are considered on the basis of demands raised by State Governments, Central Ministries, Member of Parliament, other public representatives and Railways’ own requirements. “As receipt of such proposals is a continuous and ongoing process, centralized compendium of such requests is not maintained.”
He added the proposals are taken up on the basis of remunerativeness, last mile connectivity, augmentation of congested/saturated lines, socioeconomic considerations, missing links and alternate routes including connectivity to tourist destinations etc., depending upon liabilities of ongoing projects, overall availability of funds and competing demands which is a continuous and ongoing process.

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#UdhampurBaramulla #rail #link #commissioned #Union #Minister #Lok #Sabha
( With inputs from : roshankashmir.net )

March 29, 2023
Humza Yousaf officially elected as Scotland’s new First Minister

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Edinburg: Humza Yousaf has been officially elected as Scotland’s sixth First Ministe, with a majority of 71 out of 128 votes in Parliament.
The 37-year-old is Scotland’s youngest-ever head of government, first from an ethnic minority background as well as the first Muslim to lead a major UK party, reports Xinhua news agency.
Shona Robison, the current Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, will be Yousaf’s Deputy First Minister.
He will be sworn into office at a ceremony on Wednesday.
He replaces Nicola Sturgeon, who announced her resignation last month.
Sturgeon formally stepped down on Tuesday morning as the longest-serving First Minister in Scotland, after more than eight years in office.
She was also the first woman to hold the position.
Following the vote on Tuesday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called Yousaf to congratulate him, reports the BBC.

He said he wanted to continue “working constructively with the Scottish government” to deliver on what he argued were the “people’s priorities across Scotland, including the need to half inflation, delivering growth, and cut waiting times.”
Yousaf has pledged to push for another referendum on Scottish independence, saying that the government’s priorities will be delivered more effectively when Scotland is independent.
He said in his victory speech that he will make Scotland a “fairer and wealthier” place.
He became the head of the Scottish National Party, Scotland’s ruling Party, after winning the leadership election on Monday.
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#Humza #Yousaf #officially #elected #Scotlands #Minister
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 29, 2023