Indian and Chinese frontline troops have completed disengagement at most locations, the Chinese government said on Tuesday, adding that the preparation is underway to hold the next round of military-level talks to resolve the border issues.
“Chinese and Indian border troops on the frontline have disengaged in most locations. The 5th round of commander-level talks is currently under preparation to resolve the remaining issues,” Chinese state media Global Times quoted Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin as saying.
On Friday, India and China had held the 17th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) and agreed that early and complete disengagement of the troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), de-escalation from India-China border areas and full restoration of peace and tranquillity was essential for the smooth overall development of bilateral relations.
The meeting came after it was reported that Chinese troops People’s Liberation Army (PLA) were reluctant to de-escalate the situation on LAC as it has a continued deployment of around 40,000 troops in its front and depth areas for the Eastern Ladakh sector.
The fourth round of commander-level talks between Indian and Chinese troops was held on July 14.
The meeting between Corps commander-level officers including Lt Gen Harinder Singh lasted for close to 15 hours. It started on July 14 at 11:30 am and ended at 2 am on July 15, the Indian sources said.
Indian and Chinese troops are engaged in a standoff along the Line of Actual Control since May. The tensions between the two neighbouring countries along the border escalated on June 15 face-off in Galwan Valley leading to casualties on both sides.
India and China have held multiple rounds of military and diplomatic talks to resolve the matter. (ANI)
Equity benchmark indices extended early gains on Tuesday amid heavy buying in auto, metal and IT shares during the afternoon trading.
The BSE S&P Sensex closed 558 points or 1.47 per cent higher at 38,493 while the Nifty 50 gained 169 points or 1.52 per cent at 11,301.
All sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the green with Nifty auto up by 3.2 per cent, IT by 2.3 per cent and metal by 2.2 per cent.
Among stocks, UltraTech Cement surged by 7 per cent to Rs 4,131.10 per share after the company’s June quarter earnings beat market estimates. It posted 36 per cent fall in Q1 net profit at Rs 806 crore but said cost controls resulted in a net debt reduction of Rs 2,209 crore.
Tata Consultancy Services ticked up by 4.7 per cent while Hindalco gained by 3.8 per cent to close at Rs 164.20 per share. Private sector lenders Kotak Mahindra Bank and IndusInd Bank were up by 4.7 per cent and 4.1 per cent respectively.
Tata Motors accelerated by 4.4 per cent to Rs 106.20 per share while Mahindra & Mahindra gained by 4.4 per cent and Hero MotoCorp by 3.7 per cent.
However, Bharti Infratel declined by 1.6 per cent after reporting 21 per cent drop in its consolidated net profit to Rs 704 crore for Q1 FY21. ICICI Bank, Nestle India, Asian Paints and ITC too traded with a negative bias.
Meanwhile, Asian indices traded in the green following bullish cues from Wall Street overnight.
China’s Shanghai Composite gained by 0.71 per cent and South Korea’s Kospi by 1.76 per cent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng by 0.69 per cent. But Japan’s Nikkei fell by 0.26 per cent. (ANI)
Rajasthan Congress in-charge Avinash Pande on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on Governor Kalraj Mishra over the proposal of the convening Assembly session.
In a series of seven tweets (in Hindi), Pande attacked Mishra using the hashtag — #GetWellSoonGovernor.
“Shri Kalraj Mishraji, identified as a skilled administrator and a mature leader who respects political integrity, sits in the dignified post of his excellency, the Rajasthan Governor. His image has always been that of an idealistic, religious leader. #GetWellSoonGovernor,” Pande said in a series of tweets.
In the second tweet, Pande alleged that Mishra is violating constitutional rules.
“But in the context of the crisis that has arisen in Rajasthan, Shri Kalraj Mishra ji is adopting an approach to fulfill the interests of a particular party, which is the common violation of the rules mentioned in our Constitution. #GetWellSoonGovernor,” he tweeted.
“From this, it seems that the democracy of India is no longer governed by the provisions of rules and laws, but it is left to a special party. It is invalid to sit in constitutional institutions and politicize a particular idea,” he added.
Pande further said that the Governor should give priority to the Rajasthan Cabinet’s issues.
“The country is fighting against the coronavirus pandemic. Rajasthan lacks financial support from the Centre. Rainfall was not enough. The swarms of locusts have attacked nine times in a month. His excellency, the Governor should give priority to the Rajasthan Cabinet’s issues and not to any particular party,” he said.
Pande alleged that the Governor is biased towards BJP.
“The political developments in Rajasthan are such that our Governor is also affected by the oppressive thinking of the BJP, and he does not seem healthy with his biased thinking,” he said.
Pande appealed the Governor to convene an immediate assembly session.
“My appeal is to wish the Governor to recover from the unilateral thinking of the transition so that he can give his consent to convene an immediate Assembly session to protect the Constitution and democracy in a fair manner, which protects the provisions contained in the Constitution.#GetWellSoonGovernor,” he said in the tweet.
In the last tweet, he urged everyone to send opinions by using hashtag #GetWellSoonGovernor via social media.
“I appeal to all of you, please send your opinion on #GetWellSoonGovernor more and more from your social media. May righteousness prevails, and iniquity perish. Satyameva Jayate. #GetWellSoonGovernor,” he tweeted.
Meanwhile, the state government has sent the proposal to Governor Mishra seeking to convene Assembly session from July 31.
Mishra on Monday had said that Raj Bhavan never had an intention “not to call” the assembly session and has asked the Ashok Gehlot government to deliberate on three points including 21-day notice period for convening session and maintaining social distancing norms. (ANI)
The five Rafale fighter jets were refuelled mid-air on their way to Ambala from France as the Indian Air Force (IAF) on Tuesday “appreciated the support” provided by French Air Force in transporting the fighter jets.
Earlier, all the five Rafale aircraft landed safely at the Al Dhafra airbase in UAE on Monday after a sortie in excess of seven hours, the IAF had said.
In a long-awaited development, five Rafale fighter aircraft took off on Monday for India from an airbase in France to join the IAF fleet in Ambala on Wednesday.
The fighter aircraft were flagged off by the Indian Ambassador to France from an airbase in Merignac, France where he interacted with the India crew flying it to India. The five aircraft flying to India include seven Indian pilots with the commanding officer of the 17 Golden Arrows squadron.
All the pilots have been trained on the aircraft by the French Dassault Aviation company as per the agreement signed for the biggest-ever defence deal signed by India in 2016 for acquiring 36 Rafale jets for over Rs 60,000 crore.
After a stopover post refuelling, these aircraft will then proceed towards Ambala and reach by July 29 morning. The delivery of the aircraft was earlier supposed to have been done by May-end but this was postponed by two months in view of the COVID-19 situation in both India and France. (ANI)
India on Wednesday reported 47,704 more COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the country’s count of coronavirus cases to 14,83,157, informed the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Out of the total cases, there are 4,96,988 active cases in the country while the number of patients cured/discharged and migrated stands at 9,52,744.
With 654 deaths due to COVID-19 in the country reported in the last 24 hours, the death toll rises to 33,425.
The recovery rate among COVID-19 patients has increased to 64.23 per cent. The recoveries to deaths ratio is 96.6 per cent:3.4 per cent, informed the Centre.
As per the data provided by the Ministry, Maharashtra continues to be the worst-affected state from the infection with 1,48,905 active cases and 13,656 deaths due to COVID-19. Tamil Nadu has a total of 53,703 active cases and 3,494 deaths.
Delhi has a total of 11,904 active cases and 3,827 deaths.
The Health Ministry further informed that more than 5 lakh COVID-19 tests were conducted in a single day over two consecutive days. On 26th July, India tested a total of 5,15,000 samples and on 27th July, a total of 5,28,000 samples were tested.
The total number of COVID-19 samples tested up to July 27 is 1,73,34,885 including 5,28,082 samples tested yesterday, said the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). (ANI)
Last Sunday’s arrival in New Delhi of 11 Sikhs from Afghanistan
marks the beginning of the end of a centuries-old historic process of Hindus
and Sikhs moving to and from this India’s extended neighbourhood.
It may be a matter of time – perhaps a few months – before all of
them, estimated at between 600 and 1,000, a microscopic minority in an
overwhelmingly Islamic nation, may leave Afghanistan for good and seek new
lives in India that one of them on arrival gratefully called “our motherland.”
This small but epochal event sadly reduces to a mere debate what is
steeped in history. Can an Afghan
be a Hindu or a Sikh? History says yes, asserts Inderjeet Singh in his book Afghan
Hindus and Sikhs: History of A Thousand Years published in April last
year.
There is no reliable
information on when Hinduism began in Afghanistan that once had Hindu rulers,
and when Buddhism thrived. But historians suggest that the territory south of
the Hindu Kush was culturally connected with the Indus Valley Civilization
(5500–2000 BC) in ancient times.
As for the Sikh, records show
that its founder Guru Nanak Dev had visited Kabul in the early 16th
century and laid the faith’s foundation.
Islam arrived in Afghanistan
only in the seventh century. “The Hindu Shahi rulers of Kabulistan were
replaced only by the end of the 10th century by the Ghaznavides, who maintained
Hindu forces,” Inderjeet Singh asserts in his book.
Contemporary records show that Maharaja Ranjit Singh also ruled parts of Afghanistan. About 250,000 Hindus and Sikhs had thriving trade and lived in relative peace and harmony and travelled to and from British India. Father of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh used to trade with Afghanistan, carrying consignments of asafoetida (heeng).
11 Sikhs arrived in New Delhi from Afghanistan on Sunday, July 26, 2020.
Recorded or otherwise, this
account must make a grim present-day note of the end of the presence of
religious minorities – at least the Hindus and the Sikhs – in Afghanistan. A
small minority in an overwhelmingly Islamic nation, they survived the violent
civil war conditions that have prevailed since last King Zahir Shah was deposed
in 1973. Last 47 years have seen a decade of communist rule backed by the
erstwhile Soviet Union, a “jihad” supported by the Western nations,
faction-ridden and violent rule by the Mujahideen five years of Taliban and
since the US-led “global war against terrorism” that followed 9/11, eighteen
years of the present government backed by the United States.
The US is keen to quit its
longest war, whether or not President Trump gets re-elected. Its iffy pact with
the Taliban is not working and the way is opened for the Taliban, with their
sordid record of suppressing women and minorities, backed by Pakistan that has
its own sordid record, returning to power. That makes the status of Afghan religious minorities more uncertain than ever. That
makes India’s move, with American blessings, timely.
The Afghan minorities have already felt the heat.
Twenty-five Sikhs were killed at a Gurdwara in Paktia province in March this
year. They were targeted by an Afghan group owing allegiance to the Islamic
State (IS). Indeed, the IS’ spread has been the reason for the US, Russia, Iran
and China coming on the same page, leaving Pakistan as a key factor and India,
an ‘outsider’, yet again. History is repeating itself.
The 11 Afghan Sikhs have been granted short-term Indian visas. They include Nidan Singh Sachdeva, who was abducted from Paktia’s gurudwara in June. The rest are families of those who were killed in the Kabul Gurudwara terror attack earlier this year. Twenty-five Afghan Sikhs and one Indian Sikh were killed on the March 25 terror attack in Kabul by a heavily armed ISIS-Khorasan (ISIS-K) suicide bomber. The group includes Salmeet Kaur who was reportedly kidnapped in Kabul but later came back.
An emotional reunion upon arrival of Sikh delegation from Afghanistan on July 26
This Sikh group hopes that India would give them long-term visas and eventually grant
citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) passed last year. It
gives citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and Christian religious
minorities from three countries –Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan with a
cut-off date of 31st December 2014.
While that may happen, for the Afghan Sikhs and Hindus, the decision
to come to India poses an agonizing dilemma. In Afghanistan, they have
livelihoods — shops and businesses passed down through generations — but spend
their days dreading the next attack. Making a new start in India would most
likely mean living in poverty, they said, particularly during an economic slump
exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.
Lala Sher Singh, 63, who was attacked in March,
told The New York Times that the community had shrunk so much that his thoughts
were occupied “day and night” by a fear that “the next assault might not leave
enough people who can perform the final rituals for the dead.”
“I may get killed here because of these threats to
Hindus and Sikhs, but in India I will die from poverty. I have spent my whole
life in Afghanistan. In this neighbourhood close to the temple, if I run out of
money and stand in front of a shop and ask for two eggs and some bread, they
will give it to me for free. But who will help me in India?”
The New York Times reported that there was no
official reaction from the Afghan government to India’s offer. “A senior Afghan
official, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the
matter with the news media, said that ‘violence affected all Afghans’,” and
that an offer of safety only to Hindus and Sikhs put religious diversity in
Afghanistan in doubt.
The Afghan official, ostensibly making no excuse
about the poor security available to the religious minorities in his country,
attributed the Indian government’s move to being “aimed at a domestic audience
in India, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi has tried to move the country away
from its secular, multicultural foundations and give it a more overtly Hindu
identity, while projecting itself as a champion of persecuted Hindu minorities
elsewhere.” The beleaguered Afghan authorities fighting
for their own survival amidst civil war of their own, would likely stay silent
and not mind the minorities leaving.
Truth be told, the Tibetan refugees took years to settle in India
and thousands of Hindus from Pakistan have yet to get their citizenship
documents, leave alone facilities and opportunities to settle, earn livelihood
and send their children to school. By contrast, those who come in illegally, do
manage to get their ration cards, citizenship certificates and even voter’s
cards from the grey market on payment. Despite the sentiments of those who
support this “ghar wapasi”, this is the harsh reality.
Even if necessary, this is a thankless, unending task. “Mother
India” must pay a price for embracing back its sons and daughters troubled in
their chosen homes.
Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra has said that Raj Bhavan never had an intention “not to call” the assembly session and has asked the Ashok Gehlot government to deliberate on three points including 21-day notice period for convening session and maintaining social distancing norms.
A Raj Bhavan release also referred to certain other conditions to be followed if Gehlot government, which is facing a crisis due to differences in the state Congress, wants to seek a trust vote.
The Raj Bhavan said a proposal was received from the state government to convene assembly session from July 31 and the Governor has said that the session should be called according to the constitutional provisions.
The release said that the statements from the state government make it clear that it wants to bring a trust vote but there is no mention of it in the proposal sent for convening the session.
It also said that if the state government wants to bring trust vote, there can be a basis to call the session at a short notice.
The Raj Bhavan said as conditions at present were extraordinary, the state government has been asked to give a letter again after acting on three issues.
It said that the assembly session should be called after giving a 21-day notice to give equal opportunity to all members. The release noted that important social and political issues can be discussed through online mode as in the Supreme Court and High Court in the wake of COVID-19.
“In case, confidence motion is moved in the Assembly then proceedings should be done in the presence of chief secretary, Parliamentary Affairs Department. The proceedings should be recorded and the trust vote should be carried out with a button,” the release said, adding that the proceedings should be telecast live.
The release said it should be clarified that if the Assembly session is convened then how social distancing norms would be followed.
“Is there any arrangement in which 200 MLAs and 1000 officials do not face the threat of infection. And if anyone gets an infection, how to prevent its spread among others?” the release asked.
It said the assembly does not have a sitting arrangement for 200 MLAs and 1,000 officials by following the social distancing norms.
The release said it is the constitutional duty of the Governor that in such difficult circumstances, the life of more than 1200 people cannot be put to risk by calling a session without any special urgency.
“Governor Kalraj Mishra has, giving advice under Article 174 of Constitution, given directions to the state government to take action for convening the session. He has said that Raj Bhavan never had an intention not to call the session,” the release said.
Earlier, Rajasthan Governor’s Secretariat had said the state government had presented a proposal to convene the session of the Assembly at very short notice on the night of July 23. The paper was analysed and legal experts were consulted over it.
It had said 21-day notice is required for the session to be called according to the normal procedures.
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday said the Congress party will approach the President and, if required, will also stage a protest outside the Prime Minister’s residence in connection with the political situation in Rajasthan.
He had earlier said alleged that the Governor was not calling the Assembly session due to “pressure from the top”.
Rajasthan Congress is in turmoil after simmering differences between Pilot and Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot came out in the open. Pilot was removed as the Deputy Chief Minister and the state unit chief of Congress.
The Congress has accused the BJP of indulging in horse-trading to bring down the Gehlot government. The BJP has rejected the allegations. (ANI)
Claiming that China has occupied Indian land, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday hinted that the government is hiding the truth and said allowing Chinese to encroach into Indian land is “anti-national”.
“The Chinese have occupied Indian land. Hiding the truth and allowing them to take it is anti-national. Bringing it to people’s attention is patriotic,” he tweeted while posting a video on the microblogging site.
In continuation of his video series focusing on border tension with the neighbouring country and other issues, the Congress leader posted another video on Twitter and said that encroachment of Indian territories by Chinese forces disturb him.
The video was titled “Tough questions on China” and Gandhi responded to a question –How do you react to people who say your questions to the PM on China, weaken India?
“Now, it is pretty clear that the Chinese have entered our territory. This disturbs me. It makes my blood boil. How can some other nation just come into our territory? Now, if you as a politician want me to keep quiet and lie to my people when I am absolutely convinced, I have seen the satellite photos, I speak to the ex-army people…If you want me to lie, that the Chinese did not enter our territory, I am not gonna lie. I simply will not do it. I do not mind if my whole career goes to hell, but I am not going to lie,” the Congress leader said in the video.
The former Congress president said the people who are lying about Chinese entering our country are the people who are not nationalists.
“I think the people who are lying about Chinese entering our country are the people who are not nationalists. I think the people who are lying and who are saying that the Chinese are not in India, they are the people who are not patriotic. So frankly, I do not care, if it cost me politically. I do not care if I have no political career at all after that, but I am going to say the truth as far as Indian territories are concerned,” he said.
This is the fourth video Gandhi has posted as part of his video series attacking the Centre over its handling of the ongoing tussle with the Dragon. Earlier, he released videos on July 17, July 20 and July 23.
In a significant development, troops of India and China have completed disengagement at Galwan valley, Patrolling Point 15 and Hot Springs/Gogra area in Eastern Ladakh amid the ongoing talks at the diplomatic and military level, sources said on Saturday.
India has made it clear that for the situation to be normalised, the Chinese will have to completely deescalate and move back troops to their permanent locations.
The two countries have held military and diplomatic consultations following a face-off between troops of two sides in Eastern Ladakh and the military build-up by China. (ANI)
India’s COVID tally on Monday crossed 14 lakh mark with the highest single-day spike of 49,931 cases reported in the last 24 hours, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
The total COVID-19 cases stand at 14,35,453, including 4,85,114 active cases, 9,17,568 cured/discharged/migrated, it added.
With 708 deaths in the last 24 hours, the cumulative toll reached 32,771.
India had crossed 13 lakhs COVID-19 cases on July 25.
Maharashtra has reported 3,75,799 coronavirus cases, the highest among states and Union Territories in the country.
A total of 2,13,723 cases have been reported from Tamil Nadu till now, while Delhi has recorded a total of 1,30,606 coronavirus cases.
According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 5,15,472 samples were tested for coronavirus on Sunday and overall 1,68,06,803 samples have been tested so far. (ANI)
In a long-awaited development, five Rafale fighter aircraft today took off for India from an airbase in France to join the Indian Air Force fleet in Ambala on Wednesday.
The fighter aircraft were flagged off by the Indian Ambassador to France from an airbase in Merignac in France where the Ambassador interacted with the India crew flying it back to India.
“The new Rafales add strategic depth and strength to India’s air combat capabilities. They fly out of France today to join the growing Indian fleet of aircraft,” the Indian embassy tweeted.
The five aircraft flying to India today includes seven Indian pilots including the commanding officer of the 17 Golden Arrows squadron. All the pilots have been trained on the aircraft by the French Dassault Aviation company as per the agreement signed for the biggest ever defence deal signed by India in 2016 for acquiring 36 Rafale jets for over Rs 60,000 crore.
The aircraft would make their first stopover at a French base in the United Arab Emirates on their way to India and would be refuelled by French Air Force tanker aircraft somewhere around Greece or Israel over sea before landing there.
After a stopover, they will then proceed towards Ambala from there and reach by July 29 morning. The delivery of the aircraft was earlier supposed to have been done by May end but this was postponed by two months in view of the COVID-19 situation in both India and France.
The trainers will have the tail numbers of the RB series in honour of the Air Force Chief RKS Bhadauria who played a pivotal role in finalising India’s largest-ever defence deal for 36 Rafale combat aircraft. Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria was the Deputy Chief of Air Staff at that time and headed the Indian negotiation team for the deal which is the biggest ever in monetary terms in India.
Armed with the long-range Meteor air to air missiles and SCALP, the Rafales would give India an edge over both Pakistan and China in terms of air strike capability.
Sources said the air to air and the air to ground strike capabilities of the Rafale cannot be matched by both China and Pakistan and the aircraft would give India an edge over both the rivals.
To be made fully operational within days of landing here and able to undertake any type of operation, the Rafale is being fitted with the HAMMER missiles which can hit targets in the range of 60-70 kms. (ANI)
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