Month: June 2022

Union Minister Rajnath Singh has spoken to Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee among other opposition leaders for the upcoming presidential election even as Opposition parties today after a meeting convened by the West Bengal chief minister announced that they will put up a consensus candidate.

According to sources, Rajnath also spoke to Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav earlier today and sought their opinion on candidates for the July 18 presidential elections.
However, the three leaders have asked the government to declare the BJP-led NDA’s nominees for the Presidential election.

Congress’s Mallikarjun Kharge, meanwhile said that he has asked by party chief Sonia Gandhi to speak to other party leaders to arrive at a consensus on a joint candidate.

“Congress will play a constructive role in ensuring that a consensus is reached over candidate’s name. Let’s be proactive, not reactive. Congress has no particular candidate in mind, will sit with others to arrive at a name acceptable to all,” Kharge said.

Leaders of 17 political parties joined a crucial meeting of opposition parties convened by Mamata Banerjee to build consensus on fielding a joint candidate against the NDA in the presidential election here.

“Several parties were here today. We’ve decided we will choose only one consensus candidate. Everybody will give this candidate our support. We will consult with others. This is a good beginning. We sat together after several months, and we will do it again,” TMC leader Mamata Banerjee said after the meeting.

CPI MP Binoy Viswam who participated in the meeting said that Mamta Banarjee had proposed NCP’s Sharad Pawar’s name as the Presidential candidate of the Opposition. Pawar did not accept that proposal.

TMC, Congress, CPI, CPI(M), CPIML, RSP, Shiv Sena, NCP, RJD, SP, National Conference, PDP, JD(S), DMK, RLD, IUML and JMM – participated in the meeting held at the Constitution Club of India here.

The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) led by Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao did not send a representative to the meeting.

The presidential election is slated to be held on July 18 and votes will be counted on July 21. (ANI)

National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval attended the BRICS NSA meeting in a virtual format on Wednesday and stressed the need to bolster cooperation against terrorism without any reservations as he welcomed the cooperation ongoing among the five-nation grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to address the issue of terrorism, sources said.

In a meeting hosted by Chinese NSA Yang Jiechi, NSA Doval emphasised the need for urgent reform of the multilateral system in order to address global issues with credibility, equity and accountability, sources said.

NSA Doval also welcomed the cooperation ongoing in the BRICS Counter-Terrorism Working Group stressing that the challenges of pandemics and climate change still need continued cooperation.

He also laid importance on cooperation in the areas of Information & Communication Technology (ICT) security, outer space and maritime security.

According to sources, NSA Doval also underscored the importance of trusted and resilient supply chains.

This virtual meeting came ahead of the BRICS summit later this month to be hosted by China, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to attend along with Russian President Vladimir Putin and leaders of Brazil and South Africa.

PM Modi is expected to attend the virtual meeting along with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro and South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa. (ANI)

To boost digital connectivity, the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the proposal of the Department of Telecommunications to conduct a spectrum auction through which spectrum will be assigned to the successful bidders for providing 5G services to public and enterprises.

Lauding the decision, Union MoS for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Wednesday said, “The announcement of 5G auction is a huge milestone in the development of technology, of telecom in India. As somebody who has been in telecom for over three decades, I have seen 2G, 3G, and 4G. There are many things that the 5G represents.”

According to him, 5G is the future of wireless technologies and it will transform the internet.

“5G is the future of wireless technologies. It’ll transform the internet. It is the 5th generation of wireless technologies but in actuality, the first-generation of intelligent wireless technologies where machines will communicate with machines as well as people communicating with people and machines,” added the Union Minister.

Chandrasekhar said that the 5G connection will enable and empower ‘digital nagriks’.

“It is a hugely transformational technology. It will deeply alter the internet as we know it in India. It will create & enable & empower ‘digital nagriks’ in a way that none of the existing technologies is able to do,” he added.

“5G does a lot of things for the machine to machine & the smart manufacturing and enabling a lot of the ecosystem that is sitting outside the internet today and getting them integrated into the internet,” the Minister of State added.

According to him, 5G is the ‘future of mobile internet’ in India. “It is the first time in the history of telecom was launched in India that India is not be going to be a consumer of technology we are going to produce the technology. India has tremendous capacity and capability that is being demonstrated in 5G space.”

According to the Centre, the 5G test bed setup in 8 top technology institutes of India is speeding up the launch of domestic 5G technology in India.

India is soon to get a strong ecosystem for the launch of 5G services which will likely to about 10 times faster than 4G.

The PLI (Production-Linked Incentives) schemes for mobile handsets, telecom equipment and the launch of the India Semiconductor Mission are expected to help build a strong ecosystem for the launch of 5G services in the country.

Spectrum is an integral and necessary part of the entire 5G ecosystem.

The Centre believes the upcoming 5G services have the potential to create new-age businesses, generate additional revenue for enterprises and provide employment arising from the deployment of innovative use-cases and technologies.

A total of 72097.85 MHz of spectrum with a validity period of 20 years will be put to auction to be held by the end of July 2022. The auction will be held for spectrum in various Low (600 MHz, 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz), Mid (3300 MHz) and High (26 GHz) frequency bands. (ANI)

The popularity of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, famed for his rock-star aura, is now witnessing a dip so much so that he has become the unnamed star in a satirical-themed children’s book that is topping the country’s bestseller charts, according to local media report.

The book “How the Prime Minister Stole Freedom,” is a commentary on the way Trudeau handled the freedom convoy and vaccination mandates, Don Martin, a contributor on CTV News said.

Trudeau’s leadership style has also been criticised by former top bureaucrat Paul Tellier in Policy Options magazine, in which he warns about how Trudeau’s control freakdom of an office is “in the process of destroying the public service … and the word ‘destroying’ is not too strong.”

Martin claimed that Trudeau is too woke, too precious, preachy in tone, exceedingly smug, lacking in leadership, fading in celebrity, slow to act, short-sighted in vision and generally getting more irritating with every breathlessly whispered public pronouncement.

In the Tuesday’s press conference, Trudeau, who was tested positive for COVID-19 infection second time, was trying to daunt questions that demanded his answer over allowing a bureaucrat to attend a Russian caviar party in Ottawa, his public safety minister for promoting a nose-stretcher that police requesting the Emergencies Act to cope with the Freedom Convoy (they didn’t) and shrugging off a Globe-obtained government analysis showing his 2030 emission targets, which will be extremely difficult to meet, according to Martin.

Over Trudeau’s response to toughening Canadian gun laws in the aftermath of the Texas school massacre, The Wall Street Journal said that Canadian politics is too boring.

“Apparently Canadian politics is too boring, or parochial, or something,” the editorial observed. “If he wants to influence U.S. politics, we recommend he emigrate and run for Congress,” Wall Street Journal reported.

Referring to WSJ’s publication, Martin said, “But mostly, Trudeau just doesn’t act. As Globe columnist Campbell Clark noted in taking aim at the prime minister’s hesitancy to end vaccine mandates, a “political inertia” orbits the sloth-speed Liberal government were “without a political impetus to do something, the default is to do nothing”. Well said.”

The author believes that Trudeau’s talked-up commitments like targets for Afghan translator immigration, Ukrainian resettlement numbers, greenhouse gas emission targets, Indigenous reconciliation moves or even tree planting by the billions, are somehow overpromising which will end up without fulfilling any of them.

There are chances that Trudeau would run for re-election to give the cement time to set on his legacy but Martin believes that Trudeau’s shaky display of true leadership should reward the Conservatives with a government mandate in the next election. (ANI)

Pakistan’s former military leader Pervez Musharraf, who has been living in Dubai since 2016, has expressed his desire to spend the “rest of his life” in his home country, local media reported.

The Express Tribune newspaper reported that the ailing former president wants to return to Pakistan as soon as possible.
The report said his close associates have approached “powerful quarters” and government officials to remove any obstacle in his return to the country.

Musharraf, who has been hospitalized for the last three weeks due to health-related complications, is set to return home from self-imposed exile, the Voice of America (VOA) reported this week.

However, the exact date of his arrival in Pakistan was not immediately disclosed.

Officials in Pakistan are making arrangements to allow the return of the 79-year-old former general, highly placed government sources told VOA.

An air ambulance will bring Musharraf back from a Dubai hospital given the consent of his family and doctors, the report added.

Since 2016, Musharraf has been living in the UAE when he was allowed to travel abroad on bail for medical treatment. At the time, he was being tried in Pakistan on treason charges which got later overturned by a high court ruling.

Last week, media reports spoke about the deteriorating health of Musharraf.

On Twitter, Musharaf’s family refuted reports that he is on the ventilator and said he is going through a difficult stage of recovery as his organs are malfunctioning.

“He is not on the ventilator. Has been hospitalized for the last 3 weeks due to a complication of his ailment (Amyloidosis). Going through a difficult stage where recovery is not possible and organs are malfunctioning. Pray for ease in his daily living,” his family said in a Twitter post.

The aliment Musharaf is suffering from is called Amyloidosis. It is a rare form of condition caused by a build-up of an abnormal protein called amyloid in organs and tissues throughout the body.

The build-up of amyloid proteins (deposits) can make it difficult for the organs and tissues to work properly. Without treatment, this can lead to organ failure, according to National Health Service, UK.

Musharaf seized power in a bloodless military coup in 1999, ousting the then-elected government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. He later declared himself president and went on to rule Pakistan until after his political allies lost the 2008 general elections, forcing him to step down to avoid impeachment by the new parliament. (ANI)

External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Wednesday welcomed his Singapore counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan, ahead of the ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers Meeting.

Taking to Twitter, Jaishnakar said that India and Singapore will co-chair the ASEAN-India meeting and take forward the bilateral agenda of the two countries.
“Warm welcome to my friend FM @VivianBala of Singapore. Will have the ASEAN-India co-chair meeting and take forward our bilateral agenda,” Jaishankar tweeted.

India will host the Special ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (SAIFMM) on 16-17 June 2022 to mark the 30th anniversary of our dialogue relations and the 10th anniversary of our Strategic Partnership with ASEAN.

Jaishankar and Vivian Balakrishnan, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Singapore, India’s Country Coordinator, will co-chair the meeting.

Foreign Ministers of other ASEAN Member State and ASEAN Secretary-General will participate in the SAIFMM. The year 2022 has been designated as ASEAN-India Friendship Year.

ASEAN-India dialogue relations started with the establishment of sectoral partnership in 1992 which graduated to full dialogue partnership in December 1995, Summit level Partnership in 2002, and Strategic partnership in 2012.

“Today, ASEAN-India Strategic Partnership stands on a strong foundation. ASEAN is central to India’s Act East Policy and its vision for the wider Indo-Pacific. This multi-faceted partnership encompasses many sectoral dialogue mechanisms and working groups that meet regularly at various levels and include annual Summit, Ministerial and Senior Officials’ meetings. The ongoing India-ASEAN collaboration is guided by the Plan of Action 2021-2025 which was adopted in 2020,” the MEA said in an earlier statement.

While ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (FMM), hosted by ASEAN Chair, is an annual event, the SAIFMM would be the first ASEAN-India FMM to be hosted by India in New Delhi. The SAIFMM will be preceded by 24th ASEAN-India Senior Officials Meeting on 15 June 2022.

The SAIFMM will be accompanied by the 12th edition of Delhi Dialogue, a premier Track 1.5 Dialogue in ASEAN-India calendar, which will be hosted by India on June 16-17.

The theme of DD-XII is Building Bridges in the Indo-Pacific. The Ministerial Session of DD-XII will be attended by EAM and the ASEAN Ministers. (ANI)

Northern Army Commander Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi on Wednesday reviewed the security situation in the Kashmir valley.

He arrived in Srinagar for a three-day visit from June 15 to June 17, during which he is scheduled to visit forward posts on the Line of Control (LOC) and the hinterland.

The Army Commander, accompanied by Lt Gen ADS Aujla, Chinar Corps Commander, visited various locations and formations in the hinterland today.

According to an official statement by the Defence PRO, Dwivedi was briefed on the counter-terrorism grid, development works and the current security situation in the Union Territory and also reviewed security and operational preparedness for Amarnath Yatra.

Prior to him, Director General of police of the Union Territory Dilbag Singh and Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha had also reviewed the pilgrimage slated to begin on June 30. The Yatra will culminate on August 11.

Later, Dwivedi held a detailed briefing with all the stakeholders and appreciated the efforts being undertaken for a peaceful and incident-free Yatra.

Earlier in the day, he also addressed the media on the contours of the ‘Agniveer’ initiative of the Armed Forces.

‘Agnipath’ is a pan India merit-based recruitment scheme for enrolling soldiers, airmen and sailors. The scheme provides an opportunity for youth to serve in the regular cadre of the armed forces. All those recruited under the ‘Agnipath’ scheme will be called ‘Agniveers’.

During his interaction with the troops over tea, he complimented the soldiers for the conduct of just-held operations with precision and ensuring zero collateral damage. He was also appreciative of the excellent Soldier-Citizen connect activities, which resulted in the overall reduction of the terrorist recruitments in the valley.

He was later briefed by Lt Gen ADS Aujla, GOC Chinar Corps on the overall security situation and measures instituted to counter adversaries’ design at the Chinar Corps Headquarters later in the day. (ANI)

As part of the BJP’s reach out to various parties in the NDA as also in opposition for the presidential poll, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday spoke to Janta Dal-United leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
As per the sources, the Defence Minister who is also the Deputy Leader of BJP in Lok Sabha, spoke to Nitish Kumar this morning for building a consensus on the candidate for the upcoming presidential elections.

Sources said it was conveyed to Nitish Kumar that an attempt is being made to put up a consensus candidate. It is also being reported that Kumar has assured that his party will be supporting the candidature as proposed by the BJP-led NDA.

The discussion over the presidential election was initiated last month when Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had visited Bihar and met Kumar.

The Bihar Chief Minister had earlier scotched speculation about the possibility of his being a candidate and had said that he was not in the presidential race. BJP and JD-U had together won the last assembly polls in Bihar.

Apart from Nitish Kumar, Union Minister Rajnath Singh has already spoken to Naveen Patnaik of Biju Janta Dal and also to the YSRC leadership.

Singh has also spoken to Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee as well as Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.

Sources said that this is the initial round of discussion. BJP had announced on Sunday that Rajnath Singh and JP Nadda would coordinate with political parties for presidential polls.

Leaders of several opposition parties met here on Wednesday to discuss forthcoming presidential elections and urged Sharad Pawar to be the joint candidate but the senior NCP leader declined the offer.

The meeting adopted a resolution to field a common candidate in the election slated for July 18.

The meeting was called by Trinamool Congress leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

The presidential poll will be held next month. (ANI)

Delhi Police on Wednesday said that around 800 people have been detained since Monday for violating prohibitory orders as they protested in the national capital against the questioning of Rahul Gandhi by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the National Herald case.

Congress workers and some leaders were detained today and were seen being taken away in police vans as they staged protests outside the Congress headquarters and the ED office here.
Stormy scenes were witnessed outside the Congress headquarters and the ED office with Congress workers shouting slogans in support of Rahul Gandhi. Among those detained included senior Congress leader Sachin Pilot.

Wednesday was the third consecutive day that Rahul Gandhi appeared before the ED in connection with the National Herald money laundering case.

Delhi Police special CP (Law and Order) Sagar Hooda said that the Congress did not take any permission for the gathering today.

“Today is the third day of the demonstration, police made proper arrangements. We have detained around 150 people. Congress had not taken any permission for gathering today; their office bearers know about the area in which Section 144 is imposed,” he said.

Hooda also said police had told the Congress on Tuesday night that no gathering would be allowed near the ED office or the Congress party headquarters on Akbar Road as Section 144, had been imposed.

“We had communicated to Congress in writing last night that no gathering should be conducted around ED office and on Akbar Road with Section 144 imposed. When some workers didn’t agree to our appeal today also, we detained them. In two and a half days, around 800 people were detained,” he said.

“Congress’s senior functionaries, CMs, former CMs, former cabinet ministers & MPs are always facilitated, as per the list they provided. Even when they didn’t properly coordinate today, we facilitated their senior functionaries,” Hooda said.

Earlier today, slamming the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government over the ED probe against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said the Centre will have to pay a “hefty price” for attempting to suppress the voice of the Wayanad MP.

Addressing a press conference here, Chief Minister Baghel said, “We cannot bring our own staff to the AICC office now. Office bearers cannot come to office. We were told that only two CMs can come here and no one else has permission. This kind of situation never rose where members of political parties cannot enter the office. Why is this happening?”

Rahul Gandhi has been questioned for over 20 hours since Monday when he was deposed before the ED investigators in the case for the first time. (ANI)

Former actor Saira Banu broke into tears after accepting the honourable Bharat Ratna Dr Ambedkar Award for her late husband and veteran actor Dilip Kumar, on Tuesday, saying that Dilip is ‘always with her’.

Upon accepting the award on behalf of her late husband, Saira Banu expressed her gratitude saying, “I feel extremely happy. Such a prestigious award for such a legendary person. I think that Dilip Sahab is here today with us and is witnessing this event. I would have been really happy if he was with us here today.”

Calling Dilip Kumar the ‘Kohinoor’ of India, Saiba Banu said that, he should be honoured with the Bharat Ratna award.

“I wish this happens. Dilip Sahab has been the ‘Kohinoor’ of India. So why shouldn’t a ‘Kohinoor’ receive the Bharat Ratna? I strongly believe that he should definitely receive the award.” said the ‘Padosan’ actor.

Speaking on how Saira Banu keeps the memory of Dilip Kumar in her alive, she said, “I believe in the reality that he is here with me at every step. I will never think that he is not here. It will be easy for me to accept that he is with me and will forever remain by my side, being my pillar of support- my Kohinoor.”

Saira Banu’s undying love for Dilip Kumar was evident as ever since the actor breathed his last in the past year, Saira has kept a low profile. She revealed to a media outlet that she was unable to cope with the loss of her beloved husband. Calling Dilip Kumar an ‘extraordinary’ man, Saira confessed that she was strongly attached to her husband and ‘desperately’ needed him in her life.

Saira and Dilip had been married for 55 years before the latter passed away on July 7, the previous year owing to a prolonged illness, ending an era in Bollywood. After his death, Saira was also hospitalised due to issues with her blood pressure levels in the same hospital where Dilip had been earlier.

In a career spanning nearly six decades, the star had delivered several unforgettable movies and moments that touched the hearts of many.

He had worked in three films that were helmed by Ghai. Dilip and Saira’s first movie together was ‘Vidhata’ in 1982 followed by ‘Karma’ in 1986 and ‘Saudagar’ 1991.

Meanwhile, the 77-year-old Saira stepped into Bollywood with the 1961 film ‘Junglee’ opposite late actor Shammi Kapoor. She is celebrated for films like ‘Padosan’ (1968), ‘Hera Pheri’ (1976), ‘Diwana’ (1967) and ‘Purab Aur Paschim’ (1970). (ANI)