Halloween Costume ideas 2015
Articles by "National"
Twitter Facebook

10:57 AM
New Delhi 
Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Monday remembered his father and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi on his 27th death anniversary.
Taking to Twitter, Rahul thanked his father for teaching him how to love and respect every one.

"My father taught me that hate is a prison for those who carry it. Today, on his death anniversary, I thank him for teaching me to love and respect all beings, the most valuable gifts a father can give a son," he tweeted.

"Rajiv Gandhi, those of us that love you hold you forever in our hearts," he added.

Earlier today, Rahul along with sister Priyanka Gandhi paid homage to Rajiv Gandhi at Vir Bhumi in Delhi.


Rajiv Gandhi's wife and former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, former prime minister Manmohan Singh and senior Congress leaders Sushil Kumar Shinde and Mallikarjun Kharge also paid tribute to him.

A recipient of Bharat Ratna, Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in a suicide bombing at Chennai's Sriperumbudur on May 21, 1991.

Twitter Facebook

7:19 PM
New Delhi 
Congress President Sonia Gandhi's veiled dig at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for its comments on the Quit India Movement, has attracted support from other leaders.

Congress leader, Renuka Chowdary told ANI, "Certain political parties had no role to play in the movement and they continue to disrupt the functioning of the country."
She added that certain parties would never understand the foundations of India's independence.

Communist Party of India leader D. Raja, said "The RSS and the BJP are trying to falsify and rewrite history. This is where the caution must be kept. They are trying to impose their ideology on the country."

National Conference (NC) leader, Farooq Abdullah said, "It's true that the country is developing but the people are being divided.We are being divided on the basis of our religion."

Earlier, Sonia Gandhi recalled the Quit India Movement struggle and added that secularism and free speech are in danger today's NDA and BJP-ruled India.

Taking a jab at the BJP, she said, "Some organisations opposed the Quit India movement".
Twitter Facebook

2:26 PM
New Delhi
India has declared itself free from highly pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5N1 and H5N8) after surveillance in the states showed no evidence of its presence, officials said on Thursday. "Surveillance was carried out throughout the country and around the areas of the outbreaks since completion of the operation (including culling, disinfection and clean-up), which showed no evidence of presence of Avian Influenza Virus," a Union Agriculture Ministry release said.
The Ministry said India had reported outbreaks of the influenza at various epicentres in Delhi, Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, Rajpura in Punjab, Hissar in Haryana, Bellary in Karnataka, Allappuzha and Kottayam in Kerala, Ahmedabad in Gujarat, Daman and Khordha, and Angul in Odisha between October 2016 and February 2017.

These outbreaks were notified to the World Organization for Animal Health and subsequently, control and containment operations were carried out as per the action plan on preparedness, control and containment of the influenza, said the release. 
Twitter Facebook

9:51 AM
New Delhi 
The Congress on Saturday came down heavily on Prime Minster Narendra Modi for remarking that there has been drastic reduction of Indians depositing black money in Swiss Banks after his government took charge, and asked for proper proof on the same.

Congress leader Salman Khurshid said that the Prime Minister was just 'narrating a story' and it was not necessary to believe what he said.

"This is just a story he is just narrating. Whatever speeches that are made by the Prime Minister, the government fails to prove it with facts. We will not believe whatever he says," Khurshid told ANI.

Expressing similar views, another Congress leader Kapil Sibal attacked the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for failing to fulfill its promises on black money.

"On what basis he is saying I don't know, but the promise made by the BJP during elections that every citizen's bank count will be transferred has not taken place so far. Till now we have not retrieved any black money," Sibal told ANI.

Congress leader Anand Sharma instead sought "account of his mis-performance and betrayal of the people by non delivering on the promises the prime mistier made".

Quoting a report by the Swiss Bank, Prime Minister Modi said that there has been a 45 percent drop in the deposit by Indians in foreign accounts, the lowest ever in years.

"Swiss Bank in its report has stated that there has been a 45 percent drop in the deposit by Indians, the lowest ever witnessed in years," said Prime Minister Modi.

He further informed that two years from now, the Swiss Bank in its report will be presenting a consolidated version of real-time data, which will pose a serious issue for those who have been depositing money in accounts abroad.

"Over three lakh registered companies are now under the scanner after the demonetisation drive. In the last 48 hours, one lakh more bogus companies have been sealed, merely by the stroke of a pen", he said adding that this is a result of prioritising patriotism over politics.

With regards to the 'havala trade', Prime Minister Modi also revealed that over 37,000 shell companies have been identified, adding that strict action will be taken against those indulging in money laundering and other such activities.

"A country where a select few loot, such a nation cannot scale new heights. These select few never want the nation to grow. Those who have looted the poor will have to give back what they have looted," the Prime Minister said in his address at the foundation day of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.

He added that the Government of India has taken a tough stand against those who have looted the nation.

"There is a ' Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan' and there is a movement to clean the nation from the menace of corruption," Prime Minister Modi said. 
Twitter Facebook

5:20 PM
New Delhi
Google maps are not considered "authentic" since they are not charted by the government, the country's top surveyor has said.
Swarna Subba Rao, the Surveyor General of India, said yesterday that maps prepared by the Survey of India, a 250- year-old institute in Dehradun, were used for vital infrastructure projects.

"Google maps are not authentic. They are not produced by the government so they don't stand any authentication," he said. The head of the institute which has the mandate to prepare maps for defence purposes said many people used Google maps "for low end" applications.

"The maps produced by the Survey of India are used for serious applications," he said, responding to a question at an event organised to release a commemorative stamp to mark 250 years of the institute. The Survey of India's topography maps are needed for "very accurate and engineering quality data" essential for something like a new rail line or a canal, Rao said.

The Survey of India falls under the Department of Science and Technology. DST secretary Ashutosh Sharma, however, added that it would be wrong to disregard satellite mapping, as the maps prepared by the Survey of India and companies such as Google served different purposes. Manoj Sinha, Minister of State for Communication, said the Survey of India had the "distinct honour" of printing India's first postage stamp and the first copy of the Constitution of India.

He added that any developmental work could only start after proper survey and mapping had been done.
Twitter Facebook

7:55 PM
President Mukherjee arrives in Kanchipuram for day-long visit
Arakkonam (Tamil Nadu) 
President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday arrived in Tamil Nadu's Kanchipuram for a day-long visit.

He was received by Tamil Nadu Commercial Taxes Minister K. C. Veeramani at the naval airbase INS Rajali in Arakkonam.

From there, they headed to offer special prayers at the Kanchi Kamakshi Temple.
Before winding up his tour, President Mukherjee will also meet the Kanchi seers Jayandra Saraswati and Vijayendra Saraswati at the Kanchi Mutt.
Twitter Facebook

8:59 AM
New Delhi
Congress president Sonia Gandhi today hit out at the Modi government, saying there is a brazen campaign to straitjacket the whole country into a regressive and narrow-minded world view.

Chairing a meeting of the Congress Working Committee, the party’s highest decision-making body, Gandhi also asserted that the Congress must be ready to protect the essence and idea of India “which this government is seeking to extinguish”.

The meeting, which was attended by party vice president Rahul Gandhi and former prime minister Manmohan Singh, discussed the current political situation and the upcoming presidential election. Top Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, P Chidambaram, Ambika Soni, Janardan Dwiwedi and other CWC members were also present at the meeting.

Twitter Facebook

9:50 PM
Ahmedabad 
Senior Congress leader Manish Tewari on Thursday hit out at the Narendra Modi-led NDA government saying the country's economy was currently going through the worst phase in decades and was on the "verge of anarchy".
"Looking at the GDP figures released yesterday, it is now very much clear that the Indian economy has collapsed completely under the NDA's three-year rule, as the growth rate has remained at just 6.1 per cent in the quarter ending March.

It shows that the economy was hit badly by the decision of demonetisation," Tewari said in a press conference here today.

Citing the GDP growth figures released yesterday, Tewari said the performance of Indian economy has been the worst in the past 37 years.

"Even these figures are jugglery, as the Modi government has changed the base year for GDP calculation from 2004-05 to 2011-12. If you take into account 2004-05 as the base year, GDP growth would come down to just 4.1 per cent.

This is the worst ever performance in the last 37 years," Tewari said.

"The economy is on the verge of anarchy. Non performing assets are touching new heights. The Centre has no clear policy to recover the NPAs of over Rs 12 lakh crore from defaulters. The economy is down because of the note-ban, inspector-raj and economic mismanagement," the former Union minister said.

The Congress leader also hit out at the Centre on the issue of internal security and foreign policy.

"Internal security is crippled under the BJP rule. The situation in Kashmir is more dangerous now than it was in 1979. Naxal activities are also spreading fast. However, even after three years, the BJP government has failed to formulate or execute any concrete policy to tackle it," he said.

Twitter Facebook

10:42 PM
New Delhi 
Three more ONGC employees - Santosh Kumar, Nirmal Kumar and Prabhat Gaurav have added on to the historic feat of scaling the Mount Everest.
With this, six ONGC employees have successfully accomplished Mission Everest .

Earlier, three ONGC employees Yogendar Garbiyal, N Jagoi and Rahul Jarngal had summited the Everest under the leadership of Padma Shri Loveraj Singh Dharamshaktu, Assistant Commandant, Border Security Force (BSF), representing Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF).

Santosh, Nirmal and Prabhat along with accompanying sherpas summited the Everest today.

All members of the expedition are in good health condition. The three ONGC employees have returned to South Col (Camp 4), while the other team, that summited the Everest yesterday are back to the Everest Base Camp.

Congratulating the achievement of the ONGC employees, CMD ONGC tweeted, "Filled with pride to know that three more ONGCians have scaled the Everest. Proud of Nirmal, Santosh and Prabhat on this achievement. Kudos!"

The ONGC Everest Expedition is a phenomenal employee engagement initiative taken by ONGC - a world leader in oil and gas Exploration and Production.

This is a unique HR initiative of ONGC to instill values of adventure, camaraderie, team spirit and bravado within the organization.

The idea of Mission Everest was borne out of the team's successful completion of the Everest Base Camp Trek in October 2015. From then on, there has been no looking back. ONGC CMD has then exhorted all team members on their return to target Mt Everest.

The IMF has been instrumental in the success of this expedition by not only providing training to the employees, but also preparing them for all the adverse conditions, under the mentorship of IMF president, Col H. S. Chauhan.

With this achievement, ONGC has become one of the first corporates in the world to successfully scale the Everest. 
Twitter Facebook

8:44 PM
Ootacamund ( Tamil Nadu) 
President of India Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday addressed the 159th founder's day celebrations of the Lawrence School Lovedale at Ootacamund.

"We do not want merely informed robots without any soul. We want human beings who are sensitive to the needs of society," the President said, during his address.

He said "education does not merely mean imparting information. It is the value system that the schools provide, shape students to become worthy citizens of our great nation."

Established in 1858, the Lawrence School was set to impart vocational education to the orphans and children of European soldiers in India.
Twitter Facebook

9:16 PM
London
An Indian-origin councillor has been elected as the mayor of populous Loughton town in the UK.
Philip Abraham has been serving as the deputy mayor for the last one year. He has taken over the role from previous mayor Carol Davis. Loughton is the most populous town in the Epping Forest District of Essex. The Mayor represents the town at civic occasions, as well as at events held by the town's schools, clubs and other community and charitable organisations.
"I am absolutely thrilled to have been elected as the mayor. I feel honoured to have been given the opportunity to serve the community as mayor," he said after the election. In the first meeting chaired by Abraham, councillor Stephen Murray, who is very well known in the community, was elected as the new deputy mayor.

Abraham, who represents the Alderton ward, was first elected to the council in 2012 and re-elected in 2016. He is supported by a non-political local organisation called Loughton Residents Association (LRA). The Kerala-born councillor is also very much involved with other Indian communities in the UK. He is the founder of UK-Kerala Business Forum and the co-founder of British South India Council of Commerce.
Twitter Facebook

8:29 PM
Dibrugarh
India's longest river bridge, capable of withstanding the weight of a 60-tonne battle tank, will be inaugurated in Assam close to the border with China on May 26 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
With the inauguration of the 9.15-km-long Dhola-Sadiya bridge over the Brahmaputra river, the prime minister will kick start the celebrations of the NDA government's three years in office from this eastern-most part of Assam.

The bridge is seen as an attempt by India to shore up its defence requirements along the Sino-Indian border particularly in the Northeast besides providing easy access to the people of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam with air and rail connectivity.

It is 3.55 km longer than the Bandra-Worli sea link in Mumbai, making it the longest bridge in India.

"The prime minister will dedicate the strategically important bridge to the nation on May 26. It will bolster the road connectivity in the Northeast as the bridge will be used by people of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh besides defence forces extensively," Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal told PTI.

The construction of the bridge began in 2011 at a project cost of Rs 950 crore. The design is such that the bridge can withstand the movement of military tanks.

"Assam and Arunachal Pradesh have huge strategic value to the country. Since the bridge is located close to our border with China, it will help quick movement of military troops and artillery in times of conflict," Sonowal said.

The bridge is located 540-km away from Assam capital Dispur and 300 km away from Arunachal Pradesh capital Itanagar. The aerial distance to the Chinese border is less than 100 km.

After Kaliabhomora bridge near Tezpur, there is no bridge over the Brahmaputra for the next 375 km upstream till Dhola, where the new bridge is constructed. Currently, all the transport between the two banks of the river are being carried out through water only.

The bridge, when opened for the public, will cut down the travel time between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh by as much as four hours.

As there is no civilian airport in Arunachal Pradesh, this bridge will help people of the state to reach the nearest rail head in Tinsukia and the airport in Dibrugarh easily.

Sonowal said the delayed works of the bridge was expedited after Modi assumed the charge in 2014. The bridge was originally scheduled to open in 2015.

The BJP government in Assam will complete one year in office on May 24. The bridge is one of the key projects of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in the Northeast and is built in public-private partnership with a construction company.
Twitter Facebook

5:18 PM
New Delhi
President Pranab Mukherjee attended the National Technology Day Celebrations in New Delhi. 
President said that scientific and technological developments are a key to any nation’s success. India is one of the top-ranking countries in the field of basic research. Indian science has progressed to become one of the most powerful instruments of knowledge. Yet in the wake of new demands of economic growth, it is necessary to embark on translating science and technology into developmental needs in all sectors such as infrastructure, agriculture, health, communication and education.

President said that disparity between haves and have-nots, urban and rural areas, and exclusion or marginalization of certain groups can give rise to social unrest. It is crucial that more technological innovations are geared towards eliminating these disparities and differences. In our endeavor for global excellence, not even a single citizen should be left behind. 
‘Technology for sustainable and inclusive growth’ is the need of the hour. And it is where all - innovators, technocrats, entrepreneurs and policymakers - have an important role to play. 
They have to ensure that science and technology does not remain confined to a select few sectors only. Progress and growth of the country will be sustainable only if development for all is the overarching goal. For that, we have to ensure that all strata of the society enjoy the benefits of technological innovation and scientific advancements equally.

President said that India is a land of rich diversity, with outstanding talent hidden away even in the remotest areas and minutest villages. Such potential needs to be discovered and nurtured. Our nation has been making steady progress towards increasing connectivity between far-flung regions and integrating people from all walks of life. It is essential that we continue to move forward in this direction and use technology to create stable employment opportunities, encourage entrepreneurship, and build growth models that allow for inclusion of women and the disadvantaged. This will lead to the empowerment of citizens, which is the hallmark of a strong nation.
Twitter Facebook

9:43 PM
New Delhi
The Supreme Court marked its first step towards becoming a paperless, digital court on Wednesday when Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the digital filing system in the presence of the Chief Justice of India.

The system will help litigants access data and retrieve information online about the filing, court feels, delays etc. Addressing at Vigyan Bhavan, Chief Justice of India, J. S. Khehar proposed to integrate the system with all the High courts and the subordinate courts. “

Also Read: AIFF website hacked, messages against India over Jadhav’s release posted
“All district and sub divisional courts across the country will be integrated. All the High Courts will be integrated with the Supreme Court by ICMIS software. Integration of all police stations across the country through proper infrastructures,” Khehar said. It will help usher transparency, reduce manipulation and help the litigant know about the progress of the case on a real time basis, he said.


“The moment you file the appeal in the Supreme Court, all the respective parties would be automatically informed. The moment you file the appeal in the Supreme Court the registry will tell you what the court fees is. The digitized paperbacks will go to the district courts, high court and Supreme Court,” he added.

The CJI further assured that nothing can be manipulated with this paperless system. “In digital documents, every part of the filing is being monitored. This is the system which will help litigants, lawyers in reducing the time.” Khehar said it will help the bar and not increase its workload.

“All litigants and concerned lawyers would log in to the website by using their user ID and password to track their case status. No third party would be able to use the system.”

Earlier in March, Khehar declared that the apex court will go almost paperless in six to seven months. “We will electronically pick up records from trial courts and high courts. There will be no need for appellants to file those records. The appeal just has to state the grounds on which the petitioner is challenging a judgment in the SC,” said the bench also comprising Justices D Y Chandrachud and Sanjay K Kaul.

Twitter Facebook

9:32 PM
New Delhi
The Netherlands on Tuesday came out in support of India's bid for a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), saying the country is a "prime candidate" if the premier global body were to expand.
Observing that to remain relevant, bodies such as the UNSC need to be fundamentally reformed, Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders said: "If the Security Council were to include additional permanent seats, then my country sees India of course as a prime candidate".

In an attempt to get the United Nations reform process moving, India and other G4 nations including Brazil, Germany and Japan recently said they were open to innovative ideas and willing to not exercise veto as permanent members of a reformed Security Council until a decision on it has been taken.

Addressing an interactive session organised by industry body CII here, he said the Netherlands too expects to be a non-permanent member of the UNSC next year.

Sharing his views on the situation in war-torn Syria, the Dutch Foreign Minister remarked: "I find especially the position of the Russian Federation as to its use of veto power even when there are chemical attacks unacceptable."

He said one can only have a functioning security council if there is legitimacy and effectiveness.

Russia vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that would have condemned the use of chemical weapons in Syria last month and called on the government there to cooperate with an investigation into the incident.

Russia, a permanent member of 15-nation Council, exercised the veto when a draft resolution drafted by France, the United Kingdom and the US was tabled in the UN.

While 10 of the UNSC's 15 members voted in favour, Russia rejected the text, as permanent member China, as well as non-permanent members Ethiopia and Kazakhstan abstained.

Twitter Facebook

12:56 PM
New Delhi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday greeted Emmanuel Macron for his ‘emphatic victory’ in the French Presidential election, adding that he looks forward to working with the President-elect. Pro European centrist leader Emmanuel Macron was elected as President of France last night.

The 39-year old former investment banker, who has never held elected office, became the youngest President and occupant of the Élysée Palace. Macron will also becomes the first President from outside the two traditional main parties since the modern republic’s foundation in 1958.

At a victory party outside the Louvre Museum in Paris yesterday, Macron said the country has sent an incredible message to itself, to Europe and the world, adding that he would “guarantee the unity of the nation and defend and protect Europe.”

Marine Le Pen, his far-right opponent in the Presidential runoff, quickly called Macron to concede her defeat after voters rejected her “French-first” nationalism by a large margin.

The French Interior Ministry said with 93 per cent of the votes counted, Macron had about 19.3 million votes, while Ms Le Pen secured about 10.4 million.
Twitter Facebook

9:08 AM
Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh said on Thursday that Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi has the potential to become the Prime Minister of the country adding that the time was also right for a generational change in the party.
The Punjab chief minister said he had always found the AICC vice president "extremely perceptive and decisive".

There was a "deliberate" attempt to undermine Rahul's image by calling him names and he has potential to become the Prime Minister of the country, Amarinder said.
The time was right for a generational change in the Congress to cater to the aspirations of the over 70 per cent youth population of the country, he said.

Referring to incidents along the LoC, the chief minister said while killings and skirmishes had been going on for long, the kind of brutality we see now was not there earlier.

Incidents like the recent mutilation of the bodies of two Indian jawans were understandably provoking the wrath of the people and the Indian Army needed to counter such acts effectively, he asserted.

However, striking a note of caution, he said that in the long term, both India and Pakistan needed to think about peace and the future of the coming generations.

The chief minister exuded confidence over the response by investors and industry to the change in dispensation in the state, saying his government had, in just six weeks, been able to build their confidence.

He endorsed his claim by adding that the Bathinda refinery was all set for a Rs 20,000 crore expansion.

Amarinder said his government had succeeded in creating the right enabling environment for the elimination of drugs, which were now becoming increasingly less available, as was evidenced in the spike in their prices.

The number of youth going to rehabilitation centres was another indication that his government had successfully broken the backbone of the drugs mafia, said the Chief Minister.

However it would be difficult to wean youth completely away from drugs without giving them employment, to which his government was committed, Amarinder said.

With 90 lakh youth in Punjab either unemployed or underemployed, his government was going all out with efforts to generate employment, he added.

Referring to the state of agriculture in Punjab, the Chief Minister said his government was working to encourage farmers, about 70 percent of whom were small farmers, to diversify and shift from paddy to high cash crops.

Such small farmers, with less than 5 acres each of land, could not survive imposition of taxes, he added referring to a suggestion by NITI Aayog member Bibek Debroy to tax farm income.

However NITI Aayog vice chairman Arvind Panagariya had said that the question of levying taxes from agricultural income does not arise.

Amarinder gave credit to the previous Akali government in the state for creating surplus power.

He however came down heavily on the Shiromani Akali Dal leadership for the huge debt they had left behind, leaving the Congress government with no money to pay salaries or for development.

The state government was working to improve education and health in the state, said Captain Amarinder, adding that without good schooling, higher education remained a problem, which was also reflected in the fact that Punjabis were not faring too well in competitive exams, including those for Army recruitment.

Without mincing words, Captain Amarinder once again repeated that Khalistani sympathisers sitting in Canada were misleading people with false information and he would not allow the peace and stability of Punjab to be destroyed by such elements at any cost.

The Chief Minister said while Punjabi language accorded due prominence, it was important also to promote English to enable the youth to find jobs in the competitive global market.

Twitter Facebook

8:45 PM
Haridwar (Uttarakhand) 
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday inaugurated the Patanjali Research Institute here in the presence of Yoga guru Baba Ramdev.

Taking to Twitter, Prime Minister Modi said, "Today, curiosity has arisen in the world about yoga. A new health policy has come out, which covers various aspects of good health and wellness."
Congratulating Baba Ramdev for popularising yoga across the country, he said, "By promoting yoga, Ramdev is serving the nation. I congratulate Ramdev for popularising yoga and bringing it to the people."
Prime Minister Modi also placed emphasis on ' Swach Bharat Abhiyaan'.

"Preventive healthcare needs to be stressed on. We all have to decide and pledge 'Mai gandagi nahin karunga (I will not live in an unclean and dirty environment)," said Modi.

The Prime Minister also visited Kedarnath to offer prayers at the sacred shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva. 
Twitter Facebook

8:59 PM
New Delhi
Condemning as "barbaric" the killing and mutilation of two Indian soldiers, Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Tuesday wondered if Union Minister Smriti Irani would now "gift bangles" to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as she had wanted to send to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after a similar killing in 2013.
During the Congress-led UPA rule in 2013, after a terror attack on Indian soldiers, Irani while addressing a public meeting had offered to send bangles to Manmohan Singh.

"We condemn in the strongest possible terms the barbaric attack by the Pakistanis and the mutilating of the bodies of two of our soldiers," the Congress spokesperson said, briefing mediapersons.

"During the UPA regime there was a woman MP (Smriti Irani) who said the Prime Minister should be gifted bangles. Will the same MP who is now a Minister send bangles to Prime Minister Narendra Modi?," Sibal asked.

He also said there should be a policy to tackle terrorism and the government should discuss it with the opposition. He said the BJP-led NDA government will have time to protect the borders "only if they have time to spare from election campaigns. What kind of a government is this that despite knowing that Pakistan will not change its ways, they invited the ISI to Pathankot," said Sibal, referring to the Pakistani team that went to Pathankot to probe the 2016 terror attack on an Indian airbase.

"In the last 35 months, 135 soldiers have died in Jammu and Kashmir. Who is responsible for this?" he asked.

"They said demonetisation will end terrorism, but terror attacks only increased after that. I remember when Hemraj was beheaded (in 2013) Sushmaji (External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj) said 'We should get 10 heads for one'...How many heads will they get for two?" Sibal wondered.

India on Tuesday blamed Pakistan for the killing and mutilation of the bodies of two Indian soldiers along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday.
Twitter Facebook

12:29 PM
triple talaq, triple talaq issue, Narendra Modi, PM Modi on triple talaq, Congress PM Modi, BJP, BJP triple talaq, Ghulam Nabi azad, Ghulam nabi azad PM Modi, Ghulam nabi azad triple talaq, india news, indian epxress news
New Delhi
The Congress on Saturday accused the Prime Minister and the BJP of politicising the triple talaq issue and even suggested that the saffron party was trying to drive a wedge between Muslim women and their husbands to create a new vote bank. Senior Congress spokesperson Ghulam Nabi Azad said no other political party except the BJP and its ideological mentor the RSS are trying to politicise the issue.
The Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha said no Muslim believes in triple talaq and the practice is adhered to as per the holy book in which certain norms and time-frame have been laid.
“When the society is already discussing this issue of triple talaq and the court is looking into it, then why is the BJP unnecessarily coming in between Muslim women and their Muslim husbands. The BJP should not make attempts at creating a new vote bank,” he told reporters.
Asked about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement today urging Muslims not to view the issue of triple talaq from political perspective, he alleged that it was the Prime Minister who was politicising the issue.
“He is the biggest champion of politicising the issue. He is the champion and he started it. And to say not to politicise it, is itself politicising it,” he said, adding that the Prime Minister should exercise restraint and rein in his partymen.
Azad asked if any other political party was seen raising the issue except BJP and RSS. He said if any other leader was saying so, it was only in response to what the BJP is saying.
“BJP leaders and the RSS have been making this a political agenda before and during the elections. This is the agenda of the BJP and the RSS to politicise it. Other parties have only responded,” he said.
Azad said he does not think any Muslim believes in misusing triple talaq as “it is against Shariyat, Quran and Islam”.
“BJP is politicising triple talaq. It is illegal, as it does not stand in religion or in the Quran. Talaq is a long drawn process and time frame has been given and Muslims go by it,” he said.

He said no Muslim believes in triple talaq in one go and added that for thousands of years, ills and infirmities in various religions have existed and are corrected with time. He also cited the social evil of Sati among Hindu women which have been eradicated over time.
“People have made many interpretations and there have been several changes. Whatever is good remains and others are removed,” he said.
Modi today urged Muslims not to view the triple talaq issue from a political perspective and expressed the confidence that efforts to end the practice would be led by “enlightened” members of the community.
At a function to mark the Basava Jayanti celebrations in honour of Kannada philosopher Basaveswara, Modi referred to the 12th century reformer’s movement against regressive practices to speak about triple talaq.

MKRdezign

Contact Form

Name

Email *

Message *

Powered by Blogger.
Javascript DisablePlease Enable Javascript To See All Widget