Jairam Ramesh alleged that the Prime Minister gave a clean chit to the Chinese weakening the negotiation position of India….reports Asian Lite News
After Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar triggered controversy over his “alleged invasion” remark on the 1962 India-China war, Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday said that the latter has apologized and the party distances itself from his original phraseology.
Jairam also attacked PM Modi over his statement on the 2020 India-China face-off in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley saying that the Prime Minister gave a clean chit to the Chinese weakening the negotiation position of India.
In a post on X, Jairam said, “Mr Mani Shankar Aiyar has subsequently apologised unreservedly for using the term “alleged invasion” mistakenly. Allowances must be made for his age. The INC distances itself from his original phraseology. The Chinese invasion of India that began on October 20, 1962, was for REAL. So too were the Chinese incursions in Ladakh in early May 2020 in which 20 of our soldiers were martyred and the status quo disturbed.”
“The outgoing PM, however, gave a clean chit publicly to the Chinese on June 19th, 2020, seriously weakening our negotiating position. 2000 sq km of territory including Depsang and Demchok remain out of bounds for Indian troops,” Jairam Ramesh added.
The 1962 Indo-China War took place between October and November of 1962. The Chinese troops attacked across the ‘MacMohan line’ and captured the Aksai Chin region which belongs to India.
Addressing the press conference on Tuesday, Mani Shankar Aiyar said, “In October 1962, the Chinese allegedly invaded India.”
Earlier this month, the Congress leader courted controversy after an interview clip of his went viral, wherein he could be heard saying that Pakistan is a “respected nation” that also possesses an atom bomb so India must enter into a dialogue with them.
He further said there have been “no efforts” from India to “reach out” to Pakistan in the last ten years. (ANI)
On opposition unity, he said all 28 parties were together up to December 19 “but Nitish Kumar did a somersault and Mamata Banerjee decided to be Mamata Banerjee. These are the two things that have happened”…reports Asian Lite News
The INDIA bloc is intact despite Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s “somersault” and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee deciding to be Mamata Banerjee, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has said, rejecting as “hollow” Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pitch against the opposition on corruption.
Ramesh also said the opposition will unitedly cross the halfway mark of 272 in the elections and oust the BJP from power.
He spoke on a range of issues including electoral bonds, the arrests of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and JMM leader Hemant Soren, who resigned as Jharkhand CM, and also addressed speculations around Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra potentially contesting the Lok Sabha polls from Amethi and Raebareli, respectively.
“Look at the way the electoral bonds scheme has worked. Rs 4,000-crore of bonds are directly linked with Rs 4-lakh crore of contracts. There is a clear correlation between the electoral bonds and the award of contracts,” Ramesh said, claiming that a BJP MP buys electoral bonds after getting infrastructure contracts.
He said they have evidence that bonds worth Rs 4,000 crores purchased by several companies in favour of the BJP are directly linked to the award of contracts and action initiated by central agencies against them, he said.
“To say that Mr Modi is going to take the corruption plank and use Hemant Soren and Arvind Kejriwal as examples that he is fighting corruption is absolutely a bogus argument. Look at the electoral bonds saga, it is a complete case of quid pro quo,” the Congress leader said.
“There is ample evidence to show that the corruption is a ‘khokhla (hollow) plank’ as far as Mr Modi is concerned.”
On opposition unity, he said all 28 parties were together up to December 19 “but Nitish Kumar did a somersault and Mamata Banerjee decided to be Mamata Banerjee. These are the two things that have happened”.
“The fact that Nitish Kumar is not part of the INDIA bloc does not mean that the INDIA bloc has collapsed,” Ramesh said, asserting the opposition will certainly cross the halfway mark. “Yes, I’m sure that it will add up to 272.”
Asked if the INDIA bloc bubble has burst, he said, “No, no. Where has it burst?”
The alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party is intact as is the tie-up with the NCP, Shiv Sena, the DMK and JMM, the Congress leader asserted. “Our alliance with CPM and CPI is going to be finalised in West Bengal. We have an 11-party alliance in Assam and we have an alliance with the Samajwadi Party.”
“Mamata Banerjee has said that she is part of the INDIA bloc. She is not seat-sharing with us, but she is very much part of the INDIA bloc,” he said.
On how Kejriwal’s arrest would impact the opposition, especially as the PM making corruption an issue using the cases of the Delhi CM and Hemant Soren, Ramesh said, “‘Chanda do, dhanda lo (quid pro quo)’ is becoming obvious, after the electoral bonds issue”.
“It is true that Mr Modi will use this Hemant Soren and Kejriwal cases to say that he is cleaning up the system, but he has not cleaned up the system. Evidence shows, this is completely to the contrary,” Ramesh asserted.
On opposition parties, including the Congress, also getting donation worth crores of rupees through electoral bonds, he said they do not have central probe agencies and cannot grant central contracts to companies.
“There is clear evidence that we have put out which shows there are 30 companies against whom ED and CBI was used and Rs 330-crore worth donations came through these 30 companies,” he said.
Cong MP Naveen Jindal joins BJP
Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, industrialist and former Congress leader Naveen Jindal joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday, soon after resigning from the grand old party.
The BJP which released its 5th list of candidates for the Lok Sabha elections, fielded Jindal from Haryana’s Kurukshetra constituency, a parliamentary seat already represented by the leader from 2004-2014.
Jindal represented the Kurukshetra constituency in the Lok Sabha for two terms (2004-2014). However, he lost to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Raj Kumar Saini in the 2014 national elections and was not fielded by the Congress in 2019.
New Delhi, Mar 24 (ANI): Industrialist and former Congress MP Naveen Jindal being welcomed into the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) partyfold by party General Secretary Vinod Tawde as he joins the Party, in New Delhi on Sunday. (ANI Photo)
Jindal, Chairman of Jindal Steel and Power, said that he wants to contribute to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s agenda of ‘Viksit Bharat’.
“Today is a very important day of my life. I am proud that I joined the BJP today and I will be able to serve the nation under the leadership of PM Modi. I want to contribute to the ‘Viksit Bharat’ dream of PM Modi…” he said.
Speaking to ANI, Jindal said that he would work towards making the lives of people better under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“It is a matter of fortune for me that BJP has given me this opportunity. Today, on the auspicious occasion of Holi, my aim is to bring more happiness to the country. We will work towards making the lives of people better under the leadership of PM Modi. I have full confidence that we are all trying to make our India a developed India and we will get success in it. Whatever responsibility the BJP will give me; I will fulfil that responsibility well,” he said.
Jindal, however, said his resignation from the Congress would not make any difference to the party as he was not active in politics.
“I have been with Congress for the last 10 years. I was not active in the party, I have not attended any of their programs in the last 10 years and I have been completely separated from any political party for the last 10 years. I was only focused on my work, social work, and university. So I don’t think that my resignation will make any difference to them (Congress) because I neither had any charge there nor was I ever an official of any kind in the party. It’s been 10 years since I was there, I fulfilled my responsibilities there and for the last 10 years, I have been completely away from the Congress Party. I am not active in any way, so I don’t think it will make any difference to them,” he added.
He further said, “Now that I am coming into political life and I have joined the BJP, so now by following the policies of the BJP, we all together will try to build the India of our dreams.”
Jindal on Sunday announced his resignation from the party.
“I represented the Congress Party in Parliament as MP from Kurukshetra for 10 years. I thank the Congress leadership and the then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh Ji. Today I am resigning from the primary membership of the Congress Party,” Jindal posted on X. (ANI)
Congress’ Jairam Ramesh pointed out that the Narendra Modi government by allowing cheap imports makes exports of agricultural products more difficult for famers…reports Asian Lite News
Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh listed out some major failures of the BJP government’s policies on agriculture which he described as “most harmful” and “self-evident”.
“Of all the various failures of the Modi Government, the sheer incompetence and maliciousness of the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare is among the most harmful and self-evident,” the senior Congress leader said in a post on ‘X’.
Describing the Goods and Services Tax (GST) to be “extortionate”, Ramesh said that the exorbitant GST rates pose a burden for farmers as it increases the rate of agriculture inputs like tractors and fertilizers.
“The design of the GST has been completely anti-farmer. Due to GST, nearly every input a farmer requires has gone up in price…under GST, the tax rate on tractors has been increased to 12%, while GST on tractor tyres is at 18% and spare parts at 28%. Meanwhile, fertilizer has been taxed at 5% under GST, in addition to high GST on fertilizer inputs like ammonia, at 18%…,” the Congress leader said.
Ramesh also pointed out that the Narendra Modi government by allowing cheap imports makes exports of agricultural products more difficult for famers.
“This hurts India’s farmers deeply – they are not only not getting fair market prices for their produce, but unpredictable export bans mean they cannot plan their crops properly,” he said.
The senior Congress leader also pointed out that over Rs 1 lakh crore allocated to the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has been “surrendered” after non-utilisation.
Ramesh also debunked Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s promise to “double farmers’ income” between 2016 and 2022, saying that to achieve this target, farmer incomes would have to grow by over 12 per cent each year for all six years.
“…as per the latest NSSO SAS report, real farm income grew just 2.8% per year from 2015-16 to 2018-19,” the Congress General Secretary pointed out.
Pointing out the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government’s inadequate increases of Minimum Support Price (MSP) for farmers and non-implementation of Swaminathan Commission Report, Ramesh said, “While the UPA raised MSP in wheat by 119% and paddy by 134%, the Modi Government has raised it by just 47% and 50% respectively.”
On PM Modi’s failed attempts at crop diversification, Ramesh said that the farm area under paddy has increased by two million hectares since 2014 and the farm area under millets has decreased by three million hectares since 2014.
Highlighting the country’s dependence on imports for edible oils, the senior Congress leader said that though more than 56 per cent of edible oils come from imports, since 2014, the production of oilseeds has grown at just 1.8 per cent per year.
Elaborating on the rising indebtedness of farmers and farmer suicides, Ramesh said, “First, farmer debt has skyrocketed. Since 2013, outstanding loans have grown by 58%, as per the NSSO. Over half of our farmers are in debt. Second, since 2014, we have seen over 1 lakh farmers die by suicide.”
Speaking about the Kisaan Nyay guarantees announced by the Congress, Ramesh said that his party promises legal guarantee of MSP at Swaminathan formula, standing Loan waiver Commission for farmers, guaranteed insurance payment within 30 days of crop loss, stable import-export policy to benefit farmers and no GST on inputs for farming. (ANI)
Pappu Yadav Merges Jan Adhikar Party With Congress
Jan Adhikar Party chief Pappu Yadav on Wednesday merged his party with the Congress at the Congress headquarters in Delhi ahead of Lok Sabha elections 2024.
During this, he was accompanied by his son, Sarthak Ranjan and other party leaders as he announced his decision at the AICC headquarters. Mohan Prakash, in charge of Congress affairs in Bihar, was also present.
“Since my childhood, I’ve seen Mohan Prakash Ji struggle and I’ve received his blessings all my life. He used to have a strong voice back then and now he is an ideological influence for me. We have always related to the Congress ideology,” he said at a press conference.
The former MP also praised Rahul Gandhi for his yatras (Bharat Jodo Yatra and Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra), and attributed him as one the most strenuous person he has seen.
“He is one of the most strenuous people I have ever seen, in a time when everything happens on a tweet, he walked 6,000 km in minus temperature wearing just a t-shirt and fighting against the world’s biggest dictator,” he said.
Getting his and Priyanka Gandhi’s trust, and blessing is enough for me in Congress,” he added.
Bihar will see polling in seven phases. The first phase of polling will be held on April 19, the second phase on April 26, the third phase on May 7, the fourth phase on May 13, the fifth phase on May 20, the sixth phase on May 25, and the seventh phase on June 1.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the NDA, consisting of BJP, JDU ( (Janata Dal-United), and LJP (Lok Janshakti Party), secured victory by taking the lead on 39 out of 40 seats. Meanwhile, the Mahagathbandhan, led by RJD (Rashtriya Janata Dal), INC (Indian National Congress), and RLSP (Rashtriya Lok Samta Party), only managed to secure one seat.
The Lok Sabha Elections 2024 will be held in seven phases from April 19. Counting of votes on June 4. (ANI)
