On December 18, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the farm laws were not proposed and passed by the government overnight. These bills were long demanded by many parties and progressive farmers and insisted that the Minimum Support Price be continued.

The oppositional parties are having problems not with the laws but with him, he added. The former governments had only promised to implement these demands but the central government actually delivered those promises. He accused them of misleading the farmers on MSP and the farm laws. 

In the video conference with the farmers in Madhya Pradesh, he stated that the opposition has always been manipulating the farmers for their votes. “People should seek replies from political parties who talked about agricultural reforms in their manifestos,” he added.

Approximately, Rs 16,000 crores were provided to the 35 lakh farmers in Madhya Pradesh. Many farmers are given the Kisan Credit Card only after reviewing their condition, which earlier was not looked after. Prime Minister claimed that the central government has changed the rules to make the credit card available to all the farmers. 

Chief Minister Shivraj said that new laws are passed with the intention of multiplying the income of the farmers. He also assured that the farmer mandis will not be closed. 

The Agriculture Minister, Tomar also assured that the MSP will not be touched while the mandi system will be strengthened. He also requested the protesting farmers to not get manipulated by the third party regarding the farm laws. 

Recently the farmer unions in the Delhi border said that they will be consulting lawyers on the case in the Supreme court before they take further decisions regarding the farm laws.

The agitating farmer unions at the Delhi borders on Thursday said that they will consult lawyers on the ongoing proceedings of the Supreme Court related to their protests against three farm laws before taking any decision. 

He also said that there are many farmer unions who are in support of the farm bills while some are confused about the farm laws. He added that it is their duty to clear the misconceptions of the farmers and fail the conspiracy of the third party. He negotiated with the farmers and told them that the new laws in no way are giving control to the corporates but it is in the farmer’s interest.

The central government is organising programmes like the Kisan Kalyan event at the district level, the blocks including the panchayat levels in the state. He also stated in the events, all the Standard Operating Procedures will be followed including the social distancing and cleanliness. 

In the national campaign organised by the central government, the BJP is viewing to spread awareness about the attempts of the opposition parties of misleading and misinforming the farmers in various situations whether it is the CAA, farm bills or the Article 370. 

Nitin Patel, Chief Minister of Gujarat believes, ‘the farmer protests in Delhi border against the three farmer bills are actually in support of the anti-national and terrorists including people who pro-China. 

The Prime Minister explained that tomorrow if a group of 50,000 people come on the streets protesting and demanding the government to abolish or alter a law, people would come asking for the government to repeal CAA, some thousand anti-nationals could also organise riots asking for the article 370 to be reimplemented. Why should the government bring back the repealed law?

In a country with 3 billion people, if thousands of people come together demanding the government to give Ladakh to China and Kashmir to Pakistan, would that be considered?

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It has recently come into light that the Indian Air Force Wing commander Abhinandan Varthaman who was captured by Pakistan on February 26 was released as Pakistan feared that India was ready to launch an attack on them.

Pakistan Muslim League-N leader Ayaz Sadiq said in the National Assembly that the foreign minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi knew India was ready to attack Pakistan and had begged for Varthaman’s release. 

He also claimed Qamar Javed Bajwa, the Army Chief General was shivering and sweating when the foreign ministers told them if they did not release Varthaman, India would launch an attack on Pakistan. 

On February 26, the Indian Air Force avenged the Pulwama attack in which 40 CRPF officers had died by bombing the Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist camps in Balakot, Pakistan. 

In the attack, the F-16 fighter was shot, the fighter had ejected the plane in Pakistan and was captured on February 27. But was later released on March 1. 

With regards to the admission, BJP Chief JP Nadda bashed the Congress when they had questioned the Balakot attack and all the decision taken by India against Pakistan sponsored terrorism. He also said that the Indian opposition will now believe in the strength and bravery of the soldiers of the ‘most trusted nation’. 

The Republic Media Network also confronted Fayyaz ul Hassan, Pakistan Minister who had not supported the government on the Pulwama attack. When the Information and Culture Minister of Punjab responded to the Indian media saying that they should be grateful to Pakistan for releasing Varthaman, it was a favour on India.’

While India confronted Pakistan and questioned, ‘if they considered Pulwama attack, killing 40 jawans a success? It is not courage but the insult of Pakistan in front of the world.’ The Republic media taunted Pakistan by mentioning their internal state conflicts, quoting, ‘you will run with your pantaloons.’ 

The current status reminds me of school fights as both the nations are indulged in blaming and confronting each other when they have more pressing matters in hand such as combatting Covid-19 pandemic.

It is now confirmed that Pakistan felt threatened by India as the foreign minister said in the meeting, ‘for god’s sake, let him go back now, India is attacking Pakistan at 9 pm in the night.’ 

While the PML-N leader underestimated India saying that they were not planning to attack but was a tactic to get Varthaman released.  

In the National assembly of Pakistan, Fawad Chaudhary, Science and Technology Minister admitted the hand of Pakistan in the Pulwama attack which killed 40 CRPF officers.

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On October 2, Amit Malviya, National head of BJP IT cell shared a video in which the mother of the victim of Hathras rape case gives her statement.

In the video, the mother said that they were cutting the grass when suddenly the victim was dragged into the field by ‘Sandeep’ who is from the same village. When he tried to strangle her, however, the mother does not mention the rape attempt.

The police had also denied the rape claims, stating that the forensic and the post-mortem reports revealed that the 19-year-old girl was not raped. The investigation team would probe in the conspiracy of pushing the state into the class conflict.

From a youtube source, there is another video of the statement of the victim. When she was admitted to the Safdarjung hospital in New Delhi, in her statement she said she accused ‘Sandeep’ who tried to choke her. She further elaborates that she was cutting the grass, he then took her away. When asked if they had an ongoing family conflict, her mother agreed. 

The investigation team has come up with medical reports to support the claim and the above-mentioned evidence validates it. These statements are not entirely invalid and cannot be overlooked.

The opposition and the media can be seen doing this for covering up the event and delaying justice to the family.

Amidst the growing political tension over the death of the victim of the Hathras gang-rape case, on 3 October, the Uttar Pradesh government has also recommended a CBI probe. The brother of Hathras rape victim stated that they do not want a CBI inquiry, the SIT is already investigating the matter. 

Earlier, the state government was not allowing politicians or journalists to meet the kin of the victim for which they have received a lot of flak by the people and opposition. They elaborated that their visit would affect the law and order of the state. However, the government have now cleared away the barriers permitting the media to meet the family. 

Permission of meeting the family has been granted to only five people from the congress party including Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as section 144 was imposed in Hathras and other districts during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Whereas Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in her statement ensures that they will fight against injustice, till justice is done. ‘No power can stifle the voice of the family’, challenged Rahul Gandhi. They demanded the suspension of the District Magistrate and a judicial inquiry through the supreme court.

Smriti Irani, Women and child development minister claimed that Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Hathras is a political ploy and he does not care about justice. Several media personnel also visited the village and the family told about the agony and grief of losing their daughter, who was raped by four men. 

The Additional Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh, Awasthi also visited the victim’s family on the directions of Yogi Adityanath. He assured that the SIT will address every complaint that has been raised and strict action will be taken against the attackers. After the SIT submitted its first report, five policemen were suspended. The government stated that all the police and family members will undergo narco and polygraph test to prove the accuracy of the facts. The SIT is yet to submit the final report on 14th October.

Today, the Congress party member, Rahul Gandhi tweeted that the behaviour of the police and the government with the family was unacceptable, started the hashtag ‘Hathrashorror’. His sister said that the state government is morally corrupt, did not react on time to the unfortunate incident and are now threatening the family to go through a narco test. 

Amid the self-claims of the rape attempt by the opposition and the media, it has become imperative to investigate the validity of the statements of the family and the police.

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More than 400 television news channels and the highly growing newspaper market driven by various regional languages have the second-highest number of internet users in the world. The journalism in Indian can appear to be vibrant and thriving, but over time the quality of journalism has grown fainter in the face of aggressive nationalism, a vigorous state and corporate power. The news outlets not only need financial stability but also legal support and greater credibility with their readership.

However, since the 2014 election won by the Narendra Modi led Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP, the journalism in India has faced an addition in the unkind climate. The journalists are now threatened, arrested or detained more frequently than ever. Some of the journalists who have spoken against the government or were known for their investigative work or criticism have been killed. They are also abused, trolled or even marginalized based on their religion.

https://mediaimpactfunders.org/corporate-and-political-power-diminishes-quality-journalism-in-india/

Journalism in India is going for a toss. The mainstream media is officially endowed in the hands of powerful people and hence do not question the authority about the actual issue. In the last few years, the media has lowered the quality of India’s public discourse. The expansion of media has shrunk the public sphere and has resulted in the spread of the elitist and socially conservative values.

Rebecca Mammen a criminal lawyer told, “The true test of a robust democracy is the independence, of its media. Over the past few years, our media has become the mouthpiece of the party in power. Coupled with the fact the corporate owners of media houses share close links with the government, the Indian media has tragically lost its voice.”

In 2007, the then Chief Minister of Gujrat and the current Prime Minister Narendra Modi was invited for an interview by Karan Thapar. Modi left the interview in the middle, as the questions asked by Thapar were too direct and Modi preferred not to answer them. Ever since then, the BJP had boycotted Thapar and no BJP minister has ever accepted the invitation for an interview by Thapar.

The Arnab Goswami led Republic TV, has been consistently focusing more on the denounced issues rather than the real ones. For instance, the Sushant Singh Rajput case, which began with an allegation on Rhea Chakraborty for murdering Sushant had now been diverted to mental issues, drugs and Kangan Ranawat. They have unstoppably spoken on issues that should be of least of our concerns citing the current scenarios. They have never questioned the BJP government for the -24% GDP, or that 42,480 farmers and migrants workers have committed suicide or even the loss in employment during this pandemic. The real issue today isn’t the ban on PubG or TikTok but is more about the 46 lakh Coronavirus cases and the Chinese Intrusion in our Country. Republic TV has always supported the BJP Government.

In recent events, Arnab Goswami has allegedly insulted the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray and has also violated the Indian Constitution by running a parallel court on the channel.

On Thursday, a letter warning all the major cable television operators was sent saying that if they don’t stop airing the channels immediately, they will have to face a protest. This letter was signed by the Sena MLA Sunil Raut brother of the party MP Sanjay Raut and the general secretary of the Shivcable Sena, Vijay Patil. The Chief Advisors of the Union are Raut and the Transport Minister Anil Parab. “The CM is a constitutional post and its disrespect would not be tolerated. Thackeray has asked us not to take the law into our hand. But in this case, the law is on our side,” said Patil.

The Shivcable Sena said the Republic TV has been breaking the ethical code of journalism and conducting media trials repeatedly. The letter further added, “Maharashtra is blessed with a great tradition of journalism. It is expected that journalists put people’s problems before the government to find a solution while staying within the code of ethics of journalism. Since some time now Arnab Goswami, the editor-in-chief of Republic TV has been violating this code and the Indian Constitution and running a parallel court on his channel.” Patil further added that any kind of defaming remarks against Thackeray would not be tolerated.

The Shivsena leader said that Goswami has made several derogatory remarks about CM Uddhav Thackeray in the past. “Goswami has similarly disrespected State Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, Sanjay Raut and the Mumbai Police and its chief,” Patil told in an interview. He moreover questioned, “Why should cable television operators here broadcast such news for the state and rest of Maharashtra?”

Nevertheless, on Friday, the Bombay High Court refused to meddle in this matter or to pass any orders on the plea submitted by the ARG Outlier Media Pvt. Ltd, which runs the Republic TV. The network had to pursue the court’s intercession in limiting cable television operators from taking the network’s channels down after receiving threats from Shivcable Sena.

The court discarded the plea by the Republic TV and said that they can come up with a plan to deal with the problem put before the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) and can approach the law enforcement agencies in respect of the threats by a private organization which is not a legal authority.

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Rajasthan elections delayed as a result of horse-trading.

By Madeeha Khan

The political game in Rajasthan has intensified a few days before the Rajya Sabha Elections. The Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Mr. Ashok Gehlot has accused the BJP to destabilize the government. He claimed that, “The Rajya Sabha elections were deliberately delayed by two months as they had not completed the buying and selling in Gujrat and Rajasthan.”

Rajasthan Assembly’s Chief Whip, Mahesh Joshi complaint in a letter to the Anti-Corruption Bureau, wrote, “I have come to know through reliable sources that attempts are being made to lure our MLAs and independent MLAs who support us, in order to destabilize the Government. It is against the spirit of the constitution and a condemnable act. Take actions against people who are indulging in such activities.”

The letter didn’t specify about anyone but BJP has felt violated. BJP spokesperson, Laxmikant Bhardwaj said, “These are baseless allegations on the world’s largest democratic party. Congress should provide some evidence otherwise they should be ready for legal actions. By doing so, they are not only provoking public sentiment but are trying to stamp out their failures.”

The Congress decided to shift its MLAs to Shiv Vilas resort in Jaipur, to keep them together and safe. Mr. Gehlot said that, “Horse-trading is done shamelessly and MLAs are being threatened in Madhya Pradesh. They are coming to Jaipur and we all are staying together.” He said that all this is being done on the basis of money power. “I have been repeatedly saying that a big scam is being run in the country in the name of electoral bonds. People are being looted by scaring them with the name of CBI and ED,” he added.

Mr. Gehlot met the Congress and other independent MLAs who are supporting them in the upcoming elections scheduled on 19^th June 2020. He said, “How long will you do politics by indulging in horse-trading? It will not be surprising if Congress gives them a jolt in the time to come. Public can understand everything. Today’s meeting was very fruitful. Everyone is united, we’ll meet again tomorrow,”

Three Rajya Sabha seats will go to the polls, two seats are likely to go to Congress. However, BJP has two candidates, Onkar Singh Lakhawat and the preference being Rajendra Gehlot. 51 votes are required to acquire 1 seat, the BJP has 72 MLAs and support of 3 RPL MLAs. The rest 24 votes will go to Lakhawat. On the other hand, the Congress has 107 MLAs including 6 who were elected on BSP tickets and they have 2 candidates- K.C. Venugopal and Neeraj Dangi.

The Chief Minister of Rajasthan states, “It is a reflection of the situation created by the BJP that after Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, MLAs from Gujrat are coming here. The BJP has created an atmosphere of terror in the country. Where is the democracy in the country? Horse-trading is being done openly. Why do MLAs from Gujrat want to come here….you can imagine… there is so much mental pressure. The entire country is watching this.” Rejecting these allegations the state BJP chief Satish Poonia told PTI, “It is surprising that those who played the game of horse-trading for 55 years are blaming BJP. They have their internal differences.”

Horse trading adversely affects the democracy of the nation. It makes a mockery of the democratic process and violates the constitutional values which are the foundation of democracy. In addition, it also breaks the trust of the citizens who had chosen a particular MLA or party.

The congress has lost its power over two big states, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh last year. Let’s see if they manage to come out victorious or the history will repeat itself.

Image Credits: Lokmarg.com

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Article by: Sanjeet Nigodia

While coming down to the end of 3^rdphase of Coronavirus induced national lockdown in the entire country, the matter of concern shifts to the decision making capability of authorities whether they have certain measures to be followed with strong lookout or will they just flow upon the decisions made by the centre followed by a timed speeches by the Prime minister? Whereas the real question remains unanswered what else other than revising the Lockdown releasing versions after version. The Question that rises here is how are we prepared to fight the stagnant economy as clearly there are daily wage workers who are unable to return to their natives. It would be foolish to expect for jobs or basic living is guaranteed. Working class people can be seen stuck. We have witnessed the recent figures in ongoing lockdown 3.0 which reflects the doubling trend day by day resulting into recorded 25000 new positive cases in a week along with the highest single day spike on 10^thof May with around 4300 positive cases and 198 deaths in a day. These figures demands the outlined plans and policies to be followed by the government post lockdown 3.0 which government actually refused to share in the previous case scenarios and withhold the same till the last hours of its implementations. This was a grave failure resulting into inability to protect the most vulnerable sections such as migrant labourers and workers leaving them to die due to hunger on road side accidents on their way back to town walking without any conveyance allowed or provided to them. This calls for the early plans without further delay or leave it all to further consequences.

People of India are meant to be the shareholders of the country as they all put in their stake in the welfare of state via tax they pay be it direct or indirect. They are also entitled to know the strategy of the power in advance atleast in these hard times to prepare themselves for the upcoming steps from the government. Otherwise, it results in, as we witnessed the ruckus created due to the decision of entire lockdown of the country with just four hours prior notice.

The government’s current struggle to achieve the balance is a consequence of previous blunders, which began with a four-hour notice for a national lockdown, according to a report by BBC and PM later was seeking forgiveness. Instead a plan could have been suggested for the stranding migrant workers nationwide with and without out jobs, money and eventually food. Despite claims made to the Supreme Court that a couple of million workers were being cared for, Modi outsourced moral responsibility, asking India’s people to “look after” those in need. 

In the absence of jobs, food and transport services, thousands of weary migrant workers, who once powered India’s economy, continue epic journeys home on cycle or on foot, over hundreds, even 1000 kms or more. Some drop dead of exhaustion or illness, either on the way or, tragically, after reaching home. One group was mowed down while sleeping on rail tracks they thought was empty of trains.

No trains or buses were organised for workers who wanted to return home but either could not or were not allowed to. The first trains started running after 40 days of pointless inaction, during which time workers in crowded accommodation risked infection, which they might carry to relatively unscathed rural India – up to 80% of positive cases are from urban areas. In Karnataka, the Bharatiya Janata Party government cancelled the trains, after real-estate companies complained there would be no workers, just when construction was about to restart. After a storm of criticism, the decision was rescinded. 

Style over substance has been the trend of current ruling party by lighting of candles to switching on the phone flash lights. A virus may not provide advance notice before striking. In this case, India did get early warning but did not do enough. Despite warnings from its top medical research body that a lockdown alone would, at best, reduce peak infections on a given ay by 40%, Modi’s government ignored for a month all the advice from the Indian Council of Medical Research to urgently launch other interventions. It included door-to-door supplies of food and other essentials to the poor; district-wise infection monitoring; “fast reporting” to identify and quarantine infective clusters; mass quarantines for those in densely populated areas; and a rapid increase in hospital beds and intensive-care unit.

PM has even urged employers “to be kind” and pay their employee as a matter of fact in a industry of freelancers or contract basis workers such as artists, film industry also on of the biggest is under great loss that has been paying great entertainment taxes, but the government has done nothing, but requested the company owners to be kind. Really? – On the other hand trying to bring economy back liquor sales has been allowed and shown great collection in revenue but people have brutally by passed all the laws of social distancing, 70% hike in liquor price by Delhi government. What a great move ‘Special Corona Fee’ people have added their best mental and physical efforts in failing the fight against the corona.

India’s 53-days lockdown, extended in varying measures, was among the world’s toughest, it hasn’t flattened the curve, contrary to government claims, one of which said there would be no new cases by May 16. “What we are seeing is that the cases are increasing at a linear pace,” the director of India’s premier medical institution, Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences(AIIMS), Dr. Randeep Guleria told this week that “The major problem right now is that we are not seeing a declining trend [as in Italy or China].”

Meanwhile, Modi’s government is pushing ahead with a grandiose Rs 20,000-crore project to build a new parliament building and redesign New Delhi’s Central Vista (instead, the Rajya Sabha announced spending cuts – of Rs 80 crore). In easier times, emotion and grand political statements may distract voters and pay handsome electoral dividends. In a crisis, they are noticeably poor substitutes for governance, subject as they are to diminishing returns and administrative anarchy.

It is really high time for government to figure out the priorities. This is not the right time to have a blame game but just to keep things into notice that rather taking actions regarding fight against pandemic, everyone at power were busy taking Mr. Shivraj Singh Chauhan to the hot seat of State of Madhya Pradesh. Finally, they have reached to the goal too but by then it was too late and Pandemic had already established its foots in the country enormously. There are several foolish calls by centre in these hard times to have a blame game but as stated this is not the time to act foolish. Instead center is required to set their priorities and take actions consequently keeping Republic of India at first then their party seekings.

Results have proven that the lockdown was merely stolen tempting during which the government should have increased the testing capacity and improved health infrastructure. None of which actually happened. All and all, what can be easily extrapolated that the government is seemingly clueless to figure out what is happening and what will happen. This is to urge “Saheb” to take proactive steps and announce the post lockdown plan soon to deal with the inevitable consequences in current scenario without further delay.

The post The ‘Corona stay’ is equally in the Hands of government as ours appeared first on Maverick Times.

By: Talat Mohsin

West Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh, knows for being boisterous, is again in news for his statements. And this time, his statements have crossed all borders of sensibility. At a program held in Burdwan district, Ghosh laid down his views on eating beef, and on Indian cows and foreign cows!

Talking about the pale yellow color of the cow milk, the BJP chief said-“A feature of the Indian cows is that its milk contains gold. That is the reason the color of the milk is yellowish. He justified his thoughts, further adding-“The Indian cows have humps, which the foreign cows don’t have. The foreign cow has a straight back, like a buffalo. The hump has an artery called ‘swarnanari’(gold artery). When sunlight falls on it, gold is made. So the mixture turns yellow or golden.”

He further gave his wisdom on the topic of ‘foreign cows’, saying, “The breeds of the cow that we bring from abroad are not cows. They are a kind of ‘janwar’ (beast). These foreign breeds don’t sound like cows. Those are not are ‘gaumata’ but are ‘aunties’.”

He also scattered his pearls of wisdom about the people who eat beef in India, “A few intellectuals eat beef on road. I tell them, why only cows, eat dog meat too, their health will be fine whichever animal they eat, but why on roads? Eat inside your home.” He also added, “The cow is our mother, we stay alive by consuming cow milk. So if anyone misbehaves with my mother, I will treat them the way they should be treated. On the holy soil of India, killing cows and consuming beef is a ‘maha apradh’ (grave crime).

Twitterati’s had a field day making memes and jokes out of Ghosh’s statement. Take a look.

BJP leader Dilip Ghosh says Cow milk contains Gold. Waiting for another BJP leader to say ‘Cow milk contains Petrol.

— Rehu Babu (@RRehuu2) November 5, 2019

WB BJP President Dilip Ghosh says- Desi cow milk contains gold & that is why it's yellowish. Cow's navel produces gold with the help of sunlight.

"How's the Ghosh?"

"High, sir!"

— PuNsTeR™ (@Pun_Starr) November 5, 2019

Dilip Ghosh is right foreign cows Aunties n foreign Bulls uncle

— Intekhab Alam (@Bhola4U) November 5, 2019

I want Dilip Ghosh to replace finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman Ji. Only Dilip Ghosh can save Indian economy now by starting production of Gold from Cow milk.

— St. Sinner (@retheeshraj10) November 5, 2019

Mother Dairy Jewelers, in a showroon near you!!!

— Sarthak Goswami (@SarthakGoswamii) November 5, 2019

Kal se "O Dhudhwaale Bhaiyaa, 2 Tola Gai ka Gold Dena"🤣🤣

— Sarcasm™ (@SarcasticRofl) November 5, 2019

@rockyandmayur pls note !! You can do an entire episode on this.. maybe bappi lahiri has gained weight by eating this gold cow ghee all these years !!

— Nishant Agrawal (@nbagarwal) November 5, 2019

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By Talat Mohsin

Former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley died at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi on 24 August. He was 66. Jaitley is survived by his wife Sangeeta and their two children.

Jaitley was suffering from various ailments for the past few years. He was admitted in AIIMS on August 9 after he complained of breathlessness and restlessness. A multi disciplinary team of doctors was monitoring his conditions including endocrinologists, cardiologists and nephrologists.

Jaitley was considered to be one of India’s best lawyers. He was one of the few leaders who were arrested in the emergency that was declared under the Indira Gandhi government. He was a student leader at that time. He joined active politics soon after coming out of jail.

He was also a minister in the Vajpayee government. He was the leader when the BJP sat in opposition in the Lok Sabha from 2009 to 2014.

Jaitley became the finance minister when the Narendra Modi led BJP government came to power in 2014. For a brief period he also held the offices for defence and information & technology ministries. After the Modi government returned to power , he wrote to the PM that he would like to stay way from any responsibility on account of his ill health.

He will be cremated on Sunday at the Nigambodh Ghat, BJP leader Sudhanshu Mittal said, according to the reports in PTI. After all the formalities will be completed in the hospital, his body will be taken to his Kailash Colony residence. On Sunday morning, the body will be taken to the BJP headquarters to let leaders pay their last respects. From there, it’ll be taken to the ghat for the last rites.

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Former Foreign Minister and BJP stalwart, Sushma Swaraj dies due to heart attack. She was 67 years old.

She was admitted to AIIMS earlier today. She was the first woman external affairs minister of India.

The 67-year-old leader, who had served her fourth term in Lok Sabha had long been her party’s most prominent woman face. She was the youngest cabinet minister at 25 when she joined the Haryana government in 1977 and the first woman chief minister of Delhi.

Swaraj served as the Minister of External Affairs of India from 26 May 2014 to 30 May 2019. She was elected seven times as a member of parliament and three times as a member of the legislative assembly.

In a tweet, Swaraj had thanked Prime Minister for everything and also expressed her delight in seeing the passage of the bill to reorganise Jammu and Kashmir. “Thank you Prime Minister. Thank you very much. I was waiting to see this day in my lifetime,” she said.

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A potential rising tension emerged when President of the United States of American stated that Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India wants him to meditate on the Kashmir issue which has seen struggling for 70 years as quoted by Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan.

India went into a zone of the maze when Trump on Monday claimed in front of Pakistan PM Imran Khan stating- “I was with Prime Minister Modi two weeks ago and we talked about this subject and he actually said, ‘Would you like to be a mediator or arbitrator?’ I said, ‘Where?’ He said, ‘Kashmir’. Because this has been going on for many, many years.’

Brad Sherman, the Democrat leader in the House of Representatives stated “ Everyone who knows anything about foreign policy in South Asia knows that India consistently opposes third-party mediation re Kashmir (sic). Everyone knows PM Modi would never suggest such a thing. Trump’s statement is amateurish and delusional.”

The Indian foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar denies any kind of statement made by the PM of India. He stated- “ It has been India’s consistent position that all outstanding issues with Pakistan are discussed only bilaterally.”

The opposition party in India is demanding a statement from the Modi to clarify the remark made by Trump on air. This is not the first time a third party is offering service to be a mediator in the Kashmir issue though India has maintained the Kashmir issue as a bilateral one and no third party has any role. The external affairs minister said- “I would like to reiterate that India’s position is that all issues with Pakistan will be discussed only bilaterally, and no third party will be involved in mediation. Any engagement with Pakistan would require an end to cross-border terrorism.”

United States Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley told reporters of India Today- “It’s absolutely right that this administration is concerned about the relationship between India and Pakistan and very much wants to see how we de-escalate any sort of conflict going forward.”

“So I would expect that the administration is in going to be in talks and try and find its place to be a part of that and we don’t think we should wait till something happens. We very much think that we should be proactive in the way that we are seeing tensions rise and conflicts start to bubble up and so we want to see if we can be a part of that,” Nikki added.

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