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For Rajdeep Sardesai, Congress calling Yogi Adityanath ‘Ajay Bisht’ is fine, but he sees red when Sonia is called Antonia Maino

OpIndia Staff
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For Rajdeep Sardesai, Congress calling Yogi Adityanath ‘Ajay Bisht’ is fine, but he sees red when Sonia is called Antonia Maino

‘Journalist’ Rajdeep Sardesai, who had once asked tough questions to Sonia Gandhi in an interview, has time and again proved how loyal he is to the Congress party and to the first family of the party. In his attempt to defend the political faux pas of the Gandhi family, Rajdeep Sardesai has often exposed his prejudice.

In a similar instance, Rajdeep Sardesai was caught while trying to defend the Gandhi Parivar, especially the Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi on his show.

On Wednesday, Rajdeep Sardesai telecast a debate to bury the political controversy around the fake list of buses of Priyanka Gandhi and tried to pin blame on the Yogi Adityanath for the political gameplay of the Gandhi-scion gone wrong. However, Rajdeep Sardesai, in a hurry to protect Sonia Gandhi was exposed for his inherent political bias.

The show moderated by Rajdeep Sardesai was titled, “Has UP Govt Scored A Self-Goal By Denying Buses For Migrants?”.

During the entire debate, Rajdeep Sardesai kept interrupting Bhatia, after the lawyer-turned-BJP spokesperson debunked all the claims made by former Congress MP Sushmita Dev. Rajdeep Sardesai, while allowing the Congress MP to make controversial claims without any interference, questioned Gaurav Bhatia to target the UP government’s handling of migrant crisis despite Bhatia was presenting all the facts in his show.

Perhaps, irritated by the facts pointed out by the BJP Spokesperson, Rajdeep Sardesai kept trying to intimidate Gaurav Bhatia and almost began to defend the Congress party better than party’s spokesperson Sushmita Dev.

At around 16th minute into the debate, the Congress spokesperson Sushmita Dev, who looked agitated, began to hurl personal attacks against Uttar Pradesh government Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Calling Yogi Adityanath as ‘Ajay Bisht’, his birth name before he took Sanyas, Sushmita Dev brazened it out during the show.

Shockingly, Rajdeep Sardesai remained silent deliberately and did not stop her from referring to Yogi Adityanath by his past name. In Hindu culture, it is a sense of respect for fellow Hindus to abstain from referring to saints, sadhus and sanyasis by their pre-sanyas names. However, Rajdeep Sardesai was seen enjoying the name calling of UP Chief Minister and did not challenge the Congress spokesperson.

Two minutes later, at around 17:50 minutes into the show, BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia too referred to Sonia Gandhi by her maiden name ‘Antonia Maino’. As Bhatia referred Sonia Gandhi to her original name ‘Antonia Maino’, Rajdeep Sardesai saw red and instantly took offence to Bhatia’s words.

“Why bring in Antonia Maino? why this dog whistle? What this has to do with the debate?,” a blabbering Rajdeep Sardesai put out series of questions to Gaurav Bhatia as soon as the BJP spokesperson deliberately took out the real name of Sonia Gandhi in the show to check the reaction of Rajdeep Sardesai.

Gaurav Bhatia, also immediately explained on the need of taking Sonia Gandhi’s real name in the show and exposed how Rajdeep Sardesai kept silence when the same trick was used by Congress spokesperson to refer Yogi Adityanath as ‘Ajay Bisht’. He also said that how the name of ‘Antonia Maino’ was close to Rajdeep Sardesai.

Most importantly, soon after exposing Rajdeep Sardesai his pro-Congress affinity, respectfully referred to Sonia Gandhi with her current name and also highlighted the need of using her original name in the show.

PM Modi announces Rs 1,000 crore ‘advance assistance’ to West Bengal in Mamata Banerjee’s presence, CM lies, says ‘no clarity’

Jinit Jain
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PM Modi announces Rs 1,000 crore ‘advance assistance’ to West Bengal in Mamata Banerjee’s presence, CM lies, says ‘no clarity’

PM Modi along with Mamata Banerjee today conducted an aerial survey of the devastation wrought by the super cyclone Amphan over large swathes of West Bengal before landing near a school in Basirhat, 50 Kms from Kolkata airport, where he held a review meeting with the West Bengal chief minister and other officials. Following the review meeting, PM Modi announced through a video message advanced interim assistance of Rs 1,000 crore for the cyclone-hit West Bengal.

However, shortly after the meeting concluded, the West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, while talking to the press, claimed that the PM Modi has only assured of financial assistance and there was no clarity as to whether it would be advanced assistance or a package of some sort.

While PM Modi said in clear and lucid terms that the centre will be extending an “advance assistance” of Rs 1000 crore for West Bengal to cope with the devastation caused by the cyclone, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee appeared to deliberately muddle the discourse by claiming that there was no clarity on the announcement made by the Prime Minister.

Here’s the announcement made by PM Modi in which explicitly mentions that the centre will be providing an “advance assistance” of Rs 1000 crore to the West Bengal government to help them tide over the destruction caused by the cyclone.

At 4:15 into the above video, PM Modi says, “The Indian government will provide an advance financial assistance of Rs 1000 crore to the West Bengal government to help in the restoration, reconstruction and rehabilitation of the state hit by the cyclone. Rs. 2 lakh would be given to the next of kin of the persons deceased and Rs 50,000 each to the persons who got seriously injured.”

It is also pertinent to note that West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee was seated just some distance away from PM Modi during his briefing and can be seen in the above video as well, implying that the announcements made by PM Modi in his briefing were entirely audible to her.

In fact, shortly after PM Modi announced in his video message that the central government will provide an advance aid of Rs 1000 crore to the West Bengal government, the same was also communicated through the official Twitter handle of the PMO India.

“Rs. 1000 crore advance assurance will be given to West Bengal, ” the official PMO India handle tweeted.

However, despite PM Modi’s explicit reference to proving advance assistance to West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed in a press briefing after the meeting with PM Modi that there is obscurity on the financial aid announced by the Prime Minister and she was not sure whether it was advance or a part of a package or something else.

At 2:03 into the above video, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee while addressing press questions says, “Prime Minister Modi announced Rs 1000 crore from the emergency fund to provide interim relief to West Bengal but he did not expressly clarify whether it would be advance or a package. He said that we will discuss later on, then he said maybe advance also.”

Despite PM Modi clearly and unambiguously declaring that Rs 1000 crore will be provided to the West Bengal government, the cyclone crisis along with the looming threat posed by the coronavirus outbreak did not deter West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee from playing her petty politics against the central government. By alleging that there was no clarity on the economic assistance provided by the central government, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee attempted to cast the Modi government in an unprepossessing light, apathetic to the plight of victims of the cyclone.

As Priyanka Gandhi writes to UP CM asking to waiver electricity bill, Congress govt in Rajasthan charges penalty for late payment

OpIndia Staff
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As Priyanka Gandhi writes to UP CM asking to waiver electricity bill, Congress govt in Rajasthan charges penalty for late payment

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi had recently written to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, seeking a slew of relief measures for the poor and the middle class amid the coronavirus pandemic. Besides asking Yogi Adityanath to waive the interest on home loans availed by the poor and middle class, the Congress senior leader, in her letter dated May 14, also requested the chief minister to waive off power bills of poor farmers and of small and medium industries which she said were the backbone of the state’s economy.

She noted that every section of society has been badly affected due to coronavirus and it is important for the government to help them. But, sadly the Congress missed out on showing similar compassion for the distraught in its own ruled state. The dichotomy in the views of Congress central leadership and Rajasthan state unit only suggests that Congress’ aim is to confuse the masses and play politics over the misery of the people.

Today the Jaipur Discom, a public sector undertaking, has issued directives which specify that the consumers who did not pay their electricity bill for the last three months would need to clear the bills by May 31st. The department, under the Congress government, would not only charge a penalty of 2 per cent on the 3 months outstanding bill but has instructed the authorities to also start cutting off the electric connections in the first week of June for those who do not clear the outstanding amount by May 31.

The managing director of Jaipur Discom, AK Gupta noted that the domestic and household and industrial category consumers who spend more than 150 units of electricity in the city will also have to pay late fees. He cleared that the users were given an extension until May 31, but the bill was not waivered for these consumers.

Only consumers with less than 150 units of monthly consumption till May 31 were given exemption to not submit the bill, said Gupta.

Congress in Rajasthan increased electricity bill by 25 percent as compared to February

It is also pertinent to note here that the Rajasthan Government had revised the power tariff. As compared to February consumers are having to pay at least 25 per cent more in April and May.

Amid the lockdown hardships, several people in Jaipur have alleged that they have received inflated electricity bills and that their complaints have gone unheard. According to a report by India Today, people complained of being charged twice, thrice, and some even more, than the amount they normally used to pay usually for electricity.

The Rajasthan government had earlier announced that power bills in the state will be deferred for two months due to lockdown imposed in wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

‘Kashmiriyat is a scam, it is used to abuse religious minorities’: Sikh youth narrates ordeal of persecution in Muslim-majority Kashmir

OpIndia Staff
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‘Kashmiriyat is a scam, it is used to abuse religious minorities’: Sikh youth narrates ordeal of persecution in Muslim-majority Kashmir

The charade of ‘Kashmiriyat’, often asserted by the Islamists and the pro-Pakistan sympathisers with all the glee in Kashmir and extensively propagated by the ‘liberal-secular’ intelligentsia across the country, has yet again been exposed by the minorities living in Kashmir.

A Sikh youth named Amaan on Friday took to Twitter to share his experience of facing persecution in Muslim-majority Kashmir. Narrating his ordeal, Amaan said that ‘Kashmiriyat’ is just a scam and revealed how religious minorities are abused by Muslims in Kashmir. The Sikh youth also said that one should understand the definition of abuse in order to make sense of it.

In his tweets, Amaan narrated how he was subjected to various abuses and slurs as a kid, including being called a ‘Kafir’ (nonbeliever). Debunking the so-called idea of ‘Kashmiriyat’, he said that during his days as a student in a convent, he and other Sikh students were subjected to slurs like being called ‘sicka’ and ‘zov’ which meant “lice-infested Sikhs”.

Amaan also alleged that they were usually mocked at for wearing ‘turbans’. “We were always mocked, why we carried a tomato in our patka,” Amaan said in his series of tweets.

“I have literally grown up hearing that I am kafir, you are made to feel like a second class citizen in Kashmir just because you are not Muslim,” Amaan put out his disappointment over continued ill-treatment of Sikhs in Kashmir.

Recounting an incident, Amaan said at a time when tensions in the valley escalated, the Muslims in the valley asked him hostile questions like, “What will you do when the green flag is raised”.

In another incident during the barbaric Chittisinghpura massacre and Mehjoor Nagar massacre of Sikhs, when Islamists in the valley mass murdered Sikhs in the early 2000s, Amaan revealed how their neighbours in the uptown colonies of Srinagar, decided among themselves to occupy houses of Sikhs who leave it following the massacre.

Amaan also explained how there is an inherent prejudice against minorities, especially Sikhs in the field of education and jobs as he narrated his own experience during his examinations. He also said how Sikhs are treated differently when it comes to employment and added that Sikhs never reached top spots in Kashmir.

He added that discrimination also extended to businesses and one of his friends was barred from serving Jhatka meat in his newly opened food cafe.

When it comes to Gurudwaras, he claimed that Gurudwaras were neglected by the local administration and in one instance Sikhs had to build a road on their own expense.

“If you are a Sikh in public transport, they will deliberately smoke to annoy you or will play religious sermons or inciting lectures on the radio. The journey from Srinagar to Baramulla once was hell. I kept patient because my dad had already told me this would happen,” said Amaan.

Amaan added that it was by default assumed that if someone was a Sikh in Kashmir, he would be automatically assumed to be siding with Kashmiris, or otherwise his life would be in danger. He added that the entire community was living in this dilemma for years and so many times the Sikh community had to condemn the army action out of pressure.

“Do you understand how you are told that you have to live in Nizam-e-Mustafa one else Kashmir is not yours. Kashmiriyat is a scam they have been selling since ages. This needs to stop,” said Amaan.

The horrifying experience of Sikhs in the Muslim-majority Kashmir, narrated by Amaan, garnered huge social media attention on Friday, with as many as 6,300 people reacted to the post. Netizens shared plenty of other stories of ill-treatment, which they themselves had experienced in Kashmir.

A ghar wapsi of another kind – Yogi Adityanath is on a mission to shine in this too

Rajiv Srivastava
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A ghar wapsi of another kind – Yogi Adityanath is on a mission to shine in this too

Being the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh for last over three years now, it’s Yogi Adityanath’s penchant for ‘ghar wapsi’ that has not died. Sensing an opportunity in the ‘return of the natives’, he is trying his hand at ‘ghar wapsi’ again, though this time with a difference in style, motto and agenda.

Yogi Adityanath, as the founder of Hindu Yuva Vahini or as the BJP MP from Gorakhpur, never shied away from extending support for ‘ghar wapsi’ of non-Hindus. Even as the Mahant of Gorakhnath temple, Yogi felicitated those who wanted to return to the Hindu fold.

The ghar wapsi he is trying to master this time would have far reaching social and economic impacts, if implemented in letter and spirit. At the centre of it, this time, are labourers, dislodged from the economically better off western states where they moved seeking greener pastures, but Covid-19 rendered a cruel shock, and they are returning in hordes to the state they belong.

The CM, on one hand, has ensured that migrants coming back to their native towns and villages face no hardships, as pictures of several people walking hundreds of kilometres on foot go viral, while on the other hand, he has asked officials to ensure job opportunities for them so that workforce is retained even after lockdown is lifted.

The idea, obviously, is to stop maximum skilled labourers leaving UP and employing them here.

Now, if Yogi could do what he intends to do, it will not only act as a booster for the state’s economy but may also alter the state’s economic parameters.

Even as the country is under lockdown for past over two months, the pictures of labourers from various parts of the country returning to their native places, some on foot, some on cycles, and others on whatever means they were able to manage, gave opposition enough fodder to attack the Yogi government.

But while the opposition was busy how to create a controversy around the tragedy, Yogi Adityanath had started taking measures to turn lessen the impact of the tragedy. He became the first Chief Minister to bring back labourers on buses as the videos and photos of migrants walking on foot went viral. The migrants were forced to walk on feet due to cheap politics of some parties and due to misinformation, but Yogi Adityanath decided to first provide relief before taking on those indulging in politics.

The UP CM not only directed officials to ensure no labourer returning to his native place remains hungry but also ordered to chalk out a plan for their settlement in UP itself.

The CM’s idea is that since the labours returning back to UP are mostly skilled and experienced, they can come handy in UP’s development, provided the state is able to hold them in the state itself even after lockdown is over. For this, the creation of jobs that can satiate the need of the skilled worker and better opportunities would work.

The CM knows that such labourers could be held back in the state only if MSME sector begins giving desired results. A committee under its minister Siddharthnath Singh has in fact began chalking out plans to give a boost to MSME sector other than that announced by Centre to hold back the migrants.

It is this MSME sector through which the government has begun plans to make people self-reliant, by helping them in starting own businesses, which in turn can utilize skilled workers who have returned to their native places from states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi etc.

Until May 21, over 15 lakh migrants had reportedly returned to UP and a total of over 20 lakh had returned to their native places. Along with this, UP has also become the first state to utilize the Shramik special trains by Railways, while some other states have shown an unwillingness to take back their own migrant labourers. A total of 1154 Shramik Special trains and over 12,000 Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) buses have brought over two million labourers. The migration back to native places is continuing.

The ghar wapsi of the labourer is huge in the last fortnight and so are the challenges.

While Yogi’s success rate in older ghar wapsi programs which were carried out by VHP and other organisations made him Hindutva poster boy, he might just propel himself to the poster boy of development and rehabilitation if the current round of ghar wapsi is successful.

Yogi has got barely 2 years to show that he can make this ghar wapsi successful too. The Uttar Pradesh assembly election of 2022 is surely going to have this ghar wapsi as an election issue.

I need practice so I will enjoy suing UN official: Here is why Subramanian Swamy is all set to sue UN official for defamation

OpIndia Staff
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I need practice so I will enjoy suing UN official: Here is why Subramanian Swamy is all set to sue UN official for defamation

Rajya Sabha MP and BJP leader Subramanian Swamy is set to file a defamation case against Unites Nations Under-Secretary-General Adama Dieng. Swamy said that the senior UN official described some remarks attributing towards him. Swamy claimed that the official lied blatantly in an attempt to defame him.

Earlier this week, Adama Dieng who is the United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide expressed his “concerns” over reports of “increasing discrimination against minorities” in India since the enactment of the Citizenship Amendment Act in December 2019. Interestingly, even the UN seems inept at differentiating propaganda from reality.

While quoting Subramanian Swamy, Adama Dieng said that the leader said that all people are not equal, and ‘Muslims are not in an equal category as others are extremely alarming.

Swamy says he will take steps to sue him

Taking to twitter Swamy said, “UN Under-Secretary Mr. Adama Dieng slandered me in a press release in New York saying I had said in an interview to a Pakistani owned TV channel that Muslims are not equal to Hindus in the Indian constitution.

Swamy affirmed that it is a blatant lie and he will take steps to sue him in court.

He said that he will soon send a legal notice to Dieng. Adama Dieng is from Senegal, professionally a lawyer and a former registrar of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

 “I need practice so I will enjoy suing in court a United Nation official for defamatory lies”, said Swamy.

Swamy in a tweet on Thursday said that in a letter to the Foreign Secretary (Harsh Vardhan Shringla), he has expressed his intention to prosecute for defamation Dieng for relying on a Pakistani owned TV’s cut and paste interview, to allege that “I said Muslims don’t have equal rights with Hindus in India.”

Cyclone Amphan Vs Cyclone Aila: In 2009, when she was not ruling Bengal, Mamata Banerjee had asked centre not to give a relief package to the state, read details

Dibakar Dutta
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Cyclone Amphan Vs Cyclone Aila: In 2009, when she was not ruling Bengal, Mamata Banerjee had asked centre not to give a relief package to the state, read details

On Friday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had reportedly reached out to the Centre, seeking financial aid for the reconstruction of the State after the Cyclone ‘Amphan’ devastated several districts, leaving ruin in its wake.

“We need money for relief and we need it now, not later. I had set up a Rs 200-crore Covid-19 fund, but we have already spent Rs 1,000 crore. For Covid, we have got no money from the Centre yet,” she was quoted as saying.

While the assessment of the extent of devastation will take time due to lack of connectivity, Banerjee estimates the losses incurred to the State to run into ‘lakhs of crores of rupees’. She also informed that Union Home Minister Amit Shah had called and assured her of all possible assistance from the Centre.

Screengrab of Indian Express Report

Mamata Banerjee opposed Central assistance during ‘Aila’

According to a report published by The Economic Times on May 30, 2009, Mamata Banerjee who was then the Union Railway Minister had asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to not provide ₹1000 crore to the West Bengal Government for relief work in the state, post the havoc wrought by Cyclone Aila. Reportedly, Singh had called the West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to learn about the extent of the devastation, besides promising help to the State. The then finnace minister Pranab Mukherjee had also held a meeting in Kolkata.

11 years ago, Mamata Banerjee had justified her decision to oppose Central Assistance by claiming that money transferred as an aid to the government would be diverted to the cadres of the ruling CPM. She had also alleged shoddy utilization of CM relief fund. In a letter, she had reportedly stated that the money will line up the pockets of CPM cadre and will never reach the people.

Screengrab of the 2009 Economic Times Report

Bengal politics during cyclone Fani

After cyclone Fani last year, while Odisha was the worst affected state, Bengal too had suffered damages in several districts. However, the general elections were going on during May last year. Mamata Banerjee had tried to create a political controversy over the cyclone when she had alleged that the PM, while he visited Odisha, had not called her.

However, her claims were soon refuted by the PMO and it was revealed that PM Modi had attempted to speak to Mamata Banerjee twice to access the cyclone situation in the state, but the Bengal CM had not returned his calls.

PM Modi had also expressed his dissatisfaction with the TMC government when he had revealed that while the Odisha government coordinated with the centre and held a review meeting, the Bengal government had ignored his request for a review meeting to access relief work in the state.

Cyclone Amphan hits West Bengal

The Cyclone Amphan had a catastrophic impact on the State of West Bengal. 80 people have reportedly died while homes and crops have been destroyed. Following his visit to the affected State, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced immediate central assistance of ₹1000 Crore to repair the damage caused due to the cyclone. A review meeting was held at a school in Basirhat during which Mamata Banerjee emphasised the need for central aid. “All aspects relating to rehabilitation, reconstruction will be addressed. We all want West Bengal to move ahead. The Centre will always stand with West Bengal in these testing times,” PM Modi was quoted as saying.

Government of India tweaks guidelines, here are the categories of OCI cardholders who can now travel to India

OpIndia Staff
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Government of India tweaks guidelines, here are the categories of OCI cardholders who can now travel to India

The government of India on Friday provided relief to certain categories of Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) cardholders by permitting their travel back to India. These include minor children born to Indian nationals abroad who hold OCI cards; those who want to visit India on account of family emergencies and students studying abroad who are OCI cardholders but whose parents are Indian citizens living in India.

The development came after the Ministry of Home Affairs passed an order, facilitating the repatriation of certain groups of OCI card bearers. The decision to allow particular categories of OCI cardholders came amidst the third phase of the country’s Vande Bharat mission, an extraction programme meant for rescuing stranded Indians across the world amidst the raging coronavirus pandemic. In the second phase of the Vande Bharat Mission, India was able to extricate 32,000 Indian on more than 160 flights from 47 countries.

According to the Home Ministry order, categories of OCI cardholders permitted to visit India are as follows:

  • Minor children holding born to Indian nationals abroad and holding OCI cards
  • OCI cardholders who want to come to India for family emergencies like a death in the family
  • Couples, where one partner holds an OCI card and the other is an Indian national and they have a permanent residence in India
  • University students studying abroad who have OCI cards and whose parents are Indian citizens living in India

Following this action, the multiple-entry-life-long visas granted to the OCI card bearers have also been restored which was temporarily suspended due to the travel restrictions imposed in the view of the coronavirus outbreak.

OCI cardholders were among the groups of stranded Indians eagerly waiting for the government to lift restrictions for their travel back to India. The government earlier this month stated that their urgent priority was to first meet the minimum expectations of the Indians stranded abroad before facilitating the repatriation of OCI cardholders. In conformity to this thinking, the government has allowed only select categories of OCI cardholders with an immediate need to visit India.

As per government data, about 200,000 Indians have registered with the foreign affairs ministry for their return back to India and the government is prioritising the return of those with compelling reasons such as people with medical emergencies, students, jobless Indians stranded abroad, pregnant women among others.

SP and BSP skip the all-party meeting by called by Sonia Gandhi, AAP claims they didn’t get an invite

OpIndia Staff
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SP and BSP skip the all-party meeting by called by Sonia Gandhi, AAP claims they didn’t get an invite

On Friday, the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) reportedly will not attend the grand meeting of 18 Opposition parties called by the Congress supremo Sonia Gandhi, amidst the Coronavirus lockdown. The video conference meeting was announced on Thursday to discuss an array of issues such as the migrant crisis, suspension of labour laws, and the government’s handling of the pandemic would be discussed.

According to the Times of India report, both these parties have refused to be a part of large opposition meetings but have sent their party representatives to support the Opposition in the Parliament.

Moreover, the Aam Aadmi Party has claimed that they have not been invited to participate in the meeting. In a first, Shiv Sena will join the Opposition bandwagon on discussing the issues of the day.

Reportedly, Nationalist Congress Party head Sharad Pawar, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha chief Hemant Soren, DMK supremo M K Stalin will also be a part of the grand-opposition meeting. Even though West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had accepted the invitation, she will survey the cyclone-affected areas with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

BSP Supremo slams Congress

On Friday, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati took to Twitter to express her displeasure over the decision of the Congress Government in Rajasthan to charge migrant workers and demand additional compensation from the Uttar Pradesh Government for facilitating the transport of stranded students, amidst the Coronavirus lockdown.

Slamming the Rajasthan Congress, Mayawati alleged that the government earlier charged exorbitant fares from students for sending them home in buses and now playing politics over facilitating the journey of migrants to their hometown. “How far is this appropriate and humane?”, asked the BSP supremo.

RBI cuts interest rates, extends loan moratorium for three more months as it expects negative growth rate in FY21: Here are details

OpIndia Staff
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RBI cuts interest rates, extends loan moratorium for three more months as it expects negative growth rate in FY21: Here are details

On Friday, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das announced various measures, like extending loan moratorium to cutting down interest rates to boost the economy that has slowed down due to the ongoing coronavirus-induced lockdown.

In an unscheduled announcement, the Reserve Bank of India announced a reduction in interest rates to ramp up support for the economy, which is expected to contract for the first time in more than four decades.

RBI cuts interest rates

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which met ahead of its scheduled meeting in June, has unanimously decided to cut the repo rate to support growth. The committee decided to continue with its “accommodative” policy stance and will be easing monetary policy further in coming days to support the financial system.

The RBI has reduced the benchmark repurchase rate by 40 basis points to 4 per cent, the lowest since 2000. The reverse repurchase rate was cut to 3.35 per cent from 3.75 per cent. 

The Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate and the Bank rate stand reduced to 4.25 per cent from 4.65 per cent. The MPC, headed by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, has last reduced the repo rate on March 27 by 0.75 per cent to 4.14 per cent.

RBI extends loan moratorium

The RBI has extended loan moratorium until August 31, which makes it a six-month moratorium. On March 27, the central bank had permitted all lending institutions to allow a three-month moratorium relief to their borrowers from March 1, 2020, up to May 31, 2020, to ease any debt servicing for borrowers impacted due to coronavirus epidemic. 

The moratorium on interest on working capital was also extended by three months. The RBI Governor announced that the interest accumulated for the six-month moratorium period can be converted into a term loan.

This extension on loan repayment will provide relief to many individuals, especially the self-employed, as they would have found it difficult to repay the part of their loans due to coronavirus lockdown.

Growth rate to be in negative

The RBI Governor also said that India’s GDP growth is estimated to be in negative territory in the fiscal year of 2021. There is a collapse in demand in both urban and rural demand since March 2020, said RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das. He added that there will be a gradual revival of activity and demand by the second half of 2020-21.

“There will be a gradual revival of activity and demand by the second half of FY21. MPC believes it is essential to instil confidence at this point of time,” Das said.

World trade to shrink: RBI

The RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the volume of world trade can shrink by 13-32 per cent in 2020, as projected by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) with the “global economy is inexorably headed into a recession”. 

Reportedly, the global manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) contracted to an 11-year low in April 2020, while the global services PMI recorded its greatest fall in the history of the index. 

Increase in Foreign Exchange Reserves

In the press conference, the RBI Governor said that India’s foreign exchange reserves have increased by $9.2 billion during 2020-21 from April 1 onwards. The foreign exchange reserves stand at $487 billion till May 15, the Governor said in his press briefing.

Inflation outlook highly uncertain: RBI

The RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das also added that the inflation outlook is highly uncertain due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. Expressing concern over increasing prices of pulses, the RBI Governor also said there was a need to review import duties to moderate prices.

Headline inflation may remain firm in the first half of the year and may ease in the second half, said Governor while adding that the inflation may fall below 4 per cent in the third or fourth quarter of the current fiscal.

Third presser to address coronavirus lockdown impact on economy

The announcements by the RBI Governor was the third such presser in the last two months to address the slowdown in the economy due to the coronavirus lockdown. The first one was held on March 27 and the second one was on April 17.

In previous announcements, the Reserve Bank had announced several steps to ease the pressure on borrowers, lenders and other entities including mutual funds and has promised to take more initiatives to deal with the developing situation. The RBI Governor had assured everyone that the central bank would do whatever it can to ease financial distress, ensure liquidity in the market and facilitate bank credit flow. 

The RBI has also injected funds totalling 3.2 per cent of GDP into the economy since the February 2020 monetary policy meeting to tackle the liquidity situation.

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