The Narendra Modi-led NDA government has cleared a proposal to produce at least 7.47 lakh Kalashnikov assault rifles by the Ordnance Factory Board and a Russian Joint venture firm for the Indian Army. The plant for the same will be set up near Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, reported ANI.
According to the ANI, the Centre on Wednesday evening cleared a proposal to set up a new plant at Amethi, Uttar Pradesh for the joint production of 7.47 lakh Kalashnikov series assault rifles. This decision comes after the Narendra Modi government had signed a deal for procuring 72,400 assault rifles for the Indian Army’s infantry from the US-based M/s Sig Sauer.
The joint venture is in response to Ministry of Defence (MoD)’s Request for Information (RFI) for procurement of 6,50,000 assault rifles of 7.62×39 mm calibre under ‘Make in India’ program.
Reportedly, an intergovernmental agreement for a joint venture between Russia’s Kalashnikov and Ordnance Factory Board is likely to be signed later this week. The joint venture is reportedly in response to Ministry of Defence (MoD)’s Request for Information (RFI) for procurement of 650,000 assault rifles of 7.62×39 mm calibre under ‘Make in India’ program.
The Indian Armed Forces are currently equipped with 5.56×45 mm INSAS Rifle. There is an urgent requirement of replacing the in-service 5.56X45 mm INSAS Rifle with a 7.62X51mm Assault Rifle which is compact, robust, modern in technology and simple to maintain in field conditions, the officials said.
The Indo-Russia deal comes days after the government signed a deal for procuring 72,400 assault rifles for the Indian Army’s infantry from the US-based M/s Sig Sauer. The Indian Army will receive a bulk 66,400 of the assault rifles. The Indian Air Force will get 4,000 while the remaining 2,000 would be given to the Indian Navy.
The assault rifles will be a game changer for the Indian Army especially for the troops deployed in areas on the border with China. The need for such rifles was repeatedly pitched in view of evolving security threats from both China and Pakistan.
The Sig Sauer assault rifles are renowned for their firepower as well as reliability in extreme weather conditions. The company which manufactures them claims that the assault rifles can be invaluable for troops using them for tactical operations.
Congress President Rahul Gandhi, in his five years as an Amethi MP in the 16th Lok Sabha, had not asked a single question in the Parliament. Neither did he try to introduce any private member bill in the Parliament. The third-time Lok Sabha MP did wake up in January 2019 to rake up the ‘Rafale’ issue and held 2 debates regarding the same. In total, he had participated in 13 debates in the Parliament.
It seems that the Congress President Rahul Gandhi, who keeps making headlines for something or the other that he comes up with to attack Prime Minister Modi and the BJP government, lags far behind when it comes to his own performance as an MP.
Rahul Gandhi, however, is not the only one who has asked zero questions in the Parliament. There are a total of 31 such MPs including some top names. Rahul’s mother and former Congress President Sonia Gandhi is also there in the list accompanied by SP Patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, Dimple Yadav wife of SP President Akhilesh Yadav, rebel BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha and JD(S) Supremo H D Devegowda.
Gandhi who is out on bail in National Herald case has been attacking Modi and the BJP government over a number of issues ranging form Rafale deals to farmer loans. However, recently the attacks by Congress dynast went an all-time low when he used a courtesy visit to the BJP leader and Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar to attack PM Modi on Rafale deals. Rahul made a false statement about having discussed Rafale deals with Parrikar during the short visit. Rahul’s false claims were condemned by Parrikar in a strongly worded letter in which the CM criticised Rahul for using the visit for “petty political gains”.
Puducherry CM Narayansamy has started protests against the Lt Governor of the Union Territory, Kiran Bedi. As per reports, instead of following Kejriwal’s footsteps where the Delhi CM had enforced his unwelcome presence inside the Raj Bhawan and had made himself comfortable on a sofa for days on end, the Puducherry CM spent the night outside the Raj Niwas, sleeping on the floor.
Narayansamy has alleged that Lt Governor Bedi has been abusing her power and interfering in the day to day activities of the government. The CM, along with his ministers, has taken to protesting outside the Raj Bhavan, wearing black clothes. He alleged that the Lt Governor is ‘forcing’ rules on the ‘law-abiding citizens’ of Puducherry by enforcing the use of helmets.
The CM demanded that the rule of compulsory use of helmets issued by the DGP S Sundari Nanda should be implemented in a phased manner and not on one go.
Narayansamy has alleged that the Lt Governor is yet to act on 39 pending issues which have been sent to her, including the release of funds, salary payments and approval of different projects.
On behalf of Govt, 39 pending issues have been raised & sent to @LGov_Puducherry to reslove issues immediately since its responding to people of UT & its development. No response till now. So myself, Hon. Mins , MLAs sit on dharna in front of #RajNivas for people of #Puducherrypic.twitter.com/76aSw5ygBb
Taking inspiration from Kejriwal, Narayansamy also alleged the Bedi is acting on behalf of the Prime Minister who has told her to create troubles for the state government.
He stated that Kiran Bedi’s only job is to be a ‘post office’ and sign papers.
Puducherry CM: She (Kiran Bedi) has no power at all, she has to only be a post office & sign papers which have been sent by council of ministers, she has no right to touch cabinet decisions, she is vetoing decisions. She is being encouraged by PM to create problems for our govt. pic.twitter.com/6J0wwBztyd
Earlier, Lt Governor Bedi has stated that the CM has been delaying the enforcement of helmet rule in the Union Territory and due to that, the region has become very prone to fatal road accidents. She has also called for awareness campaigns and has interacted with people on the streets encouraging them to wear helmets.
Kiran Bedi has called Narayansamy’s dharna ‘unlawful’. She has stated that instead of waiting for a reply to his official letter sent on February 7, the CM has blocked the path to Raj Bhavan and has even prevented the staff from coming to office. She stated that a CM protesting against the implementation of the Motor Vehicle Act and lawmakers turning into lawbreakers is condemnable.
Sad to see when a CM sends a letter to Lt Governor & within a week demands a reply by force of a ‘Dharna’/ blockade of RajNivas.
Also makes unfounded allegations,misleading people in Puducherry.He openly dares violation of MV Act on wearing of helmets to prevent fatal accidents.
Bedi has stated that the implementation of helmet rules is as per orders by the orders of the Supreme Court and Madras High Court and the CM and his lawmakers protesting against it is a contempt of the court orders.
Earlier last month, several politicians, including BJP MP Anil Shirole had protested against the strict imposition of helmet rule in Pune. They had demanded that helmets should not be made compulsory but should be a personal choice.
Even as Congress President Rahul Gandhi extended Twitter-based ‘shoulder to shoulder’ support to West Bengal Chief Minister against CBI probe in Saradha chit fund scam, Congress leaders have continued to attack Mamata and TMC leaders over the scam. While Bengal Congress has ruled out any possibility of an alliance with TMC, Congress MP Adhir Chowdhury yesterday attacked Bengal Chief Minister in the Parliament and said that the TMC has looted people.
During a discussion on a bill to crack down unregulated schemes and chit funds, Chowdhary accused Mamata of being complicit in the Saradha scam. “Several lakhs of people were looted,” said Chowdhury.
This has not gone down too well with Mamata Banerjee, who was also in Delhi for another ‘United Opposition’ protest by chief ministers of other states like Delhi and Telangana. Banerjee, who later crossed paths with UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi tried to save the situation and said, “We are accusing each other, but we are friends.” However, a very visibly livid Mamata Banerjee was not buying it. “I will remember,” Mamata said.
Taking potshots at the Congres President Rahul Gandhi, Prime Minister Modi while addressing the last session of the 16th Lok Sabha, recounted various antics the former had done over the last five years.
Taking a dig at Rahul Gandhi’s bizarre hug-and-wink drama, PM Modi said, “Pehli baar is sadan mein aane par hi mujhe pata chala ki gale milna aur gale padna mein kya antar hota hai.” [First time after coming to the Parliament, I got to know the difference between ‘gale lagna‘ (hugging) and ‘gale padna‘ (throw oneself on).] He further added, “Is sadan mein pehli baar aankhon ki gustakhiyan wala khel bhi hua” (For the first time, this Parliament saw the ‘aankhon ki gustakhiyan’ scenes being played live too.)
*winks*
Mocking Rahul Gandhi on his ‘there will be an earthquake in this Parliament’ statement, PM Modi said, “Some days they flew the planes (referring to the ruckus over Rafale deal when Congress MPs flew paper planes in the Parliament) but the place and respect of democracy and this temple of democracy are so high that these things didn’t affect it.”
PM Modi then enlisted the various achievements of the five years of his government’s term before thanking the Parliament for the lessons he has learnt.
Delivering his last address to the current Lok Sabha on its last day in session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a very interesting revelation. Describing his first days in Lok Sabha, he said that when he entered the Lok Sabha for the first time as a member, he looked at the various things around the seat allocated for the Prime Minister. And to his surprise, he saw three plates were affixed below at the seat of the PM with names of three previous prime ministers who had occupied that place in past in Lok Sabha.
Very Very Important info provided by PM Modi in his speech in Lok Sabha.
Modi is 14th Prime Minister (15th if we count Nanda as well).
There have been 13 PMs before him.
Yet, on the plate below the PM’s chair in Lok Sabha, there are names of just 3.
There were 13 prime ministers before him, but the plates at the seat of the Prime Minister in the Lok Sabha have the names of only three of them, Modi added. “Why this might have happened, what must have been the logic behind the same, great intellectuals with liberal thoughts who advise us daily will surely think about it, and sometimes enlighten us”, Narendra Modi added. The prime minister didn’t tell which three names were there, leaving people to guess.
After the revelation by the prime minister, a guessing game started on social media, and most people thought it was an easy guess. As most schemes in the country were named after Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi during the long duration of Congress rule, many people assumed that three plates must have contained the names of these three former prime ministers from the Nehru-Gandhi family.
But MP from Odisha and BJD’s chief whip in Lok Sabha Tathagata Satpathy decided to break the suspense. He clicked a photograph of the plates that Modi had referred to in his speech and posted the image of the same on Twitter.
The three plates the PM’s chair in Lok Sabha
As can be seen above, the three metal plates mention Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi, mentioning from which date to which date the former prime ministers occupied the seat. Thus the plates belong to the first three prime ministers of India. If the practice was continued, the next plate would have mentioned the name of Morarji Desai, the first non-Congress prime minister of the Republic of India.
Today was the last day of the budget session and the conclusion of the 16th Lok Sabha ahead of the 2019 general elections. While the 13-day Budget session was almost a washout in the Rajya Sabha as Opposition parties stalled proceedings daily over issues ranging from Rafale fighter jet deal to Citizenship Bill, the Lok Sabha saw an undisturbed session.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing the house, remembered that in 2014 he was among the parliamentarians who were in parliament for the first time. Narendra Modi began his speech by remembering when BJP formed the government in 2014, the country after three decades saw a government being formed with a complete majority.
Before talking about other things, Modi applauded the speaker Sumitra Mahajan for conducting at least 8 sessions of the Lok Sabha, that saw 100 per cent performance.
The 16th Lok Sabha would be remembered because this is the first time that there are so many women ministers in the cabinet, affirmed Modi. While confirming that his cabinet has 44 women ministers which have been by far, the highest in terms of numbers, he applauded the work, participation and level of confidence the women ministers in his cabinet have done and shown in these years.
Modi said that this was the first time in India’s democratic history that the defence portfolio and the ministry of external affairs were being handled by women and it was the first time that India ever saw a woman on the Lok Sabha speaker chair and as the Lok Sabha security general, which Modi said is extremely praiseworthy and something to be proud of.
PM Modi said that he is proud that in the last five years India has become the world’s 6th largest economy and is in the process of becoming a 5 trillion dollar economy soon. He gave credit to all the members of the party who have worked relentlessly over the years to achieve this accomplishment.
Today India is full self-confidence which is important for any country to grow and fight any odd, said Modi.
PM Modi proceeded to specify the country’s attainments in the last five years.
India has made its space in the digital world.
The world is discussing global warming and India made an effort in the form of the International Solar Alliance to mitigate this menace. The maximum number of the satellite was launched during these five years.
India is increasingly becoming self-dependent. Make in India is one such initiative taken by the government, said Modi.
A new aspect has emerged in the way India deals with foreign relations. The world recognises a government formed with full majority, and the world recognises such leaders who have a full mandate. Modi applauded and credited all these accomplishments to the citizens of India who unanimously in 2014 brought BJP to power.
India was recognised and heard in several foreign states.
Bangladesh’s land dispute issue was resolved by this cabinet in the Lok Sabha, which was itself a very big accomplishment, stressed Modi and thanked everyone responsible for this attainment.
This is about how we are very sensitive about human rights, said Modi. Whether it’s about the earthquake in Nepal, the water crisis in the Maldives or similar issues with our neighbouring countries. India has played an important role when it comes to exhibiting its benevolence, which has been recognised throughout the world.
Modi further said that India has made a substantial place for itself in the world. He acquainted the house with the fact that, in a first, the resolution on the importance of Yoga was passed in the United Nation (UN) with a maximum majority, which in itself is a great achievement for the country. Modi added that not only in the UN but the various country’s throughout the world celebrated 125th Baba Ambedkar’s birth anniversary and 150th Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday, which is also is a major recognition for India.
Modi said that approximately 219 bills were introduced in Lok Sabha during these 5 years of Modi Government, out of which 203 bills were passed.
It is this Lok Sabha that passed the GST. The GST process revealed the spirit of cooperation and bipartisanship. This Lok Sabha, during BJP’s tenure, passed the strict black money act which helped the government to bring back the black money stacked abroad, laws against benami property, IBC law, Fugitive offenders act were passed here, he specified.
These strong laws against corruption, which the other political parties could not dare to introduce, were formulated by the BJP government and Modi expressed his heartfelt gratitude towards Lok Sabha and the speaker, Sumitra Mahajan, without whose support and guidance implementing such tough and stringent laws would not have been possible, said Modi.
It is this house which passed the Aadhar bill. The Aadhar Bill, he said, is in itself a major achievement and it has got recognition from the entire world who have been praising this major breakthrough.
The 10 percent reservation for poor, which is a big boost in the country’s development, was also passed in the Lok Sabha, and it was worth acclamation, the prime minister added. Similarly, bills regarding the OBC act or the SC-ST act or the maternity benefits were applaudable.
Modi said that his government had extended the maternity leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks, which in itself is a big achievement and projects India as a country with a progressive mindset, he affirmed.
Over 1400 redundant laws were done away with, Modi informed the house.
Modi spoke about the small tiffs and arguments which preceded in the House between oppositions and as a member of the house and a member of the ruling party, Modi sought forgiveness.
In an enthralling tone, Modi used the Jain ritual, ‘Micchami Dukkaḍaṃ’, an ancient Indian phrase, which is translated from Prakrit to literally mean “may all the evil that has been done be fruitless,” practised on Samvatsari – the last day of Paryushan, to seek forgiveness on behalf of his party members, for any misconceptions or mistakes or inappropriate words used in the heat of the argument in the last five years in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha sessions.
There have been confrontations with Mallikarjun Kharge. I wish he was not having a bad throat today. Conversations with him helped me stir my thought process, for which I deeply thank him, said Modi.
Modi thanked Samajwadi Party patriarch, Mulayam Singh, with folded hands, who wished Narendra Modi a second term as the Prime Minister.
While concluding his speech Modi unleashed his wit and took a jibe at Rahul Gandhi saying, “Also, this is the first time when I realised the difference between an embrace and people trying to be clingy (gale lagna aur gale padna). Also, the “Ankhon ki gustakhiyan“ ( referring to Rahul Gandhi’s famous wink during the Lok Sabha sessions) had amused the foreign media too, said Modi.
He ended by thanking everyone in the House, the staff members who worked relentlessly over the years and wished well for all the political party’s who are heading for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Following the flak against the online mobile game PUBG, now a popular media app called TikTok in under the scanner for creating ‘law and order problem’ as alleged by Nagapattinam MLA Thamimun Ansari. Ansari has requested the Tamil Nadu government to ban the app as according to him many obscene activities are taking place on it. “I raised an issue forwarded to me by community welfare workers that the mobile application was acting as a platform for heated debates inimical to law and order, and sharing of sexually-explicit material. The minister supported my charge and promised to take steps to ban the application in Tamil Nadu,” said Ansari.
Responding to Ansari’s request made in the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly, IT Minister of Tamil Nadu N Manikandan told the legislative assembly that the State government will approach the Central government seeking a ban on the Chinese app just like how it got the Blue Whale Challenge and the Momo Challenge banned last year.
The app, created by a Chinese Internet technology company Bytedance, allows the creation of short videos which can be lip-synced with any of the existing soundtracks. Recently the app has faced attack after several incidents of death, morphed pictures of girls and even flesh trade were reported.
Meanwhile, Tik Tok has issued a statement claiming that safety and the positive in-app environment was their priority. “We have robust measures to protect users against misuse, including easy reporting mechanisms that enable users and law enforcement to report content that violates our terms of use and community guidelines”, the statement read. The company is in the process of hiring a nodal officer in India.
Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav today in Lok Sabha wished for Narendra Modi’s victory as Prime Minister for the second term in upcoming 2019 elections. While it is Indian tradition to wish the adversary luck before the competition, one does not wish for the opponent’s victory.
For Mulayam Singh Yadav to say it in as many words, even as his own son, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has been eying the post, is a specific political statement in itself. Akhilesh has befriended Mayawati, once a bitter rival to Mulayam Singh Yadav and his son, and have gotten into a pre-poll alliance for sharing seats. Interestingly, Mayawati and Akhilesh have left Congress out of their alliance.
While his supporters say it was in good humour, looking at the expressions of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, who was sitting next to him when he rooted for Narendra Modi as Prime Minister, it was quite clear that he had touched a raw nerve there.
#WATCH Samajwadi Party’s Mulayam Singh Yadav in Lok Sabha, says, “PM ko badhaai dena chahta hun ki PM ne sabko saath lekar chalne ka pura prayas kiya. Main chahta hun, meri kamna hai ki saare sadsya phir se jeet kar aayen aur aap (PM) dobara pradhan mantri banein.” pic.twitter.com/j6Bnj9Kr3p
Later, when his turn came to speak in the Lok Sabha, Prime Minister Modi thanked Mulayam Singh Yadav for giving his blessings.
Does this mean that given a choice between Narendra Modi and the dozens of others who are contending for the PM’s post including Congress President Rahul Gandhi and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee as well as his own son Akhilesh Yadav, Mulayam Singh would rather see Modi as Prime Minister? Does Netaji think that ‘UP ke Ladke’ are not fit to be the Prime Minister of India?
Coming out of the parliament, when Mulayam Singh Yadav was asked why does he wish that Narendra Modi should come back, the politician in him said that he was being courteous. Samajwadi Party is also maintaining that this was just a political courtesy.
But then, Mulayam Singh Yadav is a seasoned politician and a mass leader. His message today went out to the people of Uttar Pradesh, the one state which could be the game-changer in upcoming elections. Whether Mulayam Singh Yadav’s endorsement helps Modi or not is a different thing. However, it shall be interesting to see how this statement affects the future of ‘United Opposition’.
And where exactly does it now leave Congress and Rahul Gandhi?
An FIR under the clause of IPC section 124A pertaining to sedition has been lodged against the 14 Aligarh Muslim University students including the AMU Student Union president Salman Imtiaz. The police had also pressed charges of vandalism and hurting the religious sentiments of people against these AMU hoodlums.
An FIR has been filed against 14 AMU students. The FIR also names AMU student Union President Salman Imtiaz. The students have been booked for allegedly raising pro-Pakistan slogans. More details by @tusharswaruppic.twitter.com/u9utCi2ewp
BJP Yuva Morcha’s Mukesh Lodha, who is the principal complainant against the AMU miscreants, has alleged that some AMU students including the AMU Student union President swarmed near his car and started threatening him with vile threats. He also stated that the mob had set ablaze many vehicles, and anti-India, pro-Pakistan slogans were raised by the violent mob, after which he proceeded to file a sedition case against the miscreants.
The Aligarh Police has stated that Section 307 and Section 153 have been invoked against the lumpen elements of the AMU for hurting the religious sentiments of a certain community and indulging in violent intimidation and vandalism. The police have also requested the AMU administration to rusticate 56 enrolled students who have criminal cases against them. It is also in the process of securing a non-bailable warrant against these 56 students.
A complaint has also been lodged against the AMU students under Section 307 and Section 153 after the harassed Republic TV crew approached police for an incident that occurred a day before.
Several students of AMU had intimidated Republic TV crew including a female journalist who were present in the university campus. The mob had threatened the female crew members by giving out a clarion call to not spare the women at any cost. Their cameras and equipment were stolen and destroyed by the mob just because they were from Republic TV. A human chain was also formed by the AMU students in an effort to stop the Republic TV crew from escaping the AMU campus. The crew somehow managed to push through the human chain and jolted out of the campus.
The Wire had tried a futile attempt to gloss over the AMU hooliganism by fabricating a false story about the incident and branding Republic TV members as provocateurs. However, the latest incident of pro-Pakistan slogans being raised in the AMU once again corroborates the rot that is festering the AMU.
