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Tag: Narendra Modi

  • Indian government spying on PM Khan through his phone: Report

    Indian government spying on PM Khan through his phone: Report

    The Indian government targeted Prime Minister Imran Khan’s phone for surveillance, reports The Guardian. Analysis of the more than 1,000 mostly Indian phone numbers selected for potential targeting by using Pegasus spyware strongly indicates intelligence agencies within the Indian government were behind the selection.

    Among other numbers identified by the Pegasus Project, the client identified two numbers registered to or once known to have been used by PM Imran Khan. The records also included numbers of known priorities of India’s security agencies, including Kashmiri separatist leaders, Pakistani diplomats, Chinese journalists, Sikh activists, and business people who have known to be the subject of police investigations.

    Narendra Modi’s political rival and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was twice selected as a potential surveillance target in the leaked phone number data, making him one of the dozens of Indian politicians, journalists, activists, and government critics whose numbers were identified as possible targets for the Israeli company’s government clients.

    The phone numbers of over 40 Indian journalists appeared on a leaked list of potential targets for surveillance, and forensic tests have confirmed that some of them were successfully snooped upon by an unidentified agency using Israel’s Pegasus spyware, reported The Wire.

    Forensic tests conducted as part of this project on a small cross-section of phones associated with these numbers revealed clear signs of targeting by Pegasus spyware in 37 phones, of which 10 are Indian.

    Indian ministers, government officials, and Opposition leaders also figure in the list of people whose phones may have been compromised by the spyware, claimed The Wire.

  • Pat Cummins donates $50k for COVID-hit India

    Pat Cummins donates $50k for COVID-hit India

    Pat Cummins, who has enjoyed plenty of gripping battles with India on the cricket pitch, has delivered a classy show of unity with the struggling country as it faces one of the toughest fights in the nation’s history.

    The Australian fast bowler has pledged a generous $50,000 donation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘PM Cares Fund’ to supply oxygen to hospitals overwhelmed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

    In a touching message posted on social media, Cummins announced the donation and urged fellow cricketers to donate as well.

    “India is a country I’ve come to love dearly over the years and the people here are some of the warmest and kindest I’ve ever met,” said Cummins. “To know so many are suffering so much at this time saddens me greatly.”

    Talking about the ongoing edition of Indian Premier League (IPL), Cummins said: “There has been quite a bit of discussion over here as to whether it is appropriate for the IPL to continue while COVID-19 infection rates remain high. I’m advised that the Indian government is of the view that playing the IPL while the population is in lockdown provides a few hours of joy and respite each day at an otherwise difficult time for the country.”

    “As players, we are privileged to have a platform that allows us to reach millions of people that we can use for good. With that in mind, I have made a contribution to the ‘PM Cares Fund’, specifically to purchase oxygen supplies for India’s hospitals,” said Cummins, encouraging his fellow cricketers to contribute as well.

    “I will kick it off with $50,000,” said Cummins. “At times like this, it is easy to feel helpless. I’ve certainly felt that of late. But I hope by making this public appeal we can all channel our emotions into action that will bring light into people’s lives.

    “I know my donation isn’t much in the grand scheme of things, but I hope it will make a difference to someone,” he concluded.

    Cummins, who was the most-expensive foreign player purchased in the IPL auction, has repaid the faith with some impressive performances for the Knight Riders including striking an unbeaten 66 off 34 balls in a recent match.

    Meanwhile, India in the last four days has seen fresh COVID-19 cases numbering over 300,000 per day – the worst numbers of any country since the pandemic began. The nation has tallied nearly 17 million cases in total, and hospitals have been overrun in the latest wave of infections.

    While three Australian cricketers – Kane Richardson, Adam Zampa, and Andrew Tye – abandoned the league and returned to Australia, Cummins opted to stay there and contribute towards the cause.

    IPL will continue its 2021 edition as per schedule, organisers said on Sunday, even as the tournament faced heavy criticism for the plan as India grapples with a massive surge in coronavirus cases.

  • ‘Desire peaceful relations’ – Khan replies to Modi’s letter

    ‘Desire peaceful relations’ – Khan replies to Modi’s letter

    Prime Minister Khan has responded to the letter written by his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on Pakistan Day, telling Modi that the Pakistani people “also desire peaceful, cooperative relations with all neighbours, including India”. The letter is dated March 29, a week after PM Khan received the letter from Modi.

    PM Khan started the letter by saying, “I thank you for your letter conveying greetings on Pakistan Day. The people of Pakistan commemorate this Day by paying tribute to the wisdom and foresight of our founding fathers in envisioning an independent, sovereign state where they could live in freedom and realise their full potential,” clearly stating that Pakistan is a place where people live in freedom.

    Letter written by Imran Khan to Narendra Modi

    PM Khan said Pakistan was convinced that “durable peace and stability in South Asia is contingent upon resolving all outstanding issues between India and Pakistan, in particular the Jammu & Kashmir dispute” . He also added that the “creation of an enabling environment is imperative for a constructive and result-oriented dialogue.”

    “Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration,” PM Khan concluded, after conveying his best wishes to the Indian people in the fight against coronavirus.

    It should be noted that in Modi’s letter to Khan, the same phrase was used to end the letter.

    In the letter that Modi wrote to Khan, Modi stated that, “an environment of trust, devoid of terror and hostility” was necessary if both countries were to move forward.

    Social media was abuzz after the news of the letter broke, with details emerging that Pakistan and India were going to resume trade.

    Others were hopeful that maybe this time Pakistan and India might commit to a new peace.

    While some are apprehensive.

    A separate message was also sent by President Ram Nath Kovind to his Pakistani counterpart Arif Alvi. Indian government officials have told the Indian press that it is a routine letter sent every year.

  • All you need to know about Indian farmers’ protests as world shames Modi govt

    With international celebrities, including Rihanna and Greta Thunberg, voicing concerns over the law and order situation in India as farmers continue to give the Narendra Modi-government a tough time while seeking fulfillment of their demands, ‘#FarmersProtest’ has become the top trend on Twitter even beyond Indian borders — in Pakistan.

    But what do the protesters, who have now been on roads for two months, really want?

    The ongoing demonstrations caught most attention when Indian law enforcement resorted to violence against the farmers who had converged on New Delhi on the country’s Republic Day.

    According to Associated Press (AP), farmers hailing from northern Punjab and Haryana states, the two biggest agricultural producers, are demanding the repeal of laws passed by the parliament in September that they say will favor large corporate farms, devastate the earnings of many farmers and leave those who hold small plots behind as big corporations win out.

    Modi has billed the laws as necessary to modernise Indian farming.

    In recent weeks, people who are not farmers have also joined in, and the protests gained momentum in November when the farmers tried to march into New Delhi but were stopped by police. Since then, they have promised to hunker down at the edge of the city until the laws are repealed.

    At the heart of these protests are Indian farmers’ fears that the government’s moves to introduce market reforms to the farming sector will leave them poorer — at a time when they are already frustrated over their declining clout as the government aims to turn India into a hub for global corporations.

    The new legislation is not clear on whether the government will continue to guarantee prices for certain essential crops — a system that was introduced in the 1960s to help India shore up its food reserves and prevent shortages.

    While the government has said it is willing to pledge the guaranteed prices will continue, the farmers are skeptical and want new legislation that says such prices are their legal right.

    Farmers also fear that the legislation signals the government is moving away from a system in which an overwhelming majority of farmers sell only to government-sanctioned marketplaces. They worry this will leave them at the mercy of corporations that will have no legal obligation to pay them the guaranteed price anymore.

    The Modi government argues that this is designed to give farmers more choice in who to sell their produce to. It also says the legislation will benefit farmers by boosting production through private investment.

    The government has offered to amend the laws and suspend their implementation for 18 months — but that has not satisfied farmers who want a full repeal.

    Clauses in the legislation also prevent farmers from taking contract disputes to courts, leaving them with no independent means of redress apart from government-appointed bureaucrats.

    These perceived threats to their income terrify India’s farmers, who are mostly smallholders as around 70% of them own less than 1 hectare of land.

  • Egg on face of Modi’s India with highest bribery rate in Asia

    Egg on face of Modi’s India with highest bribery rate in Asia

    India has the highest bribery rate in Asia and the most number of people who use personal connections to access public services, according to a new report by Transparency International (TI).

    According to Global Corruption Barometer (GCB) Asia, nearly 50 per cent of those who paid bribes were asked to do so, while 32 per cent of those who used personal connections said they would not receive the service otherwise.

    The report is based upon the survey which was conducted between June 17 and July 17 this year in India with a sample size of 2,000.

    “With the highest bribery rate [39 per cent] in the region, India also has the highest rate of people using personal connections to access public services [46 per cent],” the report said.

    Bribery in public services continues to plague India. Slow and complicated bureaucratic process, unnecessary red tape and unclear regulatory frameworks force citizens to seek out alternate solutions to access basic services through networks of familiarity and petty corruption, the report said.

    “Both national and state governments need to streamline administrative processes for public services, implement preventative measures to combat bribery and nepotism, and invest in user-friendly online platforms to deliver essential public services quickly and effectively,” the report said.

    Although reporting cases of corruption was critical to curbing the spread, a majority of citizens in India, 63 per cent, think that if they reported corruption, they would suffer retaliation, it said.

    In several countries, including India, Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Indonesia, sexual extortion rates are also high and more must be done to prevent sextortion and address specific-gendered forms of corruption, the report said.

    Sextortion is extorting money or sexual favours from someone by threatening to reveal evidence of their sexual activity through means like morphed images.

    In India, 89 per cent think government corruption is a big problem, 18 per cent offered bribes in exchange for votes and 11 per cent experienced sextortion or know someone who has.

    “About 63 per cent of surveyed people think the government is doing well in tackling corruption while 73 per cent said their anti-corruption agency is doing well in the fight against corruption,” it said.

    Based on fieldwork conducted in 17 countries, the GCB surveyed nearly 20,000 citizens in total.

    The report said the results showed that nearly three out of four people think corruption is a big problem in their country and the survey also found that nearly one in five people who accessed public services, such as health care and education, paid a bribe in the preceding year.

    This equates to approximately 836 million citizens in the 17 countries surveyed, it said.

    After India, Cambodia has the second-highest bribery rate at 37 per cent, followed by Indonesia (30 per cent) while the Maldives and Japan maintain the lowest overall bribery rate (2 per cent), followed by South Korea (10 per cent) and Nepal (12 per cent).

    “However, even in these countries, governments could do more to stop bribes for public services,” the report said.

    The report concluded by noting that daily experience with corruption and bribery remains alarmingly high, with nearly one in five citizens paying a bribe to access key government services, such as health care or education, and one in seven being offered a bribe to vote one way or another at elections.

    “In several countries, including India, Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Indonesia, sexual extortion rates are also high and more must be done to prevent sextortion and address specific-gendered forms of corruption,” it said.

    The report further said that to provide victims of corruption with channels for redress, governments must ensure that bribery was criminalised and actively investigated and prosecuted.

    “Citizens must have access to safe and confidential reporting mechanisms and governments must do more to ease citizens’ fear of retaliation in reporting corruption. Despite these challenges, citizens are largely optimistic about the future and believe that ordinary people can make a difference in the fight against corruption,” the report said.

  • Modi invites Imran Khan to New Delhi

    Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi has invited his Pakistani counterpart, Imran Khan, to participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) heads of government meeting being held in New Delhi on November 30.

    According to reports, the Indian premier invited all the eight members and four observer countries on Tuesday during the online summit of the organisation held in Moscow, chaired by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

    The News quoted sources as saying that the Russian president appreciated Pakistan’s proposals on various counts.

    Modi, who tried to demean the objectives of the SCO, tried to take on Pakistan and China in the same stroke without naming them under the garb of respect of sovereignty and said in muffled words that India believed that to enhance connectivity it was important that we move forward while respecting one another’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

    He boasted that India had always been resolute in working in sync with principles laid out in the SCO charter, but it was unfortunate that there had been repeated efforts to unnecessarily bring bilateral issues in the SCO agenda which was in violation of the SCO spirit.

    It was an assault on Pakistan and China’s policies of enhancing connectivity in the region.

    Modi referred to the Shanghai spirit and SCO charter, but he conveniently forgot that it was India that had humiliated the two documents by its actions and inactions.

    Diplomatic sources told the English daily that none of the significant member countries’ premiers will attend the New Delhi virtual meeting except Russian PM Mikhail Mishustin while the Chinese premier, Li Keqiang, and PM Imran might not be available to attend the heads of government meeting.

    Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood or Additional Foreign Secretary Syed Faisal Tirmizi are likely to represent Pakistan at the huddle.

  • Calling rivals ‘traitors’ easiest trick in politics playbook, says Firdous

    Adviser to Punjab Chief Minister Firdous Ashiq Awan, while talking about the practice of labelling political opponents ‘pro-India’, said politicians use such statements because it’s easy to manipulate “anti-India sentiments” of people.

    She made these comments in a TV show in response to a question about the use of terms “traitor”, “Modi’s friend” and “Indian agent” by government officials to discredit political rivals.

    According to Firdous, it’s easy for politicians to exploit the “anti-India” sentiments of people, which was why treason allegations have remained an integral part of Pakistani politics.

    When asked if the government was using these trick to malign its opponents, Firdous said this practice is allegedly employed by all political parties, not just the government.

    However, the government has accused the opposition of peddling the pro-India narrative multiple times. In Sept this year after the opposition blocked an anti-terror legislation, the prime minister had said that by blocking Financial Action Task Force (FATF) legislation the opposition was serving Indian interests.

    Also, after the formation of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and its aggressive stance towards the army establishment, the ministers have accused the opposition leaders, especially former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, of harming Pakistan to favour his “Indian friend”.

  • Saudi Arabia angers India over new currency notes

    Saudi Arabia angers India over new currency notes

    India has lodged a protest over the issuance of Saudi Arabia’s new currency notes that do not feature Jammu and Kashmir as a part of India.

    The 20 Riyal bank note was issued by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority on October 24 to mark the Kingdom’s presidency of the upcoming G20 summit in November. The note, with an image of the world map, has shown Kashmir as separate states and not belonging to any of the rival Asian states of Pakistan and India.

    Anger erupted in India because of the map, even though the country has illegally occupied the territory of Kashmir and there is a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) decree recognising it as an international dispute.

    External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava is reported to have said that New Delhi has raised “serious concerns” about the banknote both at the Saudi Embassy in India, as well as at India’s embassy in Riyadh.

    “We have taken up this gross misrepresentation of India’s external territorial boundaries on an official and legal banknote of Saudi Arabia… we’ve asked the Saudi side to take urgent corrective steps in this regard,” he said.

    Additionally, it was found that the distortion was in the Pakistani map as well.

    The G20 summit is set to be held from November 21-22 this year in Saudi Arabia and India is a part of it. Although the relations between Saudi Arabia and India are seen as healthy, with Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman referring to India’s Narendra Modi as his “elder brother” during a meeting last year, the new developments might create some hurdles.

    Earlier, India put a ban on Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera in 2015 for publishing a map of the country that excluded Kashmir. Also, the country has frequently censored the Economist magazine for showing Kashmir as a disputed region.

  • ‘Modi has decided when India would be at war with Pakistan, China’

    Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Uttar Pradesh (UP) unit chief Swatantra Dev Singh has claimed that Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi has “decided” on a time when India would be at war with Pakistan and China.

    A minister in UP Chief Minister (CM) Yogi Adityanath’s cabinet, Swatantra Dev Singh made the remark during an event at the home of BJP’s Sikanderpur lawmaker Sanjay Yadav.

    In a video clip of Swatantra Dev Singh’s remarks, the BJP’s UP chief draws parallels between the abrogation of Article 370 in held Kashmir, construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya where the Babri Masjid once stood, and the ongoing India-China military standoff in eastern Ladakh.

    “Like the decisions on Ram Mandir and Article 370, PM Narendra Modi has decided when there would be war with Pakistan and China,” news agency PTI quoted Swatantra Dev Singh as saying in a video posted on social media by Yadav.

    The BJP leader’s controversial remarks come amid an intense standoff between the Indian and Chinese armies in eastern Ladakh. Both countries have held multiple rounds of diplomatic and military talks to achieve disengagement in the region.

    However, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s statement on Sunday contradicts the remarks made by Swatantra Dev Singh. While reiterating that India is seeking an end to the border tussle with China, Singh had said that New Delhi will not allow anyone to take away “even an inch” of Indian land.

    Launching an attack on the BJP-led Centre, Congress lawmaker Shashi Tharoor tweeted:

    “Amazing. So the PM (who will not even name the state that has encroached upon our land) is planning a war against an Unnamed Enemy, over territory he claims has never been taken, on a date that only he knows? So is this what he meant by “minimal government”!?” he said while referring to Swatantra Dev Singh’s remarks.

  • Howdy Modi: Trump calls India ‘filthy’ during final presidential debate

    Howdy Modi: Trump calls India ‘filthy’ during final presidential debate

    United States (US) President Donald Trump has described the air in India as “filthy” as he denounced Democratic rival Joe Biden’s plans to tackle climate change.

    At their second and final presidential debate, Trump renewed his criticism that action on climate change was unfair to the US.

    “Look at China, how filthy it is. Look at Russia, look at India — it’s filthy. The air is filthy,” Trump said at the debate in Nashville, adding, “I walked out of the Paris Accord as we had to take out trillions of dollars and we were treated very unfairly.”

    Trump has repeatedly blamed countries like India and China for not doing enough on climate change, labelling them as regions with air that is impossible to breathe. He has continuously argued that countries like China and India are benefiting the most from the Paris agreement.

    It is pertinent to mention here that the air in several cities in northern India is especially bad in winter months — November to February — when several factors, such as farmers burning crop stubble to clear their fields, vehicular and industrial pollution, festive fireworks and low wind speed, contribute to what doctors call a “deadly cocktail of poisonous gases”.

    Despite the spikes in air pollution year after year, few concrete steps have been taken to control it.

    https://youtu.be/g1vU8hVt1lU

    During the debate, Trump also charged that Biden’s climate plan was an “economic disaster” for oil states such as Texas and Oklahoma.

    Biden had said that climate change is “an existential threat to humanity. We have a moral obligation to deal with it.”

    “We’re going to pass the point of no return within the next eight to 10 years,” he said.

    The planet has already warmed by around one degree Celsius (34 degrees Fahrenheit) from pre-industrial levels, enough to boost the intensity of deadly heatwaves, droughts and tropical storms.

    Trump’s remarks come days before Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Mark Esper visit New Delhi for talks on building the growing US-India partnership.

    At the first presidential debate, Trump also spoke critically of India, questioning its coronavirus data amid criticism of Trump’s handling of the pandemic.

    Read more – The hideous face of India under Modi

    Soon after Trump’s remarks, “filthy” and “Howdy! Modi” started trending on Twitter though many used the hashtag o highlight their concerns. The “Howdy, Modi!” event, held in Houston in September 2019 was attended by nearly 50,000 people. It was billed as one of the largest ever receptions for a foreign leader in the US and Mr Trump had called it a “profoundly historic event”.

    https://twitter.com/Su4ita/status/1319483073503744000?s=20
    https://twitter.com/dharmicverangna/status/1319537322291990530?s=20

    Meanwhile, #FilthyIndia is also trending on Twitter Pakistan.