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After Yashwant Sinha, BJP’s Shourie hammers Modi govt, calls noteban an “idiotic jolt”

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Arun Shourie

The former union minister says demonetisation was the largest money-laundering scheme ever conceived and implemented by a government

Days after former finance minister Yashwant Sinha created a stir with his forthright critique of finance minister Arun Jaitley’s handling of the Indian economy, former Union minister and BJP veteran Arun Shourie has now launched a broadside against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government over its economic policies; demonetisation in particular.

Terming demonetisation “the largest money-laundering scheme ever conceived and implemented entirely by the government,” Shourie told news channel NDTV in an interview that Modi’s noteban which rendered out 86 per cent of the currency circulating in the economy as no longer legal tender was “idiotic jolt”. The former union minister and veteran journalist said that demonetisation had little impact on curbing the shadow economy – Modi’s stated objective for behind the move – and that “everyone who had black (money) converted it into white”.

The former Union minister went on to say that while demonetisation “was a bold step. I have to remind you, suicide too is a bold step.”

Shourie’s comment on black money having been “converted into white” is backed by the recent RBI report which suggested that nearly 99 per cent of the banned Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes had been returned to banks. He added that none of the government’s arguments in support of demonetisation had yielded fruit. “Which argument today survives? Black money? All of it turned white. Terrorism? Terrorists are still coming into India. At the end they have nothing to say,” he pointed out.

The senior BJP leader who held the disinvestment portfolio in former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s NDA government also slammed the Modi regime’s implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) stating that the “important reform” was implemented “poorly”. Shourie emphasised that “rules (for the GST rollout) have been amended seven times within three months” and insisted that what makes it worse is the “event management of the GST…A tax reform is being compared to the independence of India (a reference to the ‘stroke of the midnight hour’ like rollout of GST on July 1 this year).”

The BJP leader didn’t spare his party’s national president Amit Shah, calling him “that famous economist” while slamming his comment in which he had sought to blame the dip in India’s GDP growth rate on “technical reasons” and not the aftermath of demonetisation and GST rollout as is largely believed.

After Yashwant Sinha, BJP’s Shourie hammers Modi govt, calls noteban an “idiotic jolt”Shourie reiterated his “government run by two and a half persons” comment, stating that “Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and one in-house lawyer… don’t have the expertise and they have surrounded themselves by people who don’t have the expertise (of running the country).”

He said that the Modi government was functioning in a “sealed echo-chamber” and claimed that “They (those in the government) don’t hear what is happening… The distress the RBI has documented of small and medium enterprise. These poor fellows had been clamouring and shouting. Nobody heard them (sic)”.

Taking a dig at the Modi government’s proclivity for organizing mega-events to unveil all their programs, Shourie said: “Their core competence is event management. They are so self-satisfied with it. They are just briefing each other, not listening to others… They are concerned about 300-feet statute, bullet trains etc.”

Shourie also made it a point to throw figures and data at the government to back claims of an economic downturn. Stating that attacks against the government over the slowing pace of the economy was based on hard facts, Shourie said: “those facts emerge from official reports such as The Economic Survey, the RBI surveys, the SBI’s report etc. Is it a fact or not that GDP has collapsed to 3.7 per cent according to the old series? Is it a fact or not that index of industrial production has gone down from about 9 per cent in 2015-16 to about 1.7 per cent in April to July?”

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Security forces arrest 14 Pakistani nationals with around 86 kg of drugs, worth Rs 600 crore near Gujarat Coast

The Indian Coast Guard took to X and wrote in a breathtaking overnight operation, Indian Coast Guard undertook an intelligence-based anti-narcotics operation at sea on 28 Apr 24. About 86 kg of narcotics which is worth Rs 600 crore has been apprehended along with the arrest of 14 Pakistani nationals.

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The Indian Coast Guard on Sunday announced the interception of a Pakistani vessel laden with 86 kg of narcotics valued at Rs 600 crore. Acting on intelligence, a joint operation involving the Indian Coast Guard, the Anti-terrorism Squad (ATS), and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) was launched to combat drug trafficking in the area.

The operation was carried out by the agencies based on intelligence inputs received in the last few days. The Indian Coast Guard took to X and wrote in a breathtaking overnight operation, Indian Coast Guard undertook an intelligence-based anti-narcotics operation at sea on 28 Apr 24.

About 86 kg of narcotics which is worth Rs 600 crore has been apprehended along with the arrest of 14 Pakistani nationals. The operation was an epitome of inter-agency coordination wherein the Indian Coast Guard Anti-terrorism Squad and Narcotics Control Bureau  collaborated seamlessly which resulted in the successful operation.

The ships and aircraft of the Indian Coast Guard had been deployed on concurrent missions to carry out the operation. ICG ship Rajratan, which had Narcitics Control Bureau and Anti Terrorist Squad officials embarked, positively identified the suspect boat.

No amount of evasive maneuvering tactics and resistance employed by the drug laden Pakistani boat could save it from the swift and strong action of ICG ship Rajratan. This operation took place on the basis of a tip-off by the Indian Coast Guard, Narcotics Control Bureau and Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad in the Arabian Sea near the International Maritime Boundary Line.

The operation was the 2nd major anti-narcotics operation carried out by the security forces in the Arabian Sea in 1 month. Earlier on February 26, 5 foreign nationals were held off the Porbandar coast with 3,300 kg of narcotics, including charas. Recently a boat carrying 60 packets of drugs was seized and 6 Pakistani crew members onboard the vessel were arrested off the Gujarat coast in a multi-agency operation in March.

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2024 Lok Sabha Elections

Election Commission orders AAP to modify Lok Sabha campaign song

AAP minister Atishi attacked the ECI for putting a ban on the party’s Lok Sabha election campaign song. She said this has happened for the first time in the history of India that the Election Commission has put a ban on the election song of a political party.

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The Election Commission of India asked the Aam Aadmi Party to modify its election campaign song on Sunday. The Election Commission pointed out that the phrase jail ke jawaab me hum vote denge shows an aggressive mob holding the photo of Arvind Kejriwal showing him behind bars, casts a bad impression of the judiciary. The ECI added that the phrase appears several times in the advertisement which contravenes the provisions of ECI Guidelines and Rule 6(1\(g) of Programme and Advertising Codes prescribed under the Cable Television Network Rules, 1994.

AAP minister Atishi attacked the ECI for putting a ban on the party’s Lok Sabha election campaign song. She said this has happened for the first time in the history of India that the Election Commission has put a ban on the election song of a political party.

The Election Commission listed some of the phrases that it found in violation of codes. The phrase: Tanashahi party ko hum chot denge with the video clip showing the protesters clash with the police (running from 00:21 to 00:23) incites violence. The phrase: gunda gardi ke khilaf vote denge and Tanashahi karne wali party ko hum chot denge running from duration 00:27 to 00:32 Sec with the video clip showing Manish Sisodia being escorted by the police. The words and the video clip shows the police in bad light.

The Election Commision said the phrase: Awazein khilaf thi jo sabko jail me daal dia, bas unko hi bahar rakha jisne inko maal dia. Itna lalach, itna nafrat, bhrastachari se mohabbat shows slanderous remarks and is a criticism of BJP on the basis of unverified facts and also casts bad impression of the judiciary. The Election Commission stated that the phrase Tanashahi party ko hum chot denge with the video clip showing aggressive mob clashing with the police shows criticism of the ruling party based on unverified facts.

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2024 Lok Sabha Elections

PM Modi criticises Rahul Gandhi for allegedly insulting Hindu kings, accuses Congress of not addressing atrocities by Muslim rulers

The prime minister was addressing an election rally in Karnataka’s Belagavi where he said, the statements made by the Shehzada of Congress have been made very thoughtfully to appease their vote bank. But the Shehzada does not utter a word about the atrocities committed by the Nizams, Nawabs, Badshahs and Sultans.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday attacked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for allegedly insulting Hindu kings but not saying a word on atrocities committed by Muslim rulers like Aurangzeb. The prime minister was addressing an election rally in Karnataka’s Belagavi where he said, the statements made by the Shehzada of Congress have been made very thoughtfully to appease their vote bank. But the Shehzada does not utter a word about the atrocities committed by the Nizams, Nawabs, Badshahs and Sultans.

Congress does not remember the atrocities committed by Aurangzeb who destroyed thousands of Hindu temples.  He said Congress forms political alliances with parties who praise Aurangzeb. PM Modi said the Congress do not talk about all those who destroyed Hindu pilgrimage sites, looted them, killed Hindu people, and killed cows.

The Prime Minister was referring to a video clip of Rahul Gandhi which was shared by many BJP leaders. In the video clip, the Gandhi is heard saying, during the rule of Rajas and Maharajas, they could do whatever they wanted and even grab someone’s land. The Congress fought for India’s independence and brought democracy in the country.

PM Modi also mentioned the death of a Karnataka Congress corporator’s daughter, who was killed by her former colleague in her college.  He said the Congress government gives priority to appeasement and for them, the lives of daughters like Neha have no value. The prime minister further added that the Congress is only concerned about its vote bank.

Neha Hiremath, daughter of Congress Councillor of Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation Niranjan Hiremath, was murdered on the campus of BVB College on April 18 by her ex-classmate Fayaz. PM Modi accused Congress for supporting anti national parties like PFI (Popular Front of India) for votes which is an anti-national organisation that gives shelter to terrorism and which has been banned by the Modi government.

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