News Analysis India

Tag: AK Antony

  • INS Vikrant a collective effort of all govts since 1999, will PM acknowledge it, asks Congress

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Congress on Friday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for taking credit for the commissioning of India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant and accused him of “hypocrisy” for not recognising the contributions made by earlier governments.

    Congress general secretary communications Jairam Ramesh also shared a video of former defence minister A K Antony launching INS Vikrant in August 2013 and said it just happens that the Modi government is in power when the aircraft carrier is being commissioned.

    “The Modi government has nothing to do with this. The Modi government just happens to be in power when it is being commissioned. In fact, INS Vikrant was launched years ago by Mr A K Antony when he was the defence minister. It has taken 22 years to design, manufacture, test, launch and finally be commissioned today. All that the Modi government has done is commissioning of the vessel and he is taking credit for it,” Ramesh told PTI.

    “So this is hypocrisy, which is typical of the current Prime Minister,” he said, adding that the credit goes to earlier governments, the credit goes to the Indian Navy and scientists, the engineers and the workers in the shipyard.

    “It is an achievement that will add to the country’s strength. It is very typical of Mr Modi not to recognise the contributions made by earlier governments, of which he is the beneficiary,” the senior Congress leader added.

    ALSO READ | PM Modi unveils Indian Navy’s new ensign inspired by Chatrapati Shivaji, sheds colonial legacy

    Sharing a video of A K Antony’s speech, Ramesh also tweeted, “then defence minister AK Antony launched India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant on 12.08.2013. The PM commissioned it today. A self-reliant (Aatmanirbhar) India existed before 2014. All other Prime Ministers would have acknowledged continuity in governance. India’s 1st indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant commissioned today is a collective effort of all governments since 1999. Will PM acknowledge?” he tweeted while noting that we should also recall the original INS Vikrant that served us well in the 1971 war and that the much-reviled Krishna Menon played a key role in getting it from the UK.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi commissioned India’s maiden indigenously designed and built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant on Friday, placing the country into a select league of countries with the domestic capability to develop such large vessels.

    Ramesh said this is a tribute to the Indian Navy’s engineers, officers and the workers of Cochin Shipyard where this aircraft was manufactured.

    “One of the problems in Mr Modi is that he does not recognise continuity in governance and that there was India before 2014. Self-reliance in defence production was established by Mr Krishna Menon when he was the defence minister of India in 1957 and Jawaharlal Nehru was the prime minister. It is the same self-reliant, Atmanirbhar defence production capability that Mr Modi’s government is privatising. There are several defence public sector units that have given India atmanirbharta in defence production,” he said.

    ALSO READ | PM Modi commissions India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant

    Modi unveiled a plaque to mark the induction of INS Vikrant, named after its predecessor that played a crucial role in the 1971 Indo-Pak war, into the Navy.

    With Vikrant’s induction, India has joined a select club of nations such as the US, the UK, Russia, China and France in having niche capability to indigenously design and build an aircraft carrier.

    The 262 m long and 62 m wide carrier displaces approximately 43000 T when fully loaded, having a maximum designed speed of 28 knots with an endurance of 7500 NM.

    Built at an estimated cost of Rs 20,000 crore, it has state-of-the-art features and can operate an air wing consisting of 30 aircraft, including MiG-29K fighter jets, besides the domestically manufactured Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH).

    “Today, India has joined those countries in the world, which manufacture such a huge aircraft carrier with indigenous technology. Today INS Vikrant has filled the country with new confidence,” Modi said while addressing a large gathering ahead of the commissioning ceremony in Kochi.

    Modi also said the warship was a testimony to Indian skills and talent.

    NEW DELHI: The Congress on Friday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for taking credit for the commissioning of India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant and accused him of “hypocrisy” for not recognising the contributions made by earlier governments.

    Congress general secretary communications Jairam Ramesh also shared a video of former defence minister A K Antony launching INS Vikrant in August 2013 and said it just happens that the Modi government is in power when the aircraft carrier is being commissioned.

    “The Modi government has nothing to do with this. The Modi government just happens to be in power when it is being commissioned. In fact, INS Vikrant was launched years ago by Mr A K Antony when he was the defence minister. It has taken 22 years to design, manufacture, test, launch and finally be commissioned today. All that the Modi government has done is commissioning of the vessel and he is taking credit for it,” Ramesh told PTI.

    “So this is hypocrisy, which is typical of the current Prime Minister,” he said, adding that the credit goes to earlier governments, the credit goes to the Indian Navy and scientists, the engineers and the workers in the shipyard.

    “It is an achievement that will add to the country’s strength. It is very typical of Mr Modi not to recognise the contributions made by earlier governments, of which he is the beneficiary,” the senior Congress leader added.

    ALSO READ | PM Modi unveils Indian Navy’s new ensign inspired by Chatrapati Shivaji, sheds colonial legacy

    Sharing a video of A K Antony’s speech, Ramesh also tweeted, “then defence minister AK Antony launched India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant on 12.08.2013. The PM commissioned it today. A self-reliant (Aatmanirbhar) India existed before 2014. All other Prime Ministers would have acknowledged continuity in governance. India’s 1st indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant commissioned today is a collective effort of all governments since 1999. Will PM acknowledge?” he tweeted while noting that we should also recall the original INS Vikrant that served us well in the 1971 war and that the much-reviled Krishna Menon played a key role in getting it from the UK.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi commissioned India’s maiden indigenously designed and built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant on Friday, placing the country into a select league of countries with the domestic capability to develop such large vessels.

    Ramesh said this is a tribute to the Indian Navy’s engineers, officers and the workers of Cochin Shipyard where this aircraft was manufactured.

    “One of the problems in Mr Modi is that he does not recognise continuity in governance and that there was India before 2014. Self-reliance in defence production was established by Mr Krishna Menon when he was the defence minister of India in 1957 and Jawaharlal Nehru was the prime minister. It is the same self-reliant, Atmanirbhar defence production capability that Mr Modi’s government is privatising. There are several defence public sector units that have given India atmanirbharta in defence production,” he said.

    ALSO READ | PM Modi commissions India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant

    Modi unveiled a plaque to mark the induction of INS Vikrant, named after its predecessor that played a crucial role in the 1971 Indo-Pak war, into the Navy.

    With Vikrant’s induction, India has joined a select club of nations such as the US, the UK, Russia, China and France in having niche capability to indigenously design and build an aircraft carrier.

    The 262 m long and 62 m wide carrier displaces approximately 43000 T when fully loaded, having a maximum designed speed of 28 knots with an endurance of 7500 NM.

    Built at an estimated cost of Rs 20,000 crore, it has state-of-the-art features and can operate an air wing consisting of 30 aircraft, including MiG-29K fighter jets, besides the domestically manufactured Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH).

    “Today, India has joined those countries in the world, which manufacture such a huge aircraft carrier with indigenous technology. Today INS Vikrant has filled the country with new confidence,” Modi said while addressing a large gathering ahead of the commissioning ceremony in Kochi.

    Modi also said the warship was a testimony to Indian skills and talent.

  • Congress chief Sonia Gandhi forms panel to check on Prashant Kishor’s strategy paper for 2024 polls

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: Congress president Sonia Gandhi has formed a three-member committee comprising party veterans AK Antony, Ambika Soni and Mallikarjun Kharge to examine election strategist Prashant Kishor’s strategy paper for contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The committee has been asked to submit its report in a week.

    Kishor had made a three-hour presentation at Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s residence on April 16. It was attended by former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, General secretary Priyanka Gandhi, and senior leaders AK Antony, Ambika Soni, Mallikarjun Kharge, Digvijay Singh, Mukul Wasnik, KC Venugopal,  Jairam Ramesh and Ajay Maken, besides the Congress president.

    In the presentation, Kishor outlined the mistakes the party has been making and presented an alternative plan that could help the party succeed at the hustings.

    Among his suggestions was to focus party resources on winnable seats, which he said were only 370 out of Lok Sabha’s total strength of 543. He said Congress is a great product which lacks proper marketing. He was particularly critical of the party’s media strategy.

    He brushed aside the rising communal polarization as an insignificant issue and said it could be countered by galvanizing and empowering workers at the booth level. He said the party should fight on its own in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, and enter into alliance in states like Andhra, Telangana, West Bengal and Maharashtra.

    After the presentation, Sonia asked the leaders about their opinion on the presentation. Sources said Digvijay Singh and AK Antony appeared not very impressed by the proposal. Digvijay said this is exactly what the party had said after its last two chintan shivirs at Pachmarhi and Shimla. Antony said most of the points mentioned in the proposal were similar to those he had mentioned in his report after the party’s loss in 2014.

    The response of others was muted. But Jairam Ramesh was full of praise for the ideas presented by Kishor and said they were worth trying.

    Kishor faced an awkward moment during the meeting. When he referred to media reports about his appointment as Congress general secretary, and said he is not hankering after any party position, Kharge cut him off and said “PK, didn’t you come to me asking me to recommend you to be made Congress vice-president.”

    After the meeting Congress leaders said it was now certain that Kishor would join the party. He may, however, not get the number two slot in the party. Going by what Kharge said during the meeting and what key party functionaries feel, Kishor had been bargaining for a post next to only the Congress president. He is reportedly keen on reporting only to the Congress president.

    Congress sources said some leaders were of the view that before giving him full responsibility of strategizing the 2024 general elections, he should be asked to prove the efficacy of his plan in the impending state elections.

    “Elections are due in over a dozen states before the 2024 Lok Sabha election. Congress holds a little over 400 seats out of the 1500 plus seats in these states. Let him first help the party improve its tally in these states before taking a big bite,” said a senior Congress leader.

    Kishor has already announced that he would be part of a political party by May 2, when his sabbatical ends.

  • Rajnath Singh meets AK Antony and Sharad Pawar, briefs them on Ladakh border row with China

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday met Congress leader AK Antony and NCP chief Sharad Pawar and is learnt to have briefed them about the border row with China in eastern Ladakh as well as the current situation in the region, people familiar with the development said.

    The former defence ministers were also provided with some details about India’s military preparedness in the region during the meeting, which was also attended by Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat and Army Chief Gen MM Naravane, they said.

    The meeting is seen as an effort by Singh to reach out to the Opposition ahead of the Monsoon session of Parliament beginning July 19.

    However, there was no official comment about the meeting.

    Earlier in the day, Leader of House in Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal also met opposition leaders, including Pawar and former prime minister Manmohan Singh.

    Congress has already indicated that it will raise the border row with China in the Parliament.

    While Antony served as India’s defence minister from October 2006 to May 2014, Pawar held the post from June 1991 to March 1993.

    On Wednesday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Dushanbe on the sidelines of a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

    During the talks, Jaishankar firmly conveyed to Wang that prolongation of the existing situation in eastern Ladakh was visibly impacting the bilateral ties in a “negative manner” and rued that there was no forward movement since the disengagement in Pangong lake areas in February.

    At the meeting, the two foreign ministers agreed to hold the next round of military dialogue at the earliest to discuss all the remaining issues.

    There has been a stalemate in the disengagement process between the two militaries in the remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh after they withdrew troops and weapons from the Pangong lake areas in February following a series of military and diplomatic talks to resolve the standoff.

    The standoff at multiple friction points in eastern Ladakh began in early May last year.

    The two sides are now engaged in talks to extend the disengagement process to the remaining friction points.

    India has been maintaining that full restoration and maintenance of peace and tranquillity in border areas is essential for the development of overall ties between the two sides.

  • Rajnath Singh apprises senior leaders AK Antony, Sharad Pawar of India-China standoff

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met Congress Leader AK Antony and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President Sharad Pawar on Friday and briefed them about the prevailing situation along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Eastern Ladakh. 

    Both Antony and Pawar have served as defence ministers of the country.

    Sources in the defence ministry said, “CDS Gen Bipin Rawat and Indian Army Chief Gen MM Naravane were present during the briefing.”

    The meeting is viewed as an outreach initiative of the government ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament on July 19.

    Recently, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi had walked out of a parliamentary standing committee meeting of defence ministry while demanding that it should discuss the border issues the border tension with China though it was not part of the agenda.

    Rahul Gandhi had been alleging that India ceded land to China as the Armies of the two countries had clashed in Eastern Ladakh in May 2020 which had led to standoff at multiple points and there are more than 50,000 troops still deployed along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh.

    This meeting between Rajnath Singh and the two former defence ministers took place a day after Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi had met in Tajikistan during the Foreign Ministers’ meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a regional grouping of eight nations.

    The two agreed that the resolution of the border situation be prioritised as the prolongation of the existing situation was not in the interest the two countries.

    “Highlighted that unilateral change of status quo is not acceptable. Full restoration and maintenance of peace and tranquility in border areas is essential for development of our ties. Agreed on convening an early meeting of the Senior Military Commanders,” the Foreign Minister tweeted.

  • PM Narendra Modi should come clean on Balakot leak: Congress

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: Leaking sensitive military details is treason and those involved in such “anti-national activities” must be punished, former defence minister AK Antony said as he demanded the PM to come clean in the row involving senior journalist Arnab Goswami.

    Antony was joined by party colleagues Ghulam Nabi Azad, Sushilkumar Shinde and Salman Khurshid at a press conference on Wednesday, with the Congress cranking up the pressure on the Centre in the controversy over Goswami’s purported WhatsApp chats.

    On Tuesday, ex-Congress chief Rahul Gandhi had asserted that the leak of sensitive information was a “criminal act”.

    At the press briefing, Antony said those involved in such acts deserve no mercy and an inquiry into the information leak about the Balakot air strikes must be ordered immediately.

    “Leaking of official secret is a criminal act. Leaking official secret about military operation, national security matters, sensitive military operations especially military strike is treason, anti-national. They have to be punished for anti-national activities, for treason. They deserve no mercy.” 

    India’s security has never been compromised in such a way and never have the high offices of the prime minister, home minister and others been brazenly compromised, Antony claimed.  

    Recalling his long stint as defence minister, he asserted, only one of the top five in the government are suspect in this case.

    Later, a joint statement by the Congress leaders questioned whether the government had any right left to continue in office after such “damning revelations”.

    “We demand that the prime minister should come clean on these accusations immediately in order to restore the severely damaged credibility of the highest office of the country,” they said in the statement.

  • Arnab Whatsapp chats row: Leaking of official secret of military ops is treason, says AK Antony

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Leaking of official secret of military operations is treason and those involved must be punished, Congress leader A K Antony said on Wednesday referring to the purported WhatsApp chats of Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami doing the rounds of social media.

    Addressing a press conference here, he also said that the government should immediately order an inquiry into information leak about the 2019 air strikes.

    “Leaking of official secret of military operations is a national security matter and is treason. Whoever is party to this leakage must be punished and those involved deserve no mercy,” Antony said.

    On February 26, 2019, India had launched air strikes on what was said to be Jaish-e-Mohammed’s training camp in Pakistan’s Balakot.

  • Editorial :- Bahuroopeeye Raamabhakt kee Congress Ne Khela Muslim Card

    Former Congress Minister AK Antony’s committee had clarified to the Congress leadership that the public understands the Congress party as a Muslim party. It is necessary to erase this image.

    After this report, from the time of the Gujarat assembly election, Firoz Khan’s grandson Rahul Gandhi Janayogari became a multicultural Brahmin and started calling himself Ram Bhakt and started knocking on temple-temple doors.

    After this, during the Karnataka assembly elections, on one hand, they conspired to separate Lingayat from Hinduism in Karnataka and on the other hand they had come to visit the temples, allegedly eating eggs.

    Not only that, they started calling themselves Ram devotees and Shivakbhak too. It is notable that it was remarkable that Christian Ambika Soni, who was minister in the UPA regime on Sonia Gandhi’s direction, filed an affidavit on behalf of the UPA government in the Supreme Court saying that Ram is hypothetical, she is not a historical person, she has no celebrity.

    Congress is a Muslim party, it is unable to forget itself because she understands that her life is only air-Muslim politics. A video of Kamal Nath had been viral a few days back in social media, in which he is telling the present Muslim community that he would be cautious till the election, who will deal with those who talked about Hindutva later on.

    Kamal Nath is telling representatives of Muslim society, “There is a need to be alert and alert at this time. These people will try to engage you (Muslims). We will deal with them later, till the voting, you will have to endure everything.

    On this statement of Kamal Nath, BJP state president Rakesh Singh says, “Congress, Rahul Gandhi, Kamal Nath are all one thing, targeting nationalist organizations, because BJP talks about nationalism, BJP takes nationalist organizations together , Which makes the whole country look forward to stopping in a formula.

    The Congress has always gained power in the country on the basis of ‘divide and rule’. That is why he, from time to time, attacks the nationalist organization like the Sangh and appeals to politics of appeasement.

    Now the second part of this video is being viral in social media today:

    The second part of Kamal Nath’s viral video came in front, Muslims demanded 90 percent votes,

    There is another section of the alleged video that allegedly demanded votes from the Muslim community on the basis of religion. This video shows that Kamal Nath is trying to connect the Muslim vote with the Congress on the basis of religion. In the video, Kamal Nath has seen people interpret math of Muslim votes.

    In the new part of this video, Kamal Nath is asking people of Muslim society, explaining the booth’s math, that only 50 per cent voting was cast on the Muslim booths in the last election. At the same time, they are also saying that it is the responsibility of Muslim leaders that 90% of the voting on Muslim booths will be held.

    In a secret meeting 7 weeks before the Madhya Pradesh elections, Congress announced that if Congress does not get 90 percent of Muslim vote, then Congress party will end.

    The Congress leader also said in the meeting video: “Our leaders do not win by tribal or tribal votes. They are 23 loops, it can grow up to 24 degrees. That’s why I am talking about the importance of other communities. BJP also goes to tribal communities, so the vote gets, he said that it is another community that helps us win. So we have to see what is math. We want that many people in the community stand for election. ÓO

    Kamal Nath also said in the video that 80% of Muslim votes will be insufficient for Congress, and only 90% vote will save them, and to enable it, whatever they can do to the voters, they should go to the polling station in the polling station. To find. He further said that all these elections should be done before the implementation of code of conduct.

    Today Mahbuba Mufti has written a letter to the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir on Sonia Gandhi’s instructions in which he has said that he will form the government in Jammu Kashmir, together with the National Conference of Omar Abdullah and Firoz Khan’s grandson Rahul Gandhi’s Congress Party. It is clear from the point that at Pakistan’s point of view, he is plotting to make a government in Kashmir and is plotting to gift it to Pakistan in the same manner as Pandit Nehru gifted gift to Pakistan in 1947.

    Conscious of the conspiracy of nationalist people, it is necessary to maintain the unity of India from Kashmir to Kanyakumari.