QBullet: PM Modi Slams Cong in LS; Mike Pompeo to Meet Jaishankar
Top headlines of the day.
1. ‘Thus Far and No Further’: PM Modi’s Sharp Warning to Congress in Lok Sabha
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, 25 June, treated the Congress as his punching bag in the Lok Sabha during his reply to a discussion, rebutting criticism that his government had attempted to corner credit for India’s development and belittled his predecessors.
“I may be the only prime minister to have said, from the ramparts of Red Fort, that all governments at the centre and the states have played a role. I have said the same in this house also,” PM Modi said.
Then, he went on to hurl stinging darts at the Congress, accusing the party of having ignored the contribution of not just leaders from other parties such as Atal Bihari Vajpayee but also its own.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
2. Mike Pompeo Arrives in Delhi, to Meet Jaishankar Today
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday ahead of a planned meeting with Foreign Minister S Jaishankar scheduled for Wednesday. This meeting comes in the backdrop of growing strain in the economic relations between the two countries.
Earlier in the day, Jaishankar said that India will meet the US Secretary of State “with a positive attitude” to find “common ground” to resolve trade issues. “Trade issues will be discussed. We will try to find common ground,” he was quoted as saying by PTI.
(Source: The Indian Express)
3. India Welcomes Antiguan PM’s Hint on Action Against Choksi
Indications from Antigua and Barbuda that fugitive diamond trader Mehul Choksi could be stripped of the citizenship of that country are being hailed by India as a “positive development” that will pave the way for his extradition, people familiar with the developments said on Tuesday.
Choks, who, together with his nephew and fellow diamantaire Nirav Modi, is wanted by New Delhi for the Rs 13,500-crore fraud perpetrated on Punjab National Bank, fled India in January last year. Months before, he was granted citizenship of the Caribbean nation under the country’s Citizenship by Investment Program (CIP).
(Source: Hindustan Times)
4. Day After Reddy Order, Bulldozers Arrive to Raze Rs 10 Cr Complex Built by Naidu
The YSRCP-led Andhra Pradesh government is all set to demolish the Praja Vedika or people’s grievance cell as six bulldozers besides dozens of workers arrived to vacate the premises ahead of the demolition of the sprawling complex on Wednesday.
Following a two-day meeting of district collectors and superintendents of police at the premises, preparations began to remove the furniture and electronic equipment and segregate items that can be reused.
(Source: The Indian Express)
5. Debate on President’s Address: Dayanidhi Maran, Mahua Moitra Hog Prime Time
Falling water table and water shortage, farmers’ debt, process of updating of the National Register of Citizenship (NRC) and mob lynching were among the issues raised by Opposition leaders in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday during the debate on the President’s Address.
Former Union Minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (DMK) member Dayanidhi Maran used the debate to lead a scathing attack on the Tamil Nadu government, calling it the “most corrupt” and the ruling AIADMK a “slave of the BJP”.
(Source: The Hindu)
6. Jharkhand Lynching a Blot on Humanity, Says Rahul Gandhi
Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday termed the lynching of a man in Jharkhand a “blot on humanity”, and questioned the “silence” of the BJP.
“The brutal lynching of this young man by a mob in Jharkhand is a blot on humanity. The cruelty of the police who held this dying boy in custody for 4 days is shocking as is the silence of powerful voices in the BJP ruled Central & State Govts.,” he tweeted.
(Source: The Hindu)
7. Niti Aayog’s Report Reflects UP, Bihar Health Care Woes
Some of India’s worst states in terms of health care have slipped further, according to a comprehensive assessment by the Union government released on Tuesday which quantifies the wide gap between the best and the worst regions of the country – a contrast that was captured in how Kerala contained the Nipah outbreak while Bihar grappled with acute encephalitis syndrome deaths.
Kerala emerged at the top of the Niti Aayog’s second Healthy States, Progressive India report, while Bihar figured in the bottom three – second only to Uttar Pradesh, which earned scores significantly lower than others.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
8. In Suicide Video, Rajasthan Farmer Says Congress Govt’s Loan Waiver Failed
A debt-laden farmer from Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan consumed poison to commit suicide on Sunday, and left behind a video in which he alleged that the Congress state government’s farm loan waiver scheme had not benefited farmers.
In the video uploaded to social media, Sohan Lal Kadela, in his mid-40s, is heard saying that Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s government gave compensation to farmers but that it has not benefited farmers till date and that banks trouble farmers too.
(Source: The Indian Express)
9. Ankita Raina Enters Second Round of Wimbledon Qualifiers
India’s ace women’s singles player Ankita Raina sailed into the second round of the Wimbledon qualifiers with a straight set win over Cagla Buyukakcay of Turkey in London on Tuesday.
Ankita, ranked 171 in the WTA chart, converted a break point in the third game to take the first set 6-4.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
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