Jagdeep Dhankhar elected India's new Vice President 2
Former Bengal Governer Jagdeep Dhanklar elected new Vice President of India. He got 528 votes against opposition candidate Margaret Alva who got 182 votes.
Lok Sabha Secretary General Utpal Kumar Singh, who was the presiding officer for the 16th Vice Presidential election, said that of the 780 MPs eligible to cast votes, 725 MPs cast their vote. Fifteen votes were found invalid and 710 votes were valid.
The polling to elect the new vice president began at 10 am today and concluded at 5 pm. The counting of votes began after 6 pm.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was amongst the first leaders to cast his vote. Union Ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh and BJP president JP Nadda also cast their votes.
Dr Manmohan Singh arrived in a wheelchair to cast his vote. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also cast his vote besides other MPs. The next Vice-President of the country will take the oath of office on August 11, a day after the term of the incumbent Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu ends.
Clearing roadblocks for taking forward the $7 billion deal for building six new submarines for the Indian Navy, the Defence Ministry has given its approval for amendments in the ongoing tender that would allow the project to move forward.
Along with the approvals taken in terms and conditions for the programme, the Indian Navy has given a commitment to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) that the next line of submarines would be designed in India and would be cleared for exports too.
“The approvals for amendments to the ongoing tender were given in a high-level defence ministry meeting held recently. These would allow the tender to move forward for indigenous submarine construction,” government sources told in a media report.
The qualitative requirements of the programme have not been changed and would continue to remain so in future, the sources clarified. As per sources, the Defence Ministry had received a proposal for the removal of the clause for “joint and severe liability” from the tender.
The Defence Ministry had also taken “proper and detailed” legal advice before finalising the changes to the tender. As per the defence acquisition procedure in India, for any changes to be made in the ongoing tenders, approval has to be taken from the Defence Ministry only.
The tender for six new submarines named Project 75 India is being processed under the Strategic Partnership policy as per which the boats would be constructed jointly by a foreign vendor in tie up with an Indian firm.
The foreign partner would be known as the collaborator or supporter while the Indian partner would be known as the strategic partner.
As per the proposal considered by the Defence Ministry, the Strategic Partner would be held responsible for its work share whereas earlier this responsibility was also to be taken by the foreign partner. The foreign partner would now be responsible and liable only for its share of work in the project.
There is also a plan for signing a government-to-government contract with the country of the foreign partner selected as the lowest bidder in the programme, the sources said.
The Navy under Project-75 India had planned to involve vendors from France, Russia, Germany, Spain and South Korea to be involved along with Indian shipyards Larsen and Toubro and government-owned Mazagon Dockyards Limited.
However, the stringent requirements mainly related to the need for having a proven Air Independent Propulsion system which allows the submarines to stay underwater for over two weeks at a stretch resulted in the ouster of three of the foreign vendors.
The vendors had argued that at the time of construction of the boats, they would be able to provide required solutions but the Navy insisted that they want a proven and an ‘in service’ solution and not an under development one, sources said.
The Navy, sources said, has made it clear that it would not approve of any changes in the tender which would compromise its qualitative requirements.
At the moment, the Navy is talking to German and South Korean firms while a Spanish shipyard is also expected shortly to give presentations on its capabilities.
The tender would give a major push to make in India in defence as more than 60 per cent of the worth of the project is going to be invested in the Indian industry only.
The first nuclear weapon was used in August 1945, after World War II ended. Hiroshima Day is celebrated on 6th August every year. Did you ever imagine how devastating the day was? This day is considered one of the darkest days in human’s life. Hiroshima Day commemorates the day of August 1945, when an atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, and a few days later, another fell on the city of Nagasaki.
More than 100,000 people, mostly civilians, were killed instantly and for years afterwards, from horrible burns and radiation sickness. Although nuclear weapons were not used against people after that, the USA conducted tests in the Pacific Ocean which involved nuclear and hydrogen bombs. This Day is an opportunity to raise awareness about the threat of nuclear weapons and the dangers of nuclear energy.
Today the atomic bombings on the Japanese cities occupy an important places among the most controversial events in the history of humanity. As early as in 1954, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India called upon the nuclear powers to stop the tesljag.of nuclear weapons. U.S.A., U.S.S.R. and U.K., the three nuclear powers of that time a moratorium on nuclear testing during 1958-61. The number of deaths from the direct impact of the explosion varied from 70 to 80 thousand people. By the end of 1945, due to the action of radioactive contamination and other post-explosion effects, the total number of victims ranged from 90 to 166 000 people.
Recognizing that there are enough nuclear weapons to destroy the planet, most nations signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), agreeing to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and work to eliminate them. The world continues to live in the shadow of nuclear weapons. Nine countries have approximately 24,000 nuclear weapons. According to official Japanese data at the end of March 2009, more than 235,000 people have suffered from the effects of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The number of deaths in total is more than 413,000 people (263,945 in Hiroshima and 149,226 in Nagasaki).
After more than 30 years of nuclear power plants, there is still no sure way to get rid of the contaminated nuclear materials that are produced. Thousands of nuclear weapons remain on alert, ready to be fired at any time. The world nowadays is in danger of nuclear-conflicts.
The Soviet President, Mr. Mikhail Gorbachev, and the U.S. President, Mr George Bush, signed the historic strategic arms reduction treaty in Moscow in July 1991 in order to reduce their nuclear arsenals by about 30 percent. The signing of the treaty has strengthened the world desire that the mad race for arms should be stopped as early as possible. It is important to forbid the manufacture and purchase of nuclear weapon or the nuclear power states must reduce and eradicate the weapon.
War Countries remain in a constant state of preparation for ar. There is also a danger of nuclear device exploding and annual war erupting because of human or mechanical error. What we need today is world peace and international stability. Unless the countries will follow the policy of disarmament, nothing good can be achieved. Every country wants guarantees of safety and the means of global control for itself. In other words, countries fear that, by giving up their warheads, they will risk to become weaker. The impact caused by the nuclear explosion is frightening. The rigid manner to encourage the reduction of nuclear weapon could be done by an international ban toward nuclear power states.
Today more and more people demand a world without nuclear weapons, and voices are heard. This day has now become a focus for discussions and demonstrations against war and against nuclear weapons.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of AFTERNOON VOICE and AFTERNOON VOICE does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.
It is hard to predict whether Russia will be able to reach an agreement with the United States on a treaty that would replace the New START before the latter’s expiration in 2026, Russia’s deputy envoy to the United Nations Andrei Belousov said at the Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).
“As for reaching an agreement by 2026, it is impossible to make predictions here, because the dynamics of international relations, the military-political situation in the world is changing very quickly. And it’s hard to speculate about this,” Belousov, who is the deputy head of the Russian delegation at the 10th NPT review conference, told journalists.
He added that there is still enough time to reach a new agreement, but this requires political will and real intent.
US President Joe Biden said on Monday, ahead of the NPT conference, that his administration was ready to promptly negotiate a new arms control framework to replace the New START treaty with Russia when it expires in 2026, provided that Moscow demonstrates readiness to resume work on nuclear arms control with the United States.
Belousov stressed that Moscow will not accept any preconditions from Washin.
BJP MP Varun Gandhi took a swipe at the government on Saturday over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ”muft ke revdi” (freebies) comment, saying loans up to Rs 10 lakh crore of corrupt businessmen were waived in the last five years.
Mehul Choksi and Rishi Agarwal top the list of those who received ”muft ki revdi”, Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi, sharing a government reply in Parliament about the top 10 defaulter firms. Choksi and Agarwal are associated with two of those firms.
”The same Parliament that expects the poor to express thanks at receiving five kg grains also says bad loans of Rs 10 lakh crore of corrupt businessmen have been waived in the last five years. Who has the first right over the government treasury?” Gandhi asked.
He was apparently referring to another Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP’s remarks during a debate in Parliament that Modi has been providing free foodgrains to 80 crore poor people since the COVID-19 outbreak. The government deserves praise for this, the MP had said.
The prime minister stirred a debate recently by criticizing some political parties for offering ”muft ki revdi” for electoral gains. This is very harmful for the country’s development, he had said.
Varsha Raut, wife of arrested Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut, on Saturday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the redevelopment of a ‘chawl’ and related transactions.
The central agency had issued summons to Varsha Raut earlier this week. Accordingly, she reached the ED office located at Ballard Estate in south Mumbai at 10.40 am. She is expected to be confronted with her husband, who is currently in the ED custody, and some other accused involved in the case. Police personnel have been deployed in large numbers outside the ED office. The central agency is conducting a probe linked to a Rs 1,034-crore alleged land scam related to the redevelopment of the Patra ”chawl” in Mumbai’s Goregaon area. Sanjay Raut, a Rajya Sabha member, was arrested by the ED in this case on August 1 and a local court on Thursday sent him to further custody till August 8.
The ED had earlier told the court that Sanjay Raut and his family received ”proceeds of crime” worth over Rs 1 crore generated out of alleged irregularities in the housing redevelopment project. In April, the ED had provisionally attached assets worth over Rs 11.15 crore of Varsha Raut and two of associates of Sanjay Raut as part of its probe. The attached properties are in the form of land held by Pravin M Raut, Sanjay Raut’s aide and a former director of Guru Ashish Construction Private Limited, at Palghar, Saphale (a town in Palghar) and Padgha (in Thane district).
The properties also include a flat in Mumbai suburb Dadar held by Varsha Raut and eight plots at the Kihim beach in Alibaug jointly held by Varsha Raut and Swapna Patkar, the wife of Sujit Patkar, a ”close associate” of Sanjay Raut, the ED had said.
Guru Ashish Construction Private Limited was involved in the redevelopment of the chawl, which had 672 tenants living in tenements on 47 acres belonging to the Maharashtra Housing Area Development Authority (MHADA), the ED had said earlier.
Manipur Assembly adopts resolutions to establish a population commission, implement NRC 9
The Manipur Assembly has unanimously adopted two private member resolutions to set up a state population commission and implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC). The resolutions were moved by JD(U) legislator Kh Joykishan on Friday, the last day of the budget session of the state assembly.
He claimed that the hill areas of the state saw a population growth of 153.3 per cent between 1971 and 2001, and it amounted to 250.9 per cent during the 2001-2011 period. The valley areas also recorded a population growth of 94.8 per cent from 1971 to 2001 and around 125 per cent from 2001 to 2011, Joykishan stated. The JD(U) MLA raised his concern over the alleged infiltration of outsiders into Manipur.
He claimed that there are restrictions on people from the valley districts for settling in the hills, and the whopping population growth, particularly in the hills, could be attributed to the alleged influx of people from outside. Manipur shares an international border with Myanmar. Chief Minister N Biren Singh participated in the discussion on the resolutions and said such motions to establish a population commission and implement the NRC in the state would serve the collective interests of all the members of the House.
Meanwhile, several civic bodies demanded an updated NRC with a fixed cut-off base year to identify illegal immigrants in the northeastern state.
Vice-Presidential Elections: PM Narendra Modi casts his vote at Parliament House 11
Voting for the Vice Presidential election in which the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate is pitted against the Opposition nominee Margaret Alva began at 10 am and will continue till 5 pm. All MPs of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, including nominated members, are entitled to vote in the vice presidential election. Votes will be counted today itself and the next Vice-President of the country will take the oath of office on August 11, a day after the term of the incumbent Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu ends.
Janata Dal (United), YSRCP, BSP, AIADMK and Shiv Sena have expressed their support for Dhankar. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) have expressed their support to Alva. the Trinamool Congress has said that is abstaining from the vote On July 18, Dhankhar filed his nomination papers before Returning Officer and Secretary General, Lok Sabha in the Parliament House.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, and BJP chief JP Nadda were present when Dhankar filed his nomination. The vice president of India, which is the second-highest constitutional post in the country, is elected through an electoral college consisting of members of the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha.
Dhankhar, who is a lawyer by profession, joined politics in 1989. He became the governor of West Bengal in July 2019 and has made headlines since then over his tumultuous relations with the Mamata Banerjee government. He tendered his resignation as the Governor of West Bengal. On Wednesday, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) announced its support for the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) candidate Jagdeep Dhankhar in the upcoming vice presidential elections.Earlier, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati announced her party’s support for Dhankhar.
Meanwhile, Alva filed her nomination for the vice presidential election on July 19. Opposition parties on July 17 decided to field the former Rajasthan Governor as their joint candidate for the vice presidential election. The decision to field Alva was taken at a meeting of Opposition leaders of 17 parties at the residence of NCP supremo Sharad Pawar. On Friday, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) announced to support Opposition candidate Margaret Alva for the vice-presidential elections. In 2017, the NDA nominated Venkaiah Naidu as its candidate for the vice-presidential election and his term ends on August 10, 2022.
Russia may reduce its grain export plan this year: Agriculture Ministry Dmitry Patrushev 13
The Russian Agriculture Ministry sees risks that the country may not reach its grain harvest goal of 130 million tons this year, and may reduce its export plan, Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev said on Friday.
“In total, all this creates risks in terms of achieving the grain harvest of 130 million tons. Of course, we will fully provide our market, there will be no problems with this. However, if the planned volumes are not achieved, we will have to revise our export plans of 50 million tons. And this may have a negative impact on the world grain market,” Patushev said, as quoted in the ministry’s Telegram channel.
A total of 130 cases of “hate news” were reported to social media platforms between the 2019 Lok Sabha election and the latest round of Assembly polls in five states held earlier this year, the government informed Parliament.
In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju also said the Election Commission has informed that no complaints were received from the political parties regarding data leaks during elections in the last five years.
“Total number of ‘hate news’ cases reported to social media platforms (since Lok Sabha elections 2019) is 130…,” he said.
During the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, 58 such cases were reported. During the Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly polls in 2019, only one such case was reported, Rijiju said.
No complaint was received during the 2019 Jharkhand Assembly polls and the 2020 Bihar election.
In the 2020 Delhi Assembly polls, 34 such cases were reported. In the Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry Assembly polls last year, 29 cases of “hate news” were reported, the minister said.
