Thiruvananthapuram, June 6: Reacting to the controversy after the Kerala Agriculture Minister P. Prasad boycotted the state-level celebrations on the World Environment Day at the Raj Bhavan — the official residence of the state Governor, Rajendra V. Arlekar, the latter expressed his displeasure.

Speaking at the event as the state Governor, Arlekar expressed his displeasure by saying that the Agriculture Minister should also have been present here.

“The State Education Minister informed that he could not come. Then the Agriculture Minister also did not come. I do not know what better issues we have, the Agriculture Minister wanted to remove the portrait of Bharat Mata from the dais,” said Governor Arlekar.

“I told them that we will do everything else, but we cannot remove Bharat Mata’s portrait as this is what we are living for and probably that’s the reason why they did not come,” he added.

“What sort of thinking we have in our minds,” lamented Governor Arlekar.

The reason was that the State Agriculture Minister did not want the portrait of the Bharat Mata, commonly used by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), to be placed on the central dais.

Minister Prasad told the media that the programme was decided after speaking to the Governor.

“Last night, a change was made, and this was not acceptable to the state government. The picture was not the regular Bharat Mata picture which we use, but at the Raj Bhavan, it was the one that is used by the RSS. It is not right to keep such pictures, and the Governor said it cannot be changed, and hence the state government decided not to take part in the event at the Raj Bhavan,” he said.

“This is an unconstitutional thing. It is only after this Governor took over that there have been such changes. We have the highest regard and respect towards the normal Bharat Mata picture, but not the one used by the RSS,” Prasad added.

Incidentally, on Tuesday evening, officials from the concerned Minister’s office were at the Raj Bhavan for an inspection of the Central Hall, where the picture of Bharat Mata was kept.

Later, the officials who visited the Raj Bhavan told the Minister about the picture. Following this, the Minister spoke to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and later, the decision was taken that Minister Prasad would not attend the meeting.

The Minister called the Raj Bhavan and told that he would not be able to attend the event if the picture of Bharat Mata used by the RSS was not removed.

However, Governor Arlekar stood his ground and said that the picture of Bharat Mata would not be removed.

Later, the state government decided to hold a function in the Durbar Hall of the State Secretariat to mark the World Environment Day celebrations.

The Kerala Chief Secretary, A. Jayathilak, was directed to organise a separate event.

Prior to this event, on Thursday, there were two different state-level functions — one chaired by Governor Arlekar at the Raj Bhavan and the other in the Durbar Hall with Minister Prasad presiding over.

Prasad, a first-time legislator, is a member of the Commmunist Party Of India (CPI).

Former Kerala Minister and State CPI Secretary, Binoy Viswam, said this was unacceptable, as the picture of Bharat Mata used by the RSS should not be displayed at a state function.

Incidentally, last month, Governor Arlekar had invited prominent RSS ideologue S. Gurumurthy for a talk after the successful Operation Sindoor, and Chief Minister Vijayan had said that it was wrong to convert the Raj Bhavan into a place for the RSS.

New Delhi, June 6: External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar has urged the India-Central Asia Business Council to recommend a roadmap for further deepening of India-Central Asia ties in trade, economic and investment.

Addressing the Business Council meeting in the national capital, EAM Jaishankar highlighted three broad objectives for strengthening the economic partnership — deepen existing cooperation, diversify the trade basket and introduce sustainability and predictability in economic interactions.

“One, is to deepen the existing cooperation both in terms of volume and in terms of quality. There is already I think a recognition in each others countries and each others economies of the players and of the products. But, we must build further on that foundation and a very good example here is actually the pharmaceutical sector,” he told the gathering.

“Two, we need to diversify our trade baskets so that all of us have more options and we have more competition and in a way we are looking for new opportunities. I would like our friends from central Asian economies to appreciate that an economy today which is in excess of $4 trillion, which is growing at 6-8 per cent annually, it will create new demands for products, for services and even I would say in a way new demands out of more prosperous lifestyles,” EAM Jaishankar emphasised.

He also stressed on the need to introduce greater sustainability and more predictability in economic interactions.

“That means more long-term contracts and arrangements, cross investments, joint ventures and certainly sectors like energy whether we are talking uranium, whether we are talking crude oil even potentially gas, whether we are looking at mining, If you are talking about coal or if you are discussing fertilizers, I think these are all relevant examples to reach really long term understatings between us,” the foreign minister highlighted.

India’s trade and economic ties with Central Asia over the last decade have shown a very strong positive trend. Mutual trade was less than $500 million a decade ago in 2014.

Today, “what we have collectively is actually a trade volume which is almost touching $2 billion. However, this figure does not reflect the full potential. The need to address this is today even more urgent because of the uncertainties of the international economy and this requires governments and businesses to work together in tandem, which is why all of us are here in this room,” EAM Jaishankar noted.

He also laid out five solutions to further bolster the India-Central Asia economic ties: Digital Economy and Innovation, Financial Services, Healthcare and Pharma, improving connectivity and streamlining Transit Procedures.

“In addition to all of this, I think you would agree that tourism, education, films, and cultural exchanges, these are all important, they should be tapped for their economic and business potential,” he mentioned.

Imphal, June 5: As torrential rains and flooding continue to disrupt normal life in Imphal and surrounding areas, the Indian Army and Assam Rifles have been at the forefront of relief and rescue efforts under the ongoing ‘Operation Jal Rahat-II’ relief operation.

A Defence spokesman said on Thursday that since May 31, the Indian Army and Assam Rifles troops have been working tirelessly across multiple flood-affected localities in Imphal East and Imphal West districts, providing critical assistance to the flood-affected population within certain cases, without waiting for formal requisition.

Operating under extremely challenging conditions, the Indian Army and Assam Rifles have evacuated nearly 2,500 civilians to safety during the rescue operation so far.

Major evacuations took place in Imphal’s Wangkhei areas, where 778 individuals were rescued and at government-run Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS) medical college and hospital, where 750 people, including 15 patients requiring urgent care, were safely evacuated.

Continuing the efforts in Imphal’s Khitai Chingangbam Leikai areas, 110 civilians were brought to safety, while 115 were rescued from Laishram Leikai, the spokesman said.

Rescue teams also evacuated 65 individuals from Lamlong and 75 from Heinjang areas, where operations included navigating through challenging terrain and fast flood stream due to breach in the Imphal River embankment.

He said that at other locations in Imphal East and West districts, an additional 408 people including 179 women and 92 children were extricated.

In a testament to their inclusive and compassionate approach, Indian Army and Assam Rifles personnel also carried out special missions to rescue three specially-abled adults from different locations.

The troops not only rescued stranded civilians but also established a medical camp providing aid to over 400 civilians, simultaneously carrying out defogging operations to mitigate health hazards caused by stagnant water.

Their rapid response helped prevent further deterioration of living conditions and safeguarded the health of the community.

According to the Defence spokesman, the unprecedented floods had left the local population struggling for survival, with clean drinking water becoming an urgent necessity in the flood-ravaged village of Soibam Leikai in Imphal East.

Responding swiftly to the crisis, a team led by an Indian Army Officer reached the village with essential supplies and an unwavering resolve to help.

Recognising the immediate need for safe drinking water, the Army established emergency drinking water distribution points, ensuring that the residents had access to clean and potable water.

Also, 5,750 litres of fresh water was supplied to fulfill the immediate requirement.

The official said that equipped with rescue boats, medical teams and essential relief materials, the Indian Army soldiers have been operating in close coordination with Assam Rifles and the civil administration.

The efforts of Indian Army and Assam Rifles reflect the ethos of ‘Service Before Self’ and unwavering commitment to safeguard the lives of citizens, the spokesman said.

He said that as flood relief operations continue, the Indian Army and Assam Rifles remain fully committed to supporting the people of Manipur during this crisis and would persist in extending every possible assistance to mitigate the impact of the ongoing natural disaster.