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The 10 main issues on which Modi lambasted Congress in Parliament

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Starting with claiming that it seems the Congress has made up its mind not to return to power for 100 years, to inflation during Congress rule to calling it the leader of the ‘tukde tukde gang’, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reply on Monday to the President’s address was full of jibes at the Congress and at times its leader Rahul Gandhi.

The first jibe that Modi took at the Congress was how state after state has been deserting the Congress and listed all the states that have not voted Congress for more than 25 years. “If you have had feet on the ground, then you would have seen the work done by my government. But most of you are stuck in 2014. You are facing the result. You give a lot of advice but forget that you too have had the opportunity to sit here (on the treasury benches) for 50 years,” Modi said.

He listed Nagaland, Odisha, Goa, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and even Telangana and Jharkhand that were created during Congress rule.

Modi said the Congress lacked introspection and retrospection and that is why, despite the electoral losses, “it seems you are not ready to give up your arrogance. Also, your ecosystem does not allow you to let it go.”

As he listed the achievements in various sectors, Modi also said that his government is working hard to make the defence sector Atmanirbhar. “Some may find this too problematic,” he said as he looked at the opposition benches, mainly comprising Congress leaders.

Mentioning the problems faced by humanity during the corona pandemic, Modi said, “Congress crossed all limits during the pandemic time. The Congress government in Maharashtra handed over free tickets to migrants to leave Mumbai. In Delhi, the AAP government offered bus rides to people to leave Delhi and go back to their native places. As a result, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh all saw spiralling cases across these states.”

Without taking the name of the Congress party but looking directly at the Congress leaders, Modi said some people were waiting that the corona virus will damage his image, which was out of opposition to Modi. “It seems you have decided not to come back to power for 100 years. But now that you have decided it I too have prepared for it.”

Reacting to Rahul Gandhi’s comments on poverty and reminding that the Congress’ favourite slogan during its time was ‘Garibi Hatao’ (poverty removal) that won it several elections then, “but then the poor of the country were fed up as it did not happen and finally voted them out after 2013.”

Modi quoted Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru at least twice to attack the Congress. One of them was how Nehru blamed the Korean war for inflation or other reasons and said, the opposition constantly raises the issue of inflation. “During Congress/UPA rule, the inflation rate never came down below two digits. We have managed inflation well even during the two years of the pandemic.”

Taking the name of Congress leader and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram, who Modi said was writing columns criticising his government, and pointed out Rs 15 rise on water bottle or Rs 20 for ice cream is tolerable but public cannot tolerate Re 1 in wheat or rice price.

Modi quoted Tamil poet and author, Subramanyam Bharati and said the Congress tried to hurt Tamil pride, Tamil sentiment. I salute the people of Tamil Nadu who lined the streets for hours when they bid farewell to the mortal remains of late CDS Bipin Rawat.

But the most scathing was Modi’s describing Congress as a ‘tukde tukde gang’ towards the end of his speech. “Congress has had this divide and rule policy as a legacy of British raj. And therefore Congress today is the leader of a ‘tukde tukde gang’.”

Business

Piyush Goyal to lead business delegation to Spain, Belgium and Finland to deepen trade, investment ties

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New Delhi, July 12: Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will lead a high-level Indian business delegation on a five-day visit to Spain, Belgium and Finland from July 13 to 17, as India seeks to deepen its economic engagement with Europe through enhanced cooperation in trade, investment, technology, innovation and sustainability, it was announced on Sunday.

The delegation will include leading Indian companies from sectors such as advanced manufacturing, clean energy, digital technologies, gems and jewellery, food processing, healthcare and design. The visit is aimed at expanding business-to-business partnerships and exploring new opportunities for collaboration with European industries, the Ministry of Commerce & Industry said.

The visit will begin in Spain on July 13, where Goyal will participate in a business roundtable jointly organised by the Chamber of Commerce of Spain, CEOE and ICEX Spain Trade & Investment. The discussions are expected to focus on sectors including automotive, renewable energy, railways, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, food processing and tourism.

The meeting will bring together industry leaders from both countries at a time when India and Spain are celebrating the Spain-India Dual Year 2026, marking 70 years of diplomatic relations. Several Spanish companies, including Iberdrola, Acciona, CAF, Talgo, Gestamp and Indra, have already established a strong presence in India, while Indian technology and engineering firms such as TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Tech Mahindra and Larsen & Toubro are expanding their operations in Spain to support digital transformation and Industry 4.0 initiatives.

In Belgium, where the delegation will travel on July 14 and 15, the minister will visit the Port of Antwerp to study Europe’s leading logistics hub and gain insights into multimodal connectivity, green logistics and resilient supply chains.

During the Belgium visit, Goyal will hold CEO-level meetings with senior executives of Thales Group and Silox Group.

The minister will also participate in the India-EU Business Roundtable and the Trade and Technology Council (TTC) Plenary, where discussions will cover foreign direct investment, trade facilitation, sustainable technologies and resilient supply chains.

The final leg of the tour will take the delegation to Finland on July 16 and 17. Goyal will participate in the India-Finland Business Roundtable, engaging with Finnish companies across digitalisation, clean energy, advanced manufacturing and the circular economy.

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Crime

Speeding Ferrari crashes into apartment building in Hyderabad Jubilee Hills

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Hyderabad, July 12: A speeding Ferrari car crashed into the gate of an apartment building in Hyderabad’s Jubilee Hills area in the early hours of Sunday. There were no casualties, said officials.

The incident occurred on Road Number 5 in the upscale Jubilee Hills under the Film Nagar Police Station limits.

The occupants abandoned the heavily damaged Ferrari Roma, said to be worth more than Rs 3.50 crore, and fled before police arrived at the scene.

The gate of Fort View Apartments was completely damaged in the collision. The front portion of the luxury car was badly mangled.

The man driving the vehicle escaped after the accident. Police suspect that the person at the wheel was under the influence of alcohol and driving the vehicle at a high speed and in a rash manner.

Police registered a case and launched an investigation into the person who was driving the vehicle at the time of the accident. Police were examining the CCTV footage to ascertain if there were other persons in the vehicle.

Police shifted the damaged Ferrari to the police station with the help of a towing vehicle.

This is the second such incident in Jubilee Hills in less than a week. An SUV had crashed into Tollywood actor Dharma’s residence on the night of July 9.

A man who was under the influence of alcohol had rammed the SUV into the residence of Dharma on Road Number 10. The compound wall of the actor’s house was damaged in the incident.

The accused was identified as Karthik Kumar, who drove the SUV in a rash and negligent manner before losing control and ramming into Dharma’s house. Luckily, there were no casualties.

The actor alerted the police, who rushed to the spot and arrested the accused. A breathalyser test confirmed that the accused was drunk while driving the SUV.

Police registered a criminal case against Kartik Kumar and launched further investigation.

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National News

4.5 magnitude earthquake in Bay of Bengal triggers tremors in Visakhapatnam

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Visakhapatnam, July 12: A 4.5 magnitude earthquake in the Bay of Bengal triggered tremors in parts of Visakhapatnam and adjoining districts of Andhra Pradesh on Sunday.

Some areas in the coastal city of Visakhapatnam were jolted by the tremors around 5.05 a.m.

The tremors were felt in Gajuwaka, Mangalapalem, Sagar Nagar, Pedda Waltair, Arilova, MVP colony, Appughar and other areas.

According to the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), a mild earthquake measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale occurred in the Bay of Bengal early on Sunday, and mild tremors were felt in several parts of Visakhapatnam city.

National Center for Sesimology said the earthquake occurred at 5:05:46 a.m. IST at a depth of 10 km, with its epicentre located about 225 km off the Kakinada coast in the Bay of Bengal. The epicentre was located at latitude 16.805 degrees N and longitude 84.381 degrees E.

No casualties, property damage or any other loss have been reported due to the earthquake.

There are reports of tremors being felt in parts of Anakapalli, Vizianagaram, Kakinada and Konaseema districts.

Experts described it as a shallow earthquake. They said there was no need for people to be worried as the tremors were mild due to structural adjustments. They pointed out that the region is considered tectonically stable.

In November last year, Visakhapatnam and Alluri Sitharamaraju districts were jolted by a mild earthquake.

An earthquake of magnitude 3.7 had struck the Alluri district in north coastal Andhra on November 4, 2015. The tremors triggered panic among residents in some areas. People ran out of their houses on hearing a loud sound. However, there were no casualties or any other damage. According to the National Center of Seismology, the epicentre of the earthquake was at G. Madugula in Alluri Sitharamaraju district at a depth of 10 km. The epicentre was 110 km from the port city of Visakhapatnam.

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