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Within Minutes Of Election Result, Nobody In India Was Scared Of BJP: Rahul Gandhi In US

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Congress MP and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has said that nobody in India was scared of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) or Prime Minister after the election results of Lok Sabha polls were announced earlier this year.

While speaking at an Indian diaspora event organised in Dallas, Gandhi said that the RSS believes India is one idea and Congress believes that India is a multiplicity of ideas. He emphasised that every person should be given space irrespective of their caste, language, religion, tradition, and history.

He said, “The RSS believes that India is one idea and we believe that India is a multiplicity of ideas and we believe by the way, very much like the United States, we believe that everybody should be allowed to participate. We believe that everybody should be allowed to dream. Everybody should be given space regardless of their caste, language, religion, tradition, history. This is the fight and the fight was crystallized in the election when millions of people in India clearly understood that the Prime Minister of India is attacking the Constitution of India because what I am saying to you, union of states, respect to languages, respect to religions, respect to traditions, respect to castes. This is all in the Constitution.”

“Every single word that I said to you is in the Constitution. The foundation of modern India is the Constitution and what people understood in the election clearly and I saw it happening when I used to raise the constitution like this, people understood what I was saying. They were saying that the BJP is attacking our tradition, attacking our language, attacking our states, attacking our histories, and most importantly, what they understood was that anybody who is attacking the Constitution of India is also attacking our religious tradition,” he added.

He also spoke on how he had described ‘Abhayamudra’ in his first address in parliament and BJP could not stand it. He noted that Abhayamudra is a symbol of fearlessness and added that it exists in every Indian religion.

Recalling his first speech in parliament, he said, “That is why in my first speech in Parliament, you must have noticed when I described Abhayamudra this, the fact that this is a symbol of fearlessness and it is present in every single Indian religion. You go on the internet and you can see every single Indian religion. Guru Nanak holds his hand like this. Shiva holds his hand like this. Every single Indian religion, the hand is like this, it is a symbol of fearlessness and when I was saying this, the BJP could not stand it, they don’t understand it and we are going to make them understand.” He also talked about how the people in India were not scared of the BJP after the election results were announced and called it huge achievements of people of India who realized about democracy.

Within minutes of the election result, nobody in India was scared of the BJP or the PM Modi: Rahul

Rahul Gandhi said, “The other thing that happened that was very beautiful, that in fact I was amazed that it happened so quickly was that fear of the BJP vanished, disappeared, gone and we saw that immediately. Within minutes of the election result, nobody in India was scared of the BJP or the Prime Minister of India. So, these are huge achievements not of Rahul Gandhi or the Congress party. We are peripheral. These are huge achievements of the people of India who realized democracy, of the people of India who realized that we are not going to accept an attack on our constitution. We are not going to accept an attack on our religion. We’re not going to accept an attack on our states.”

Speaking about the Indian diaspora living in the US, he said that when they came to the country from India, they had come with values of constitution, respect, and humility. He said that Indians came to live in the US with love and affection.

He said, “I’m speaking to people in Dallas and who are you? You are people who have come from India and the values that I have been describing – values of the Constitution, values of respect, values of humility. You carry them inside your heart, you have them in your blood. So, when you when you came to this country, you did not come with arrogance, you came with humility, you did not come with hatred, you came with love and affection, and you did not come with disrespect, saying that you know we are coming to America, and who are these people? We’ll show them. No, you came with respect. So inside your heart is respect, is love, humility and you are our ambassadors in one way.”

He stressed that Indian diaspora have a very important role of being a bridge between their old home and their new home and added that they should bring the idea of India to the US and the ideas of the US to India.

USA and India need each other: RaGa

Calling the Indian diaspora ‘a bridge’ between India and the US, Congress MP said, “You’re the bridge between these two unions – United States of America and the Union of States which is written in our Constitution, and so you have a very important role because the relationship between these two unions is going to determine the future of both these unions. The United States needs India and India needs the United States. It’s a fact we cannot get away from it, so you have a very important role of being the bridge between your old home and your new home, right. And in my view, you should travel freely between these two homes and you should bring the idea of India to the United States and the ideas of the United States to India.” Rahul Gandhi arrived in Dallas, Texas, on Sunday for his three-day US visit. The Congress MP was welcomed at the airport by Sam Pitroda, Chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress, and members of the Indian diaspora.

Business

World Bank flags rising poverty levels in Pakistan

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New Delhi, Oct 8: The World Bank has expressed serious concern over Pakistan’s economy as the country has failed to reduce poverty despite massive loans injected by the IMF.

The current model of growth has failed to ameliorate the conditions of the poor, and the headcount ratio (HCR) has surged to its highest level of 25.3 per cent in the last eight years, which is a 7 per cent increase in HCR since 2023, the World Bank report states.

Instead of concentrating on rural development to reduce poverty, the Pakistan government has been focused more on increasing defence expenditure.

The World Bank report titled “Reclaiming Momentum Towards Prosperity: Pakistan’s Poverty, Equity and Resilience Assessment” released on September 23, mentions that even the country’s aspiring middle class (constituting 42.7 per cent of its population) is “struggling to achieve full economic security”.

Pakistan’s once-promising poverty reduction trajectory has come to a troubling halt, reversing years of hard-fought gains.

After dramatically reducing poverty from 64.3 per cent in 2001 to 21.9 per cent in 2018 — declining by 3 percentage points annually until 2015 before slowing to less than 1 percentage point per year — recent compounding shocks have pushed poverty rates back up to a projected 25.3 per cent by 2023-24, the report states.

The economic model that delivered early wins has reached its limits, with 14 per cent of the population in 2018 remaining vulnerable to falling back into poverty when faced with shocks.

Compounding crises — Covid-19, economic instability, devastating floods, and record-high inflation—have further exposed systemic weaknesses, leaving many in low-productivity activities and unable to cope with these challenges, the report points out.

Bold policy reforms are now essential to address structural imbalances, prevent sliding back into poverty during shocks, and tackle the persistent challenges in remote areas. In this context, this Poverty, Equity, and Resilience Assessment , the first since the early 2000s, looks at how poverty has evolved in Pakistan by combining traditional and non-traditional data, offering detailed analysis and strategic direction on the country’s efforts and challenges to reduce poverty and promote equity.

This comprehensive assessment aims to provide a roadmap for policymakers and stakeholders to address poverty and equity challenges in Pakistan effectively, the report added.

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Crime

CBI arrests two CGST officers in Mumbai for accepting Rs 25,000 bribe

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Mumbai, Oct 8: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday said it has arrested a Superintendent and an Inspector of the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) in Mumbai, for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 25,000 from a businessman.

According to a CBI statement, the arrested officials have been identified as Superintendent Vikram and Inspector Lav Kumar Chittoria, both posted in the CGST Santacruz Division.

The case was registered on Tuesday following a complaint from a textile trader who had applied online for GST registration of his firm on September 24, the statement said.

The complainant alleged that during a field inspection on October 3, Chittoria demanded Rs 25,000 as illegal gratification for himself and his superior officer.

The officers allegedly warned that the GST registration certificate would not be issued unless the bribe was paid.

Acting on the complaint, the CBI laid a trap and caught both the accused red-handed while accepting the bribe amount inside the CGST West Mumbai Office on Tuesday.

The bribe money was recovered from their possession. Following the arrests, searches were carried out at the offices and residences of both officials, during which several incriminating documents were also seized.

A CBI spokesperson said that both officers were taken into custody for interrogation and will be produced before a competent court in Mumbai later in the day.

“Further investigation is underway to determine whether other officials were involved in the bribery racket and to trace possible links with similar cases,” the official added.

The agency reiterated its zero-tolerance policy towards corruption in government departments and urged citizens to report any instance of demand for bribes through its dedicated helpline and online portal.

Just a few days ago, in its crackdown on bribery in government offices, the CBI arrested two senior government officials of the Ministry of Defence and a railway hospital, in two separate cases of bribery.

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Business

Committed to boosting Mumbai’s infrastructure, ease of living: PM Modi

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Mumbai, Oct 8: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday reaffirmed his government’s commitment to enhancing Mumbai’s infrastructure and the ‘Ease of Living’ as he is set to inaugurate Phase-1 of the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) and the Mumbai Metro Line-3.

In a post on X, PM Modi said, “On the way to Navi Mumbai to take part in the programme marking the inauguration of Phase-1 of the Navi Mumbai International Airport. With this, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region will get its second major international airport, thus boosting commerce and connectivity.”

“The final phase of the Mumbai Metro Line-3 will also be inaugurated. We are committed to enhancing Mumbai’s infrastructure and boosting ‘Ease of Living’ for the people of this dynamic city,” he added.

Phase-1 of the Navi Mumbai International Airport, developed at an estimated cost of Rs 19,650 crore, will be inaugurated by the Prime Minister in line with his vision of transforming India into a global aviation hub.

The Navi Mumbai International Airport is India’s largest Greenfield airport project, developed under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. As the second international airport for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, it will work in coordination with the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) to reduce congestion and position Mumbai among global cities with multi-airport systems.

Spread across 1,160 hectares, NMIA is designed to be one of the most efficient airports in the world, capable of handling up to 90 million passengers per annum and 3.25 million metric tonnes of cargo.

Among its standout features is an Automated People Mover (APM) system that will connect all four passenger terminals to facilitate smooth inter-terminal transfers. A landside APM will also link the city-side infrastructure, ensuring convenience for passengers and staff.

Committed to sustainability, the airport will include storage for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), solar power generation of nearly 47 MW, and electric bus services for city-wide connectivity. NMIA will also become the country’s first airport to be connected by a Water Taxi service.

In addition to the airport, PM Modi will inaugurate Phase 2B of the Mumbai Metro Line-3, which stretches from Acharya Atre Chowk to Cuffe Parade and has been constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 12,200 crore.

With this launch, the Prime Minister will dedicate the entire Mumbai Metro Line-3 (Aqua Line) to the nation. Built at a total cost exceeding Rs 37,270 crore, this milestone marks a major leap forward in the city’s urban transport infrastructure.

Mumbai Metro Line-3, the city’s first fully underground metro line, is set to redefine commuting in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region by offering faster, more efficient, and eco-friendly transport options for millions of daily commuters.

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