#Modi2Years LIVE: Big B koi nahi hota, says Amitabh at India Gate event

BJP’s honeymoon phase over

Congress claimed that the “honeymoon phase” of the Narendra Modi-led NDA government is over and people have started questioning the Centre. “The honeymoon phase of Modi-led government is over and it cannot be extended further anymore. In a democracy, people have the right to question the government and it has already started with the Centre,” Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha said here.

Releasing a book on the “failures” of the Modi government in the last two years, he alleged that “the only development which has happened is on the front of communalism”. “Opposition parties like Congress and the media have seen this development of communalism happening during the current government’s tenure,” Jha alleged, adding “a dangerous communal environment has been created in the country through issues like ‘ghar wapsi’ and ‘beef ban’”.

He also claimed that BJP’s aim to have ‘Congress-mukt Bharat’ is a product of their “inner-hatred towards secularism”.

Congress is not a PR party: Rahul

Saying that Congress does not resort to PR stunts, party vice-president Rahul Gandhi said that India’s grand old party is not a PR party. Rahul Gandhi was reacting to BJP celebrating 2 years of NDA at the Centre in an extravagant event at the India Gate.

It is the India for youth

Union HRD minister Smriti Irani, Union Minister VK Singh and Jitendra Singh laud schemes that have helped the youth of the country since Narendra Modi took over as the Prime Minister of India. 

Starting from education to living standard across the nation have improved under the BJP leadership at the Centre, the ministers added.

Modi’s 56-inch chest hasn’t decreased an inch: Rajnath Singh

Speaking as NDA-led alliance at the Centre celebrated two years of PM Modi’s tenure at the Centre, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that the “56-inch chest” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not decreased “an inch” and asserted that there should be no doubt on that score.

He also said if Pakistan does not have the capability to curb terrorist activities in its territory, it should seek India’s help.

Singh was asked by Rajat Sharma on his programme “Aap ki Adalat” on India TV about Modi’s Lok Sabha election campaign in which he had said that a “56-inch chest” was needed to tackle Pakistan.

“It has not decreased. I am the Home Minister. I know confidential matters. I have the IB with me. It has not decreased. There should be no doubts on that score. I can only say that the 56-inch chest is there,” the channel quoted Singh as saying in a press release.

The Home Minister said he wanted to give a message to Pakistan that it should curb terrorist activities on its soil.

“If Pakistan feels it does not have the capacity to curb terrorist activities, it should seek assistance from India. If they want, it can happen. They can also seek assistance from other countries of the world,” he said.

Singh said there has been a 52 per cent decline in infiltration from Pakistan in the last two years. The number of security personnel killed by Maoists has come down.

On the terror attack in Pathankot, he said it is because of the government’s strategy that the US asked Pakistan to cooperate in the investigation into the attack.

Introspect instead of making false charges: BJP

BJP national secretary Shrikant Sharma said Congress should introspect instead of making “false charges” against the government which is trying to set right the “wrongs” committed during UPA rule.

“Congress is passing through bad times and should introspect as to why it is shrinking and why people are rejecting it. Congress will not benefit by attacking the Modi government and by making false allegations against it,” Sharma said at a press conference.

The BJP leader also accused the Congress of propagating Pakistan’s “saffron terror theory” to tarnish India’s image world-wide and  “glorifying” terrorists like Ishrat Jehan.

“As a failed Home Minister, you gave saffron terror theory as propounded by Pakistan to tarnish India’s image worldwide and put innocents behind bars for your political gains and for votebank politics.

“Now when law is taking its course, Congress is frustrated and is trying to point fingers at the role of intelligence agencies,” he said.

Chidambaram tells Centre to handle their economy instead of hitting back at the Opposition

Congress and BJP sparred over Modi government’s performance with former Union Minister P Chidambaram attacking the Centre on its handling of economy and BJP hitting back asking the opposition party to introspect instead of levelling “false charges”. Rejecting Chidambaram’s criticism, BJP called him a “failed Finance Minister under whom the country GDP’s grew below 5 per cent while it was rising at 7.5 per cent” under Modi government.

Chidambaram accused the Modi government of failing to go for bold structural reforms, needed to give a push to the economy, and said it should pluck up courage for it and also engage with the Opposition.

At a press conference on two years of Modi government, he wondered that “if agriculture and industry are in distress, what is there to celebrate?”

GST will lead to economic integration in India: Jaitley on event marking #Modi2Years

As regards the domestic black money, the four-month compliance window will open on June 1 and will provide an opportunity to such people to come clean by paying a tax and penalty of 45 percent. Jaitley said the government has taken action against those who had illegal accounts in Liechtenstein, a tax haven, and HSBC.

“Taxation authorities completed assessment of those people and filed criminal cases against those who had stashed money illegally in Liechtenstein,” he said. “We signed agreement with Switzerland and got details of those people (having accounts in HSBC). We completed assessment of those people who had accounts in HSBC, Switzerland. We assessed Rs 6,000 crore black money which was in HSBC. We filed criminal cases against them,” he added.

Talking about macroeconomic trends, Jaitley said a low global demand is a problem as global trends impact the domestic market scenario. “Urban demand is on rise in India. Sales of automobiles, cement are going up, so the urban demand is increasing. I think, real challenge is to increase the rural demand,” he said.

Referring to issues related to taxation, Jaitley said, “Goods and Services Tax (GST) will lead to economic integration of India. It will also bring taxation rate down in long-run. It will make the economy more competitive and it will also add to larger revenue (collection). Hopefully it will also add to the GDP itself.”

Good monsoon will boost growth: Jaitley

Answering questions on economy, Jaitley said a good monsoon will give further boost to growth.

With a helpful global economic scenario, he said, India can achieve 8-9 per cent growth rate, but it would be difficult to achieve this rate in a slowing world economy. “The economy is growing this year, which we also call green-shoots… If monsoon is good this year, then rural economy will get boost and overall India’s economy will benefit,” he said.

“First time, India has emerged as the fastest-growing major economy in the world. We are growing at 7.5 percent. Compared to other countries we are growing at a faster rate, (but) it is still below our expectation.

“If world economy growth helps our economic growth, then country’s growth (will) increase. In a fast-growing world, we can grow at 8-9 per cent. If world is growing slowly, then it is a difficult challenge to achieve 8-9 per cent growth,” he added.

Jaitley talks about Panama Papers at event marking 2 years of PM Modi

Warning of strict action against people stashing black money, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said prosecution would be initiated against those found to have parked funds illegally in accounts named in ‘Panama Papers’. “If illegal money is found in accounts of those who are named in Panama case, then they will also be prosecuted as in case of HSBC accounts,” he said at a gala event organised by the government to celebrate the Modi government’s two years.

Hundreds of Indians have been named in the leaked ‘Panama Papers’ about entities having accounts in offshore tax havens. Jaitley said the government came out in the last fiscal with a law to deal with black money stashed abroad and was now focusing on domestic black money.

Stating that those failing to make the disclosure under this scheme face imprisonment up to 10 years, Jaitley said the law to deal with black money stashed abroad has yielded about Rs 4,000 crore.

What is BJP celebrating? Nation’s agrarian crisis? asks Kapil Sibal

Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal today questioned the propriety of BJP celebrating two years of Narendra Modi government, saying such celebrations were out of place at a time when there was “agrarian crisis” in the country. “I don’t understand what the celebrations are for when the entire country is going through an agrarian crisis,” Sibal told reporters here.

“There’s no reason for this government to celebrate,” the former Union minister said, adding they (Modi government) have not done anything for farmers.

Modi has not kept promises given to farmers during the 2014 Lok Sabha poll campaign, he said. “During 2015, altogether 3,228 farmers in Maharashtra ended their lives due to agrarian crisis and the BJP-led government has ignored plight of farmers”, he alleged. In health sector also, there has been no growth, Sibal said.

“They are giving what we (the UPA government) were giving in health sector”, he claimed. “Chicken is cheaper than dal now. Is this what the Modi government is celebrating?” Sibal asked. Claiming that inflation had increased under the Modi government, Sibal, who has been nominated by the party for the Rajya Sabha, said, “Prices are increasing all over. There is no employment for youth. Is this what they are celebrating”.

“While in opposition, BJP opposed GST and Modi the then Gujarat CM was at the forefront in opposing GST. Now the same Modi wants it (GST)”, he said. Sibal also claimed BJP opposed the Aadhaar card scheme while in opposition but now the Modi government schemes are based on that.

Replying to a query on “surgery” advised by senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh after the Congress’ dismal performance in the recent Assembly elections, Sibal said, “Yes, there must be surgery, but in national politics.” “We have done enough introspection, shouldn’t we go for a major surgery?” Singh had tweeted after the poll results.

Who says I am Big?

The girl child should be nurtured, educated and treated as equal to the opposite gender, megastar Amitabh Bachchan said as the ambassador of the ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padao’ campaign, at a gala event here on Saturday to mark the completion of two years of the Narendra Modi government.

Pointing out at how in Indian culture, women are worshipped in different forms, he said god resides where women are held in respect.

“In the present, this can be achieved only when there is equality between men and women,” Amitabh said at the ‘Ek Nayi Subah’, held at the India Gate lawns here.

He called for correcting the skewed gender ratio in the country.

“A girl child should be nurtured, educated and taken care of so that eventually they can essay a relevant and valuable role in the society. This thought should be encouraged, and people should put in their best to bring up the girl child.

“Only this way will they eventually be able to not just take care of themselves, but also take care of the family in all arenas,” added the 73-year-old, who is one of Indian cinema’s most noted icons.

The actor also shared that the ‘Beti bachao, Beti padao’ campaign strives to emphasise that there must not be discrimination between boys and girls.

“This is the time when people need to understand that by depriving half the people (women) of equal opportunity, we will be pushing back our society. We must make women an equal part of everything so that our country progresses and develops in a better way,” he said.

Amitabh is also a United Nations ambassador for the girl child mission.

Besides the talk on girl child, Big B also interacted with girl children from various schools, and even recited lines from his father’s famous “Madhushala”, sharing words of wisdom with the children.

During one such interaction with a student of Class 7, he sat down on the floor when he was asked how he became “Big B”.

“Who says I’m Big B? See, I am so small,” he explained to the little girl from NGO Aarohan, and told her: “In life, just do your work, and work hard. Find a way that you want to pursue, and work hard towards it.”

When another student asked the actor what they must do if their parents don’t let them follow their passion to dance, Amitabh urged their parents to “allow their girls to follow their dreams”.

“Don’t stop them… Until and unless they are on a wrong path.”

IANS

Vidya Balan speaks at Ek Nayi Subah

Namaste and Hi Madhavan, says Vidya as she starts speaking on how she ended up doing the Swachch Bharat campaign.

Ganga to be among 10 cleanest rivers

Speaking at the event, which is called, Ek Nayi Subah, Union minister Uma Bharti said that Ganga will be among 10 most cleanest rivers in the world by 2018.

Twitter will never disappoint

While the Firstpost team is looking for serious insights into #Modi2Years, Twitter reminded us why the social media is so much fun. Here are a few funny tweets around the gala at India Gate.

The best salesman India has ever had

Senior editor of Firstpost Dinesh Unnikrishnan weighs in on Modi and his 2 years in tenure as celebrations continue at the India Gate

Despite what his critics say, Modi continues to be the showstopper in his foreign trips and a successful salesman in hardselling the India-story, like no PM has done before. Even his political opponents would agree–Modi is the best salesman India has ever had.

“At this point of time, it is wiser to be in India,” Modi often reminds overseas investors. His attitude is often not that of a statesman but  that of a seasoned salesman who knows how to sell his stuff or that of a corporate executive making presentation to potential investors.

But there are critics such as Arun Shourie, who calls the NDA government a ‘one man show’. If one were to go by this view, then Modi is spending a large part of his time managing headlines than addressing the actual problems in the economy.  By that same logic, India’s 7.6 percent GDP growth is a mirage since high frequency macro indicators indicate otherwise.

Senior journalist Rajdeep Sardesai says:

Modi’s challenge will be to push for big-ticket reforms

“India is growing much faster compared to the world, but I feel India could do better. It is difficult to maintain growth when the rest of the world is faring poorly,” Union minister Arun Jaitley said at the programme.

“The last government created the Nirbhaya fund but never spent that money. We have undertaken many programmes and are implementing them rapidly,” said Union minister Kiren Rijiju.

Meanwhile, senior editor of Firstpost Dinesh Unnikrishnan says: 

Modi ’s flagship JAM trinity (Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile) has helped to address the problem of financial exclusion in India’s rural lands. The government has also attempted to create a social security net for all citizens by way of offering chep insurance, pension products attached to their Aadhaar-linked bank accounts. But, how effectively will these measures have been implemented is a matter of a larger debate.

Modi’s next big challenge in the remaining three years of his term is to push big-ticket reforms to push economic growth, notably the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and averting a crisis in the banking sector addressing the issue of stressed assets. Also, one must note that despite the super fast growth, even beating China,there aren’t enough jobs created in the country to accommodate new workers. This too is a concern.

BJP has fulfilled 18% of the promises made in their 2014 manifesto

According to a piece in The Hindu,  the Modi government has fulfilled 18 percent of the promises the BJP made in its election manifesto, and work is in progress on 52 percent. An organisation founded by Kush Sharma, a researcher who has worked both with the Congress and the BJP, came up wit the findings.

All 246 promises listed in the Highlights of BJP’s Manifesto for 2014 General Elections were analysed, and “only official sources such as annual reports, parliamentary questions and RTI replies were used for the research,” Sharma said.

Modi govt has managed to bolster foreign policy along all axes

If one is looking for unqualified and substantial successes, there is little that the Modi government can boast about.

Yet, this is not to say that there have been no successes — India’s track record in translating words into deeds has been poor throughout its history, and it would be foolhardy to bet on noises in the pipeline too soon.

According to Jaideep Prabhu,  the achievements of the Modi government are also weighed down by the burden of public expectations — the Indian media has published report cards on the government’s performance after its first 100 days in office, at the six-month mark, the one year mark, and now at the end of the second year in office.

No other administration has ever faced such close scrutiny. Furthermore, the gargantuan scale of what needs to be done to bring the country in line with the ambitions of the younger generation, dwarfs into insignificance any accomplishment of the National Democratic Alliance.

Even  Modi’s  political opponents wouldn’t doubt his intent for ambitious reforms

Senior Editor of Firstpost Dinesh Unnikrishnan writes:  

Modi has taken the approach of progressing with several small reforma steps rather than big bang, radical reforms. Most notably, the government has set the juggernaut in motion by kicking off the process in the area of subsidy reforms. It has done so by promoting Aadhaar-bank account linkage for the roll out of Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).

The LPG subsidy roll out through DBT was indeed a great move by this government to curtail leakage and diversion of government funds–something that distorted the system for long. 

India among emerging economies

Senior Editor of Firstpost Dinesh Unnikrishnan writes:

Two years after Modi took over the charge, India has indeed consolidated it’s position among emerging economies. The country,as the IMF said, is indeed a bright spot in the global economic landscape.

But this has to be seen in the context of a slowing world and crashing commodity prices, which has immensely benefitted the economy. Also, there is skepticism among the economists about the strength of economic recovery on the ground and the projected 7.6% GDP growth on account of a slew of factors such as pile up in stressed asseta in the banking sector, 17-months of exports contraction and no significant reversal on private investments.

Big B to a small girl

“Big B koi nahi hota,you just need to work hard and keep yourself focused,” Amitabh Bachchan tells a girl who asked “how did you become Big B?”

A controversy over Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan’s participation in the show had led to much political wrangling.

Amitabh, whose name has figured in the Panama Papers, was rumoured to host the show. This had brought about a storm of protest from Opposition parties, especially the Congress.

However, Bachchan had later clarified that he would merely be hosting a small segment regarding the ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ campaign during the programme.

A talkathon where media is not invited

“Please don’t think of women as the weaker gender. If we are talking about inner-strength, then they are far stronger than men,” says Amitabh Bachchan at the mega event. He adds that growth is intrinsically connected to the development of women.

He interacts with underprivileged girl children who ask him a number of questions. “There is nothing called Big B. You just need to work hard and keep yourself focused,” says Amitabh to a student.

The event is being held in “talkathon” format with ministers answering queries put to them.

Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju, Minister of State for Urban Development Babul Supriyo and Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore were among the ministers to take part in the initial part of the programme. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to come towards the end of the event. The Talkathon format allows participants in the social media space to post questions on Twitter which are answered by the guests in real-time.

The programme is being telecast live on various channels of Doordarshan including DD National and mediapersons have not been invited for the coverage. “Media has not been invited for coverage. The event is being held in a studio format,” an official of the Information and Broadcasting ministry said. 

The government has hired Geometry Global Encompass Network, an event management company, for the programme. The government had also organised a “Talkathon” last year to mark its first anniversary.

Transforming India was never so extravagant

The show started with the theme song for the Narendra Modi government’s two year anniversary – ‘Mera Desh Badal Raha hai’. Participating in the first segment on young Parliamentarians, Union minister Rajyavardhan Rathore said, “Every Indian in talented. The government must be connected to the youth.”

Vidya Balan will speak about Swachch Bharat, the Clean India campaign she has been promoting with the Rural and Urban Development Ministry. Anil Kapoor will speak about the power of youth and Raveena Tandon about Women’s Rights and Development.

As we said earlier, this is probably the first time that a government is celebrating their completion of 2 years in tenure in such an extravagant manner. can we expect the Congress to soon hold a press conference about this?

Political critics slam jamboree as a PR stunt

Speaking on CNN-News18, political critics said that never in the history of Indian politics has a government celebrated a 2-year-completion in such a large scale. “This is very unprecedented. Vajpayee celebrated India Shining, but it was not celebrating your own accomplishments.”

Here are a few images of the preparations that were on throughout the day

Amitabh Bachchan speaks on Beti Bachao

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Actor Amitabh Bachchan speaks on Modi government’s Beti Bachao scheme. Amitabh says a girl child needs to be protected and empowered.