Congress Demands Clarity on Trump-India Trade Deal Amid Concerns Over Ceasefire Leverage
With US President Donald Trump announcing the upcoming trade deal with India, Congress said Modi govt must clarify what concessions it has made in the proposed agreement since the US leader has said 16 times that he used the leverage of trade to force a ceasefire between India and Pakistan during the recent conflict.
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Congress also slammed the govt for its silence on the issue.
AICC Spokesman Jairam Ramesh lamented that the people of India are getting used to the US announcing the decisions of Modi govt, in what was also an allusion to the earlier White House proclamation about the ceasefire between India and Pakistan.
'Trump has said it's a very big deal. Is it so big that Operation Sindoor had to be stopped? What is big about it? Are we opening up our agriculture? Are we opening up our small and medium industry? Are we liberalising imports from America? What are we doing? What is this deal? Why do we have to listen to a ceasefire and trade agreement from Washington? Why isn't the Prime Minister taking the Parliament into confidence? Why isn't the foreign minister speaking on this issue? Why isn't the nation being taken into confidence on the trade deal which President Trump claims is a very big deal?'
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India Gazette
21 minutes ago
- India Gazette
Oppn train guns on RSS over call to remove
New Delhi [India], June 27 (ANI): Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale's comments pitching to remove the words 'secular and socialist' from the Preamble of the Indian Constitution has sparked massive outrage in the political circle with the opposition leaders and parties labelling it as an 'insult to the Constitution' and an attack on its framers, including Babasaheb Ambedkar. However, BJP leaders and alliance party Shiv Sena came to defend the RSS leader, reiterating their stand that secularism has been imported from the West and represents Western values and not Indian culture. Attacking the RSS, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh accused the Sangh of 'never accepting the Constitution'. He claimed that they have targeted framers of the Constitution since its inception for not being 'inspired by Manusmriti'. 'The RSS has NEVER accepted the Constitution of India. It attacked Dr Ambedkar, Nehru, and others involved in its framing from Nov 30, 1949, onwards. In the RSS's own words, the Constitution was not inspired by Manusmriti. The RSS and the BJP have repeatedly given the call for a new Constitution. This was Mr Modi's campaign cry during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The people of India decisively rejected this cry. Yet the demands for changing the basic structure of the Constitution continue to be made by the RSS ecosystem,' read a post by the Congress leader on X. KC Venugopal lashed out at Hosabale's statement, claiming that the leader's remarks were an insult to the Constitution, a rejection of its values, and a direct attack on the Supreme Court. 'A senior RSS member surely knows that the Supreme Court declared socialism and secularism to be part of the basic structure of the Constitution. Yet, to take this stand is a clear insult to the Constitution, a rejection of its values, and a direct attack on the Supreme Court of India as well,' he posted on X. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah cautioned that the call for the removal of the words 'secular and socialist' must not be understood as a 'casual remark' but a 'long-standing agenda' to reshape the country's democracy. He highlighted RSS' persistent opposition to the mention of the terms secularism and socialism in the Constitution, which Siddaramaiah said were the 'core values of the constitution'. He added that it was a part of the long-standing agenda of the Sangh to reshape India's democracy within their ideological purview. 'The RSS has always opposed the core values of our Constitution - secularism and socialism. Now, their leaders are once again saying these words should be removed from the Preamble. This is not a casual remark - it is part of a long-standing agenda to reshape India's democracy in their ideological image,' the Karnataka CM posted on X. Focusing on the rights guaranteed by the Constitution to the marginalised communities, the Karnataka CM said, 'If not for these constitutional values, people like me would never have had the chance to study, speak, or serve. That is the power of justice, equality, and secularism.' Siddaramaiah explained that the original Preamble didn't include 'secular and socialist' since it was obvious that India would be a socially just democracy, and these terms were added later at a time when the RSS and its affiliates were attacking these values. Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi added to the criticism while stating that RSS intended to violate the rights of the marginalised and the poor while enslaving them. 'The mask of RSS has come off again,' he added. 'RSS-BJP doesn't want the Constitution. They want Manusmriti. They aim to strip the marginalised and the poor of their rights and enslave them again. Snatching a powerful weapon like the Constitution from them is their real agenda,' the Congress leader posed on X. On the other hand, BJP leaders, including Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Union Minister Jitendra Singh, have come in defence of the remarks made by Hosabale, reiterating their argument that secularism was not fundamental to Indian culture and that 'any right-thinking person' would support such a demand as these terms were not part of the original Constitution. 'The basic sentiment of India is equality of all religions... Secularism is not the core of our culture. The word secularism was added (to our culture) during the Emergency. It should be removed... Live and let live is the basic sentiment of India... Therefore, there is no need for socialism here... There is no need for the word socialism (Samajwad) either. The country should think about this,' Chouhan told ANI. Singh emphasised that the words 'secular' and 'socialist' were added later, through the 42nd Amendment to the Constitution during the Emergency, and not by the original drafters. 'Dattatreya Hosabale has stated that the words 'secular' and 'socialist' were added to our Preamble after the Amendment. Dr Ambedkar has crafted one of the world's finest constitutions. If this was not his thinking, how did someone add these words?' the junior minister added. Shiv Sena leader Shaina NC extended support to Hosabale's suggestion while reiterating that the demand to re-examine the original draft prepared by Dr BR Ambedkar stems from the view that in a republic like India, invoking terms such as 'socialist or pseudo-secular' is no longer necessary. 'The RSS is demanding to look into the original draft of the Preamble by Dr BR Ambedkar, in which there is no mention of these words. And the socialism, secularism, that is actually a symbol of India or a symbol of civilisational ethos, then why was it not in the original draft?' Shaina NC questioned. This development comes after Hosabale questioned the legitimacy of including the terms 'socialist' and 'secular' in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution on Thursday while addressing a program on the 50th anniversary of the Emergency held at Dr Ambedkar International Centre, jointly organised by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (under the Ministry of Culture), Ambedkar International Centre. He remarked that during the Emergency, terms like 'socialism' and 'secular' were forcibly inserted into the Constitution -- a move that needs to be reconsidered today. He emphasised that the Emergency wasn't just a misuse of power but an attempt to crush civil liberties. Millions were imprisoned, and freedom of the press was suppressed. He said that those who imposed the Emergency and trampled the Constitution and democracy have never apologised. If they cannot apologise personally, they should do so on behalf of their ancestors. (ANI)
India Gazette
21 minutes ago
- India Gazette
Government tirelessly working to fill up vacant posts: Tripura CM
Agartala (Tripura) [India], June 27 (ANI): Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Friday said that the present state government is working to fill up the vacant posts. He also said, the government is opening special coaching centres for students. CM Saha said this while addressing an event- distribution of offers of appointment under Education (School) and Health and Family Welfare departments at Muktadhara Auditorium today. '222 appointment letters were given. We have appointed them through transparency and in the coming days also we will do this. Due to their hard work, they made success. After joining the work, they must give concentration on state and central government schemes and how to implement them so that people would be benefited. We must work for the people,' he said. CM Saha, who is also the Education and Health Minister of the state, said that so far 19,484 jobs were provided, including die-in-harness. 'If anyone gets a job, this is a happy moment for a family. We can understand how a job or employment is necessary for a family. The present state government is working to fill up the vacancy. We must listen to public grievances and have to solve them. We are also trying to create new employment opportunities. Over 5,700 jobs have been given through outsourcing. In the 2024-25 financial year, under National Career Service, around 305 persons got jobs,' he said. Saha also said that the unemployment rate has significantly declined, from 10 per cent in 2018-2019 to 1.7 per cent in the 2023-24 financial year. 'This signifies we are on the right track and we are fulfilling the promises of providing employment. PM Modi has always said government servants need proper training and you, the newly recruited, will also undergo training for capacity building. In 2022, PM Modi declared Viksit Bharat by 2047. Tripura is the only state where the E-office started from the Cabinet to the Panchayat level in a very short time. Now all files are being digitised, and for that, it will be maintained properly and can be stored in a proper way,' said Saha. He said that the government has done many more things for Education, starting from the implementation of the National Education Policy, the NCERT curriculum was started, Super 30 was introduced for the betterment of education and students. 'We have decided to open coaching centres in every sub-division on science and English. Some bindings are there. More new general degree colleges are being opened, competitive exam centres are also being opened,' he added. Education Special Secretary Raval Hamendra Kumar, Director Secondary and Elementary N.C. Sharma, in-charge Director Family Welfare and Preventive Medicine Anjan Das, Director of Health Services Tapan Majumder, Additional Secretary Health Rajib Datta were also present. (ANI)
News18
30 minutes ago
- News18
The Symbolism Of Sindoor: Analysing The Operation That Checkmated Pakistan
Last Updated: The beauty, the splendour, the glory, the auspiciousness: the symbol has spoken from our collective psyche Every symbol has three layers of interpretation, said Roland Barthes. I think I have found at least five for Operation Sindoor. Let us see. The first one, or primary interpretation, is simple and straightforward: the colour of blood. It was a message that we would be kicking butt. We were ticked. They killed our men and left their young wives widowed. It left our blood boiling and turned it into hot Sindoor. We had to show them who the real man was, aka 56. But what is the hidden or secondary message? That too seems obvious, I think. Sindoor is the paste applied by Hanuman over all his body to express how much he loved Sri Rama. For Sindoor on her forehead was a mark of her love for Sri Rama, said Sita. No one will mess with her. I get this too. This is the in-your-face finger that is being shown to the Asura. They came and killed wantonly and spared the women only to use them as tools, as messengers to go tell Modi. Well, he heard, and he responded. And we heard too as the ear of his ears and saw as the eye of his eyes. That is the mythological, the religious, hidden behind the Brahmo, and the arrow of the sky, the Akashteer, another symbol and message. What is the third level, then? The ensconced one. I think it is the BJP, plain and simple. For, if you remember, the colour of Sindoor is both red and orange. And subtly, the puratana prateeka, the chinha of our civilisation, of security and dedication, is the party of nationalists. Sindoor and Bhagwa flow together. There is nothing wrong with it. It is an inspired choice, and I am duly impressed. Just because I prefer to eat Amul, not for its taste (which is excellent, by the way) but for its advertising. I will always stand by Prime Minister Modi for his marketing genius. The tertiary level, or the Tritiya Stara, here, is a subtle link with the party. This is why Mamata Didi did not acknowledge the Sindoor of her sisters that had been so unceremoniously wiped off their foreheads. She praised and mentioned only the military. But Modi, the modern Gipper, has scored a big one. With a symbol that, to most of us, was a Ritual. There was an ulterior motive behind all the advertising and the marketing, and it was the political. But wait, there is more. And I did not see it until more than a month later. There is here a new myth being built, the myth of a central figure, filled with fire in his bloodstreams, even though his mind is calm and still. The yogi who is invoking the flame. And I was instantly reminded of the first rik of the Veda, 'Agnimile purohitam yajnasya devam ritvijam Hotaram ratna dhatamam." Translated loosely, it implies, 'I adore the flame, the priest of the Sacrifice, the shining lover of Truth, the invoker of opulence and Light." What a genius! Did he actually know that he was turning himself into a tapasvi, a Rishi, with this flagrant symbol that hides so much more than it reveals? If he did, give him ten more years as poetic justice. For the man who picks the right metaphor gets the drone. If he did not, then the man is an artist of a high order. He is a master builder of narratives, and he has built it, Kubrick by Kubrick. We need narratives, in the land of Bollywood. We need the dialogues of Sholay and Mother India. They fill our national desire for drama. If someone understands this, then he understands our collective psyche. So now we have figured out the fourth level, that of movie-making, the quaternary, the chatvari. But wait! There is something more to this than mere symbolism. Something that transcends the representative and the metaphorical, the mythological and the cultural, the political and the historical. Sri Aurobindo says that the entire Veda is three layers of interpretation, trayortha sarva Vedeshu. The highest layer is bhadram, the good, the adhyatmik, the spiritual. For it is the colour of our collective aspiration. We are royally PO'd. We have borne enough bouncers on our helmets and our chests. We have been quiet all along and have smiled back every time they come hurtling at us with the red ball. I think the fifth level is our collective need burning a hole through us. We have had enough of having been played. We will be redder than Red China. We will be like Draupadi, who wiped away the Sindoor from her forehead when she was violated and her husbands did not stand up for her. We are done. We need a symbol we can cling to and hold. Where, as Sri Aurobindo says, the real is the symbol and the symbol is the real. Where our operation, surgical and clinical will never be over. We will keep cutting delicately with our scalpel. We will watch you bleed a thousand times and will not flinch. We do not care. A wounded civilisation needs to be healed. And the price of its healing is blood. It is the thousand years of humiliation that need to be punched in the nose. Wash the wound with blood! But whose blood and why? Is it our reverse of Jihad? Isn't this what it was about? The dog whistle of Munir being answered by our own. And I am very comfortable with it. All that I would like is, while we admire it, we put its explosion to good use too. For the true value of Sindoor is not in its look of blood but in its ancient evocation of Sringara. The beauty, the splendour, the glory, the auspiciousness. The symbol has spoken from our collective psyche. But we must remember to remember this too. top videos View all We need to turn it into the real that it was meant for. Someday. For red is also the colour of transformation. Pariksith Singh is author, poet, philosopher and medical practitioner based in Florida. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18's views. First Published:
