Dubai: Rahul takes jibe at PM Modi, says does not want to tell his 'Mann Ki Baat'
Dubai, Jan 11: Taking a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday told Indian workers here that he wants to listen to their problems instead of telling his "Mann Ki Baat".
Gandhi, who is in the UAE on a maiden visit, was accorded a warm welcome by the Indian diaspora at the Dubai airport on Thursday.
He lauded the Indian workers here for making the country proud by their hard work in the UAE.
"You have illuminated the names of every religion, every state and every caste," he said.
He said his party is aware of the difficulties faced by the labourers and wants to help them.
"We want to talk to you," he said.
"Main yahan apne mann ki baat kehne nahi aaya hun..main yayan aapke mann ki baat sunane aaya hun (I have not come here to speak my mind, I have come to listen to your heart)," he said in his address at the Jabel Ali labour colony.
He was referring to Prime Minister Modi's monthly radio broadcast Mann Ki Baat where he address the nation on various issues.
Earlier Gandhi met with the business leaders in the country.
A construction worker from Jabel Ali labour colony said he wants to see Gandhi leading India with compassion and care for all Indians.
Gandhi is also set to meet some UAE ministers during his two-day visit to Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
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England sticking with Key, McCullum and Stokes despite Ashes humbling
London (AP): England is not sacking anybody following the 4-1 Ashes loss in Australia.
A review of the tour by the England and Wales Cricket Board, announced within hours of the final match in January, was concluded on Monday. Firing people would “be the easy thing to do,” ECB chief executive Richard Gould said but he insisted, "This is not the time to throw everything out."
Managing director Rob Key, coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes kept their jobs after the best England side to go to Australia in 14 years lost the Ashes in 11 days with two games to spare.
“Moving people on can sometimes be the easy thing to do. That's not the route that we're going to take,” Gould said. “I've seen the driving ambition and determination that we're lucky enough to have within our leadership group to take the lessons from the Ashes and move forward.”
Gould previously was the chief executive of Bristol City soccer club and said the ECB would not follow the same route as soccer's hire-and-fire culture.
“Cricket is a very unique sport in that it takes a team of leadership ... it's not like football where there's a single point of failure or success with a manager," he said. He added the ECB would not “select or deselect management based on a popularity campaign.”
The main criticisms of England's tour were poor preparation, player misbehavior, and selection mistakes.
At a press conference at Lord's, Gould and Key said McCullum and Stokes have not had a “bust up,” they did not want McCullum to “completely change” but “to evolve,” the behavior of some players was “unprofessional,” there will be more consequences for underperforming, and a commitment to “better long-term planning” ahead of major test series.
Some changes were already implemented for the Twenty20 World Cup, where England reached the semifinals. Gould implied that performance saved McCullum.
Key acknowledged that England supporters would be disappointed to see the management team go unpunished.
“I know people want punishment and that people then should be sacked for that,” Key said. “That doesn't mean we don't feel like we've gone through some serious pain: Brendon, myself, Ben. It's been as tough a time as I think I've had.”
