BJP questions Rahul's intention for raking up women's quota Bill
New Delhi, July 16 : The BJP on Monday questioned the intention of Congress President Rahul Gandhi's letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking support for the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha. Raising the women's quota issue now is nothing but an attempt to divert public attention from his remark that 'Congress a party of Muslims, the BJP said.
Addressing the media here, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said: "Why did he raise this issue today? It is an attempt to divert the people's attention from his remark that the Congress is a party of Muslims...This is the double standards of the Congress."
Javadekar sought to know from the Congress chief whether he would also ensure the support of parties that were opposed to the bill in the past.
"The Congress has alliances with parties opposed to this bill. Will they come out of the alliance? Will they ask for letters of support from parties opposed to the bill," Javadekar asked when questioned on Gandhi's letter to Modi on Monday. However, he did not name the Samajwadi Party or the Rashtriya Janata Dal which had opposed the Bill and are now allies of the Congress in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
The BJP leader's response came soon after Rahul Gandhi wrote to the Prime Minister to seek his support for the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill in Parliament's monsoon session. Gandhi said the BJP appears to have had second thoughts on the proposed law even though it was a key promise in its 2014 manifesto.
The Congress leader said the bill, passed by the Rajya Sabha in March 2010 during the UPA II government headed by Manmohan Singh, has been stalled in the Lok Sabha on one pretext or the other.
Gandhi said the bill holds the potential to transform the country's governance and any further delay will make it impossible to implement it before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The monsoon session will be held from July 18 till August 10.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismisses defence minister in surprise announcement
Jerusalem, Nov 5: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday dismissed his popular defence minister, Yoav Gallant, in a surprise announcement that came as the country is embroiled in wars on multiple fronts across the region.
Netanyahu and Gallant have repeatedly been at odds over the war in Gaza. But Netanyahu had avoided firing his rival. Netanyahu cited “significant gaps” and a “crisis of trust” between the men in his Tuesday evening announcement.
“In the midst of a war, more than ever, full trust is required between the prime minister and defence minister,” Netanyahu said. “Unfortunately, although in the first months of the campaign there was such trust and there was very fruitful work, during the last months this trust cracked between me and the defence minister.”
In the early days of the war, Israel's leadership presented a unified front as it responded to Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack. But as the war dragged on and spread to Lebanon, key policy differences have emerged. While Netanyahu has called for continued military pressure on Hamas, Gallant had taken a more pragmatic approach, saying that military force has created the necessary conditions for a diplomatic deal that could bring home hostages held by the Hamas group.
Gallant, a former general who has gained public respect with a gruff, no-nonsense personality, said in a statement: “The security of the state of Israel always was, and will always remain, my life's mission."
Gallant has worn a simple, black buttoned shirt throughout the war in a sign of sorrow over the October 7 attack and developed a strong relationship with his US counterpart, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin.
A previous attempt by Netanyahu to fire Gallant in March 2023 sparked widespread street protests against Netanyahu. He also flirted with the idea of dismissing Gallant over the summer but held off until Tuesday's announcement.
Gallant will be replaced by Foreign Minister Israel Katz, a Netanyahu loyalist and veteran Cabinet minister who was a junior officer in the military. Gideon Saar, a former Netanyahu rival who recently rejoined the government, will take the foreign affairs post.
Netanyahu has a long history of neutralising his rivals. In his statement, he claimed he had made “many attempts” to bridge the gaps with Gallant.
“But they kept getting wider. They also came to the knowledge of the public in an unacceptable way, and worse than that, they came to the knowledge of the enemy - our enemies enjoyed it and derived a lot of benefit from it,” he said.
