Country gearing up to 'overthrow' Modi government: Pawar
New Delhi, Aug 29 : Launching a strident attack on the Modi government, NCP President Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said the country was gearing up to "overthrow" the "communal" forces in the forthcoming parliamentary elections.
"I am deeply concerned with the NDA government's policies and actions that are nothing but a divisive, destructive and disruptive propaganda and a looming threat to the integrity of the nation," he said in his Presidential speech at the day-long national convention of his party here.
Asserting that the country was in the grip of communal politics, Pawar said the right-wing saw no contradiction between communalism and development.
"Their view is that communalism will unite the largest group in India and when minorities perceive them as united, they will join the mainstream as politically junior partners. We are a nation of diverse cultures, sects and religions and can only stay united with a secular thread of humanity. 'One religion, One nation' theory is absurd, impracticable in India's context," he said.
"We are in a year when the country is gearing up to overthrow the communal forces that have come to power at the Centre," he said, declaring that NCP had always remained committed to a just, secular and modern India.
Attacking the government over its performance in various sectors of economy like agriculture and employment and the "economic adventurism" of demonetization, the former Union Minister said: "We cannot let this stage of affairs continue any longer. What future could be there for a country where an atmosphere of fear looms large, where people are reeling under unemployment, where farmers and labourers are being systematically impoverished, where the economy is being manipulated for the benefit of a handful of people?
"We must close our ranks and put up a joint fight to end this reign of fear, communalism and opportunism."
Pawar said: "All the promises the BJP made in its election manifesto remain unfulfilled. People are disillusioned with their false promises. The recent by-elections held in different parts of the country have shown the people's verdict against the Modi government."
The NCP chief said an unprecedented shutdown of the Kashmir Valley with escalated militancy, massive street protests and daily exchange of firing across the border could be linked to the lack of a dialogue.
He accused the Modi government of being "most anti-farmer" and its claim of having increased the prices of agricultural crops by 150 per cent over the production costs was a "complete eyewash".
He said the "economic adventurism" of th 2016 note ban had subjected the whole country to extreme stress.
"There is an evergreen American saying, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. In other words, if something is not seriously in need of repair or functioning normally, do no try and repair it; it may backfire or get worse."
He said Modi's advisors were obviously unaware of this wisdom. Or why else would they have indulged in demonetization and the hastily-conceived and poorly-executed Kingdom of GST, he asked.
Pawar said just over two years the economy was moving at a decent pace of 8 per cent growth, inflation was under control, FDI was pouring in and the markets were booming. "It didn't need fixing. It needed more priming and it was ripe for reforms.
"But Modi with his fantastic ideas took decisions which put the country in peril," he added.
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India-bound LPG tanker clears Hormuz
New Delhi (PTI): A tanker carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for India has sailed out of the Strait of Hormuz and is now headed towards the country, an official statement said on Sunday.
The Marshall Islands-flagged LPG carrier MT Sarv Shakti, loaded with 46,313 tonnes of LPG and staffed by 20 crew, including 18 Indians, cleared the key shipping chokepoint on May 2 and is expected to reach Visakhapatnam on May 13, it said.
The cargo -- enough to meet half a days requirement of the country -- will partly tide over supply constraints being faced since the start of the West Asia conflict more than two months back.
Ship-tracking data showed its position in Oman Gulf on Sunday evening.
The very large gas carrier has previously made runs between the Persian Gulf and Indian ports, has been chartered by state-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).
Sarv Shakti is the first India-linked tanker to cross the war zone since a weeks-old US blockade of ships tied to Iran began, pushing transits through Hormuz back down to almost zero.
There are as many as 14 Indian flagged or India-owned vessels still stranded on the west side of the Strait of Hormuz.
The statement said no incident involving Indian-flagged vessels has been reported in the past 24 hours. The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways is working closely with the Ministry of External Affairs, Indian missions and maritime stakeholders to ensure crew welfare and uninterrupted operations.
The Directorate General of Shipping (DG Shipping) control room has handled 8,373 calls and more than 17,965 emails since activation, including 38 calls and 127 emails in the last 24 hours.
India has also facilitated the repatriation of more than 2,953 seafarers so far, including 31 in the past day from across the Gulf region.
Port operations across the country remain normal with no congestion reported, the statement added.
