Kerala Governor under fire from UDF for supporting CAA
Kozhikode, Dec 22: Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan came under attack from Congress-led UDF on Sunday for reportedly supporting the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act, with the Opposition alleging he has stooped to the level of a BJP spokesperson.
The Governor, like the BJP, was trying to present a "distorted" version of history, the opposition front said referring to his speech at the Nehru Museum Memorial and Library in New Delhi on Saturday.
Speaking on the topic of "Citizenship institutional and civilizational," Khan had said the Congress had "committed itself in 1947 to accept" the people who have already fled Pakistan and who are likely to flee because their lives and honour were in danger.
"It is unfortunate that the Governor who holds the high constitutional post has stooped to the level of a BJP spokesman,"Congress parliamentary party deputy leader in the Kerala Assembly, K C Joseph, said in a statement.
The Governor, like the BJP, is trying to present a "distorted" version of history, he said, a day after Khan said in the programme, justifying CAA and indirectly blaming the Congress for protesting the law meant to provide citizenship to persecuted minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
"The governor's finding that CAA had been the creation of the Congress is absolutely baseless,'' Joseph said.
He said the Congress had never decided to determine citizenship of a person in the name of his religion.
Hitting out at the Governor, former state Congress Chief V M Sudheeran accused him of working like PRO of the Central government.
The Governor is taking efforts to whitewash the CAA, a "mad decision" taken by the Centre, he said.
The senior Congress leader urged the Governor to desist from directly or indirectly justifying the Citizenship Amendment Act.
Otherwise, the Governor will lose the acceptance he receives from Kerala society, he said in a statement.
IUML state general secretary K P A Majeed condemned the statement of the Governor, terming it "very bad."
Speaking to reporters here, he said such statements were not expected from a person holding the post of Governor.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
PM Modi holds talks with Dutch counterpart Jetten; discusses trade, investment
The Hague (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday held wide-ranging talks with his Dutch counterpart Rob Jetten, focusing on trade, investment, and critical technologies.
Modi arrived in the Netherlands on Friday on the second leg of his five-nation tour. This is his second trip to the Netherlands, following his visit in 2017.
Ahead of the bilateral talks, Modi, along with Jetten, held discussions with prominent CEOs of leading Dutch companies across various sectors such as energy, ports, health, agriculture trade, and technology, among others.
Modi invited Dutch companies to explore opportunities in India, particularly in maritime, renewable energy, digital technologies, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and healthcare sectors.
"We are continuously reducing compliance and increasing the ease of doing business. We have recently carried out next-generation reforms in taxation, labour code, and governance," he told the business leaders.
The prime minister added that manufacturing in India is becoming very cost-effective, and in the services sector, it has become the engine of efficiency and innovation.
"We invite all of you to design and innovate in India. There can be no better time for this than today," he said.
"Today's India is a symbol of scale and stability. In terms of scale, we are also the fastest-growing major economy in the world and the world's largest talent pool. Infrastructure, clean energy or connectivity – no one in the world can match India's speed," Modi said.
"And on the subject of stability, I have completed 12 years of serving as the Prime Minister of the world's largest democracy. In these 12 years, with continuous reforms, we have transformed our economic DNA. Our direction has been clear – to give policy predictability to the private sector and increase opportunities for them," he added.
Modi said his government has opened up every sector for the private sector, be it space, mining or nuclear energy.
Ahead of the meeting, an agreement between ASML and Tata Electronics was signed in the presence of the two leaders.
The two prime ministers also called for early implementation of the India-EU-FTA.
Earlier, Prime Minister Modi met King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima at the Royal Palace and discussed close cooperation in digital technology, innovation, fintech and blue economy.
PM Modi's visit will build on the momentum of high-level engagements and close cooperation spanning diverse sectors, including defence, security, innovation, green hydrogen, semiconductors and a strategic partnership on water, the MEA said ahead of his visit.
The Netherlands is one of India's largest trade destinations in Europe, with bilateral trade worth USD 27.8 billion in 2024-25. The European nation is India's fourth-largest investor with cumulative foreign direct investment of USD 55.6 billion.
From the Netherlands, the prime minister will travel to Sweden for a two-day trip from May 17 to 18.
