Modi accuses Congress of shedding crocodile tears for farmers
Mirzapur, July 15 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday accused the Congress, as well as and other opposition parties, of shedding crocodile tears for farmers and said several irrigation projects in the country had languished in its rule.
Addressing a public meeting after inaugurating the Bansagar canal project and laying foundation stone of Mirzapur medical college here, he said the BJP-led government looked at the pending irrigation projects throughout the country after assuming office in 2014.
"Those who are shedding crocodile tears for farmers these days, you should ask them why they could not see the pending irrigation projects throughout the nation during their rule," he said, adding that people suffered as previous governments did not complete projects on time.
Referring to the Bansagar project, he said it had been first conceptualized about four decades ago and the foundation stone was laid in 1978 but the project was unduly delayed.
He said project would have cost around Rs 300 crore if completed on its original schedule but it had now cost Rs 3,500 crore.
"The Bansagar project will not just provide irrigation in Mirzapur but also 1.5 lakh hectares of this whole area including Allahabad," Modi said.
He said the project will provide a big boost to irrigation in the region and noted that both the BJP-led government and the Yogi Adityanath government in the state were giving a lot of attention to development of eastern Uttar Pradesh.
He also listed the steps taken by his government for farmers including hike in the minimum support price (MSP) for kharif crops and said all efforts were being made to double the income of farmers in the next four years.
"Where there will be surety of medicine for the poor, irrigation for farmer, education for children, employment for youth, where there will be a lot of facilities and system will be honest, we are moving towards such New India," Modi said.
He said his government has taken several measures to provide affordable healthcare to the poor, including Jan Aushadhi Kendras.
"These Jan Aushadi Kendras are becoming a much-larger support of poor, lower-middle class. More than 700 medicines in these centres and over half a hundred surgeries are available at cheap prices," he said.
The Prime Minister said the Swachh Bharat Mission is also proving effective in controlling disease. He said the health insurance scheme -- Ayushman Bharat -- would be rolled out soon and also spoke of other social welfare schemes of the Central government.
Modi had arrived in Mirzapur on Sunday, on the second day of his visit to Uttar Pradesh.
The Bansagar canal project would help at least 1.70 lakh farmers of both Mirzapur and Allahabad with the irrigation sector receiving a huge boost. A joint venture of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar, the canal is 171 km long.
He also inaugurated 100 Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadi Kendras and a bridge over the Ganga river.
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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.
