Only a foolish govt will disclose defence secret: Chidambaram on PM's Mission Shakti address
New Delhi: Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for announcing that India had demonstrated anti-satellite missile capability, saying only a "foolish government" would make such a disclosure and "betray" a defence secret.
In an address to the nation, Modi had on Wednesday announced that India had demonstrated anti-satellite missile capability by shooting down a live satellite under 'Mission Shakti', describing it as a rare achievement that puts the country in an exclusive club of space superpowers.
Slamming the announcement by the prime minister, Chidambaram tweeted, "The capability to shoot down a satellite has existed for many years. A wise government will keep the capability secret. Only a foolish government will disclose it and betray a defence secret."
The former finance minister also questioned the motive of the government in making the announcement.
"Besides, why was it done now in the middle of an election campaign? Only to boost the sagging fortunes of the BJP," Chidambaram claimed.
Following the prime minister's speech, several Opposition parties had complained to the Election Commission alleging violation of the model code of conduct.
The Election Commission, however, said on Friday night that Modi's address to the nation on the successful test-firing of an anti-satellite missile did not violate the model code of conduct.
Chidambaram also sought answers from the prime minister on high unemployment rate and job losses, citing data from the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO).
"Unemployment rate in India is at 7.1 per cent. It is the highest in 45 years. Why? Will Mr Modi answer? According to the NSSO, 4 crore 70 lakh jobs have been lost. Why? Will Mr Modi answer?" he said in a series of tweets.
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Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
