Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao criticizes BJP for insulting Col Sofiya Qureshi
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Mangaluru: Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dinesh Gundu Rao, commenting on Madhya Pradesh Cabinet Minister Vijay Shah for his recent controversial statement on Col Sofiya Qureshi, said that the BJP was stooping to very low moral levels by insulting officers of the Indian Army.
Addressing reports at the Circuit House on Friday, Rao pointed out that the Madhya Pradesh High Court, expressing distrust in the state government regarding filing an FIR against Shah, had stated that it would take charge of the matter.
Stating that the BJP only focuses on communalizing the matter, with many party workers also insulting the Foreign Secretary’s daughter, the minister challenged the BJP workers to troll Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had decided on calling a ceasefire with Pakistan. The power to take the decision lies with the PM, Rao said, and also asked people to understand matters clearly rather than politicizing them.
He further criticized the PM’s silence regarding Pakistan’s fake news that it had destroyed Indian jets although all of India had unitedly stood by the Central government as it went ahead to fight against the Pahalgam terrorists.
The minister stated that people had been seeking explanations for the declaration of the ceasefire by US President Donald Trump. Opining that PM Modi greatly feared the US President, he added that while the PM criticizes Turkey boldly, he also prefers silence on China supplying weapons to Pakistan.
Rao said that the PM should call an all-party meeting and answer questions. He pointed out that the Congress leaders had demanded a special Parliamentary session to discuss the Pahalgam issue.
In response to a question on President Trump asking Apple to stop expanding production in India, the minister expressed optimism regarding the PM.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
