Rahul asks Modi to tell nation who released Masood Azhar from Indian jail at Haveri Rally
Haveri, Mar 9: Stepping up attack on the Narendra Modi government over the Pulwama terror strike, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi Saturday asked the prime minister to explain to the nation why the then NDA dispensation had released terror outfit JeM chief Masood Azhar from Indian jail.
Raking up the release of Azhar by the Vajpayee dispensation in 1999 in exchange for passengers of a hijacked Indian Airlines plane, he said Modi should tell the country "how Masood Azhar was sent back (to Pakistan), who sent and which government sent him (back)".
He also asserted that the Congress would not bow down to terror.
Gandhi's attack on the Modi government on national security comes amid an escalating war of words between the BJP and the Congress over India's air strikes on terror camps in Pakistan after a suicide bomber attack on a CRPF convoy killed 40 jawans in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir, with each accusing the other of politicising the issue.
In a fierce attack on the opposition, Modi had called them "poster boys of Pakistan" for seeking proof of the IAF's action on a terror camp in Balakot in Pakistan and asked them to stop appeasing Pakistan.
"Some days ago CRPF people were killed in Pulwama. I have a small question to the prime minister. Who killed these CRPF jawans? What is the name of the chief of Jaish-e-Mohammed?...Masood Azhar," Gandhi said at a rally here in north Karnataka, where he sounded the party's bugle for the Lok Sabha polls.
The Congress chief said, "Modiji makes me understand who sent Masood Azhar from India's jail to Pakistan. Didn't the BJP government send this person from India's jail to Pakistan?
"Didn't you send (then Union minister) Jaswant Singh and your National Security Advisor (Ajit Doval) on the same flight? Did you forget that your (party's) government sent this person from India's jail to Kandahar(in Afghanistan)?"
"Why are you not speaking about it in your speeches? Why are you not saying that the person who carried out the bomb blast on CRPF, who killed CRPF jawans was sent back to Pakistan by the BJP government?" Gandhi asked.
He told the crowd, "Go to the internet, you can see the photo of Ajit Doval who is the National Security Advisor of Narendra Modi along with Masood Azhar at Kandahar airport."
"Modiji we are not like you, we won't bow in front of terrorism," he said.
Azhar was released by the Vajpayee government in exchange for passengers of the hijacked Indian Airlines plane IC-814 in 1999.
The Kathmandu-New Delhi plane was hijacked and taken to Kandahar by Masood Azhar's men.
The JeM chief was freed along with Omar Sheikh and Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar alias 'Latram' after negotiations with hijackers, in which Doval was involved, failed.
The then external affairs minister Jaswant Singh took the three terrorists to Kandahar in a special plane to ensure the release of passengers of the hijacked plane.
On the Rafale fighter jet issue, Gandhi asked Modi to explain "why he gave Rs 30,000 crore to Anil Ambani. You make understand why did you purchase Rs 526 crore aircraft at Rs 1,600 crore."
"You also tell the pilots of Air force that by robbing from their pockets you have given it to Anil Ambani," he said.
Gandhi said Modi had asked the people to make him "a chowkidar" and spoken about 56-inch chest and people voted for him.
But on the Rafale issue "Narendra Modi himself through theft has put Rs 30,000 crore to Anil Ambani's pocket," he alleged.
"Earlier when he used say acche din, people used to respond saying 'aayenge' (will come). You remember? Now if someone says chowkidar, people respond 'chor hai'."
"...wherever he goes, he says he is fighting against corruption. You are corrupt, the whole country knows you help 15-20 businessmen whole day...wherever you see (it is the) same 15 people. Anil Ambani, Adani. Anil Ambani, Adani," Gandhi said.
Gandhi said Modi claims he wants to do 'chowkidari', but "doesn't do your (people's) chowkidaari, he does Anil Ambani's chowkidaari."
The Congress president also said Modi was "swinging" with the Chinese president when their army had infiltrated into Doklam
"Even today China's army is sitting in Doklam. The whole world knows about it," he claimed.
He said if the Congress government comes to power in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, it would immediately give minimum income guarantee to the country's poor.
Gandhi said the Congress would also reform the GST and bring in "one tax GST".
Promising to implement women's reservation bill which provides for reservation of parliamentary and assembly seats for women, the Congress President said in 2019 "our first work will be providing reservation to women".
Gandhi said the ruling coalition alliance in Karnataka --the Congress and the JD(S) -- would support each other in the Lok Sabha elections and "together we will win election here".
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Spurious ointment racket busted; Delhi Police recovers material worth Rs 2 crore from Ghaziabad unit
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi Police has busted a major interstate racket allegedly involved in the manufacture, repackaging and nationwide sale of spurious Schedule-H medicines, an official said on Sunday.
Police have also located a manufacturing unit and seized counterfeit drugs and raw material worth over Rs 2.3 crore.
According to the police, two men -- Gaurav Bhagat, a resident of Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad, and Shree Ram alias Vishal Gupta of northeast Delhi's Sabhapur -- have been arrested in the case, he said.
"The operation was carried out by the Crime Branch. The accused were engaged in producing and selling counterfeit versions of popular prescription ointments, including Betnovate-C and Clop-G, which are widely used for treating skin infections, allergies and sports-related injuries," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Aditya Gautam said in a statement.
The officer further said the spurious medicines were sold as genuine branded products, posing a serious risk to public health.
Acting on inputs, the Crime Branch team first conducted a raid at Teliwara in Sadar Bazar, one of the country's largest wholesale pharmaceutical and cosmetic markets.
"During the raid, a large quantity of counterfeit Schedule-H ointments was recovered. Subsequent technical analysis and follow-up intelligence led the team to a manufacturing unit operating from Meerpur Hindu village in the Loni area of Ghaziabad.
"A search of the premises resulted in the recovery of counterfeit medicines, huge quantities of raw chemicals, packing material, empty tubes bearing forged brand labels and machinery used for mixing, filling and sealing ointments," the DCP said.
He further said drug inspectors from the North and Central Zones of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, along with authorised representatives of the concerned pharmaceutical companies, conducted spot inspections and drew samples from the seized stock. They confirmed that the medicines were counterfeit and neither manufactured nor supplied by their companies.
The accused were also found to be operating without any valid licence to manufacture, store or sell pharmaceutical products, he added.
Police said that an FIR was registered at the Crime Branch police station on December 12 under various sections of the BNS and provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.
"The seized material included around 1,200 tubes of spurious Betnovate-C ointment, over 2,700 tubes of fake Clop-G, more than 3,700 tubes of spurious Skin-Shine ointment, nearly 22,000 empty fake Clop-G tubes, over 350 kilograms of semi-prepared ointment, besides chemicals and manufacturing equipment," the DCP said.
He said further investigation is underway to trace the entire supply chain, including wholesalers, distributors, delivery handlers and retailers involved in the illegal trade.
