Suella Braverman resigns as UK Home Secretary over 'mistake'
London (PTI): Indian-origin British Home Secretary Suella Braverman resigned on Wednesday after a "mistake" in using her private email for ministerial communication, in the latest blow to embattled Prime Minister Liz Truss who faces significant discontent among Conservative lawmakers over her botched economic plan.
Braverman was only appointed Home Secretary 43 days ago when British Prime Minister Truss took charge at 10 Downing Street. Her exit followed a face-to-face meeting with Truss earlier on Wednesday and posted her resignation letter on her Twitter handle.
"I have made a mistake; I accept responsibility; I resign," the 42-year-old barrister said.
Braverman said she "sent an official document from my personal email to a trusted parliamentary colleague... as you know, the document was a draft Written Ministerial Statement about migration, due for publication imminently".
"Nevertheless it is right for me to go. As soon as I realised my mistake, I rapidly reported this on official channels, and informed the Cabinet Secretary," she said.
Grant Shapps, who was a major backer of Indian-origin Rishi Sunak during the Tory leadership contest, is likely to be the new home secretary, according to BBC.
Shapps was fired from his role as transport secretary by Truss when she became prime minister and was replaced by Anne-Marie Trevelyan.
In a short letter accepting Braverman's resignation, Prime Minister Truss said, "It is important that the ministerial code is upheld and that cabinet confidentiality is respected."
"I am grateful for your service as home secretary. Your time in office has been marked by your steadfast commitment to keeping the British people safe. You oversaw the largest ever ceremonial policing operation, when thousands of officers were deployed from forces across the United Kingdom to ensure the safety of the Royal Family and all those who gathered in mourning for Her Late Majesty The Queen.
In her resignation letter, Braverman has raised "concerns" about the direction of the government and whether it is honouring the manifesto it was elected on.
In remarks that will deal a further blow to her boss Truss, she noted that "we are going through a tumultuous time... I have concerns about the direction of this government".
"Not only have we broken key pledges that were promised to our voters, but I have had serious concerns about this government's commitment to honouring manifesto commitments, such as reducing overall migration numbers and stopping illegal migration, particularly the dangerous small boats crossings," Braverman said.
She said it was "a great honour" to serve at the Home Office and thanked officials, special advisers and ministerial team for all of their help during her stint as Home Secretary.
Her resignation comes days after she caused a stir with her "concerns" over what she feared could be an "open borders" approach in the ongoing trade talks with India.
Addressing a Diwali event organised by UK-based India Global Forum (IGF) here on Tuesday evening, Braverman said that the UK is "eager" to secure a trade deal with India to boost both economies and that Brexit has meant that Britain no longer has a Eurocentric mindset towards trade or visas.
In an apparent effort to override her recent controversial remarks about Indians forming the largest group of visa overstayers, the minister said the UK's villages, towns and cities have been profoundly enriched by immigration from India .
"India is in my heart, she's in my soul, she's in my blood. I'm very proud that my father has his roots and his family home in Goa and my mother can trace her ancestral origins to Madras," she said.
"India is part of my own heritage, I'm Indian on both sides of my family. My mother came here from Mauritius and my father came here from Kenya. They felt a deep connection and love for Britain even before they came here. It is a love that I share. And, I have never seen any inconsistency in that, for no inconsistency exists," she added.
Braverman, the Conservative Party member of Parliament for Fareham in south-east England, served as the Attorney General in the Boris Johnson-led government.
She was among the first contenders to throw her hat in the ring to replace Johnson as Tory leader and Prime Minister. She was named as the Home Secretary by Prime Minister Truss.
The mother of two children is the daughter of Hindu Tamil mother Uma and Goan-origin father Christie Fernandes. Her mother migrated to the UK from Mauritius while her father migrated from Kenya in the 1960s.
Braverman is a Buddhist who attends the London Buddhist Centre regularly and took her oath of office in Parliament on the Dhammapada' scripture of Lord Buddha's sayings.
Her resignation comes soon after the sacking of Kwasi Kwarteng as chancellor last Friday and the axing of the majority of the government's mini-budget on Monday by his successor, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.
The move is expected to further shake up Truss' embattled leadership.
According to a YouGov poll of Tory members on Tuesday, as many as 83 per cent of Conservative members say Truss is doing badly as Prime Minister, including 72 per cent of those who voted for her in the leadership election which concluded with her win just over a month ago. Only 15 per cent think she is doing well.
It survey comes as Prime Minister Truss apologised for mistakes made in the first few weeks in office, which saw her entire tax-cutting economic agenda reversed by new Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and a clamour from different sections of the Tory parliamentary party to find ways to replace her.
Under the 1922 Committee rules, Truss is safe from a leadership challenge for at least 12 months. However, her mishandling of the economy with a controversial mini-budget has resulted in a brewing rebellion within the ranks just weeks into the job.
My letter to the Prime Minister. pic.twitter.com/TaWO1PMOF2
— Suella Braverman MP (@SuellaBraverman) October 19, 2022
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'Made in India' must become symbol of excellence, global competitiveness: PM
New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday called upon states to encourage manufacturing, boost 'ease of doing business' and strengthen the services sector to make India a global services giant.
Addressing the 5th National Conference of Chief Secretaries here, Modi emphasised the need for quality in governance, service delivery and manufacturing, and said the label 'Made in India' must become a symbol of excellence and global competitiveness.
He said India has the potential to become the world's food basket and the country must move towards high-value agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, dairying and fisheries to become a major food exporter.
"Called upon states to encourage manufacturing, boost 'Ease of Doing Business' and strengthen the services sector. Let us aim to make India a Global Services Giant," Modi said in a series of posts on X.
The theme of the three-day conference, which began on December 26, was 'Human Capital for Viksit Bharat'.
Modi observed that this conference marks another decisive step in strengthening the spirit of cooperative federalism and deepening Centre-State partnership to achieve the vision of a 'Viksit Bharat'.
Highlighting India's demographic advantage, he said nearly 70 per cent of the population is in the working-age group, creating a unique historical opportunity which, when combined with economic progress, can significantly accelerate the journey towards a 'Viksit Bharat', according to an official statement.
Modi said India has boarded the "Reform Express", driven primarily by the strength of its young population, and empowering this demographic remains the government's key priority.
He noted that the conference is being held at a time when the country is witnessing next-generation reforms and steadily moving towards becoming a major global economic power.
Underlining the need to strengthen 'atmanirbharta' (self-reliance), he said India must pursue self-reliance with zero defect in products and minimal environmental impact, making the label 'Made in India' synonymous with quality and strengthening the commitment to "zero effect, zero defect".
The PM urged the Centre and states to jointly identify 100 products for domestic manufacturing to reduce import dependence and strengthen economic resilience in line with the vision of 'Viksit Bharat'.
In higher education, too, he said, there is a need for academia and industry to work together to create high-quality talent.
He highlighted that India has a rich heritage and history with the potential to be among the top global tourist destinations.
Modi urged the states to prepare a roadmap for creating at least one global-level tourist destination and nourishing an entire tourist ecosystem.
He said it is important to align the national sports calendar with the global sports calendar.
"India is working to host the 2036 Olympics. India needs to prepare infrastructure and sports ecosystem at par with global standards," he said.
The prime minister said the next 10 years must be invested in the states, only then will India get the desired results in such sports events.
Every state must give this top priority and create infrastructure to attract global companies, he said.
In the services sector, Modi said, there should be greater emphasis on other areas like healthcare, education, transport, tourism, professional services and artificial intelligence, etc. to make India a global services giant.
He said India will soon be launching the National Manufacturing Mission (NMM).
States should work in tandem with the discussions and decisions emerging from the conferences of both chief secretaries and DGPs to strengthen governance and implementation.
The PM said similar conferences could be replicated at the departmental level to promote a national perspective among officers and improve governance outcomes in pursuit of a 'Viksit Bharat'.
In conclusion, he said every state must create a 10-year actionable plan based on the discussions of this conference with one, two, five and 10-year target timelines wherein technology can be utilised for regular monitoring.
The conference featured a series of special sessions that enabled focused deliberations on cross-cutting and emerging priorities.
It marks another important milestone in strengthening the Centre-State partnership through structured and sustained dialogue on national development priorities, according to the statement.
The PM's principal secretaries P K Mishra and Shaktikanta Das, Cabinet Secretary T V Somanathan, members of the NITI Aayog, chief secretaries of all states and Union territories, and domain experts attended the meeting.
Anchored in the prime minister's vision of cooperative federalism, this conference serves as the forum where the Centre and states collaborate, designing a unified roadmap to maximise India's human capital potential and accelerate inclusive, future-ready growth.
It has been organised annually over the past four years.
The first conference was held in Dharamshala in June 2022, followed by subsequent conferences in New Delhi in January 2023, December 2023 and December 2024.
