Two Indian heritage ministers in PM Carney's cabinet, Delhi-born Khera gets Health
Ottawa, Mar 15 (PTI): Indo-Canadian Anita Anand and Delhi-born Kamal Khera, one of the youngest women ever elected to the Canadian Parliament, are part of new Prime Minister Mark Carney's cabinet.
Liberal Party's Carney, a former central banker, was sworn in alongside members of the 30th Canadian Ministry on Friday at a ceremony presided over by Governor General Mary Simon here.
Anand, 58, is the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry while Khera, 36, is Minister of Health, both among the few retaining their ministerial posts, albeit with different portfolios, from former prime minister Justin Trudeau's cabinet.
Delhi-born Khera's family shifted to Canada when she was still in school. She later earned her Bachelor of Science degree from York University, Toronto.
The Prime Minister of Canada's website mentions that Khera was first elected as a Member of Parliament for Brampton West in 2015. “Minister Khera is one of the youngest women ever elected to Parliament. A registered nurse, community volunteer, and political activist, she is passionate about improving the lives of those around her,” it said.
“As a nurse, my top priority is to always be there to support my patients and that's the same mentality I'll bring every day to the role of Minister of Health. Extremely grateful for the confidence of PM @MarkJCarney. Now, it's time to roll up our sleeves and get to work,” Delhi-born Khera said in a post on X.
Khera has previously served as Minister of Seniors, as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Development, as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue, and as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health.
Before entering politics, she worked as a registered nurse in the oncology unit at St Joseph’s Health Centre in Toronto. “During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, she went back to her roots as a registered nurse to volunteer at a hard-hit long-term care facility in her hometown of Brampton,” the website adds.
Anand, who was a front-runner in the race to be the next prime minister to replace Trudeau, had in January declared that she is backing out from the race and also that she would not be seeking re-election. However, she had reversed the decision on March 1 saying, “Canada is facing a crucial moment in our nation’s history.”
Born and raised in rural Nova Scotia, Anand moved to Ontario in 1985.
“I am honoured to be sworn in as the Minister of Innovation, Science, and Economic Development in @MarkJCarney's Government. We know that negativity won't pay the rent or the mortgage. Negativity won't bring down the price of groceries. Negativity won't win a trade war. We are united and strong and we will immediately get to work, to build the Canada and the Canadian economy of tomorrow,” she said in a post on X.
The Prime Minister of Canada's website mentions that Anand was first elected as a Member of Parliament for Oakville in 2019 and previously served as President of the Treasury Board, as Minister of National Defence, and as Minister of Public Services and Procurement.
“Anand has worked as a scholar, lawyer, and researcher. She has been a legal academic, including as a Professor of Law at the University of Toronto, where she held the J R Kimber Chair in Investor Protection and Corporate Governance,” it said and listed her other academic achievements too.
Carney's cabinet with 13 men and 11 women is smaller than Trudeau's 37-member team.
“Canada, meet your new cabinet. We’ve built a smaller, focused, and experienced team that is made to meet this moment,” Carney said in a post on X along with the photo of his cabinet after the swearing in ceremony.
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Will Modi govt conduct Kargil Review Committee-type exercise on Pahalgam, asks Congress
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Tuesday said its repeated demands for a Prime Minister Narendra Modi-chaired all-party meeting and a special session of Parliament assume even greater urgency and importance in light of the statements from Washington DC.
The opposition party also asked whether the Modi government will conduct an exercise similar to the Vajpayee government that set up the Kargil Review Committee on July 29, 1999, three days after the Kargil War ended.
"Three days after the Kargil War ended, the Vajpayee Government set up the Kargil Review Committee on July 29 1999. Its report was tabled in Parliament on February 23, 2000 although sections of it have remained classified - as indeed they must," Congress general secretary in-charge Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X.
The Committee was chaired by India's strategic affairs guru K. Subrahmanyam, whose son is now India's External Affairs Minister, he said.
"Will the Modi Govt now conduct a similar exercise on Pahalgam, notwithstanding the NIA probe?" Ramesh said.
"Given the statements from Washington DC, the INC's repeated demands for an all-party meeting TO BE CHAIRED BY THE PM himself and for a special session of Parliament - which is now scheduled to meet at least two and a half months from now - assume even greater urgency and importance," he said on X.
Ramesh's remarks come a day after President Donald Trump reiterated his claim that his administration stopped a "nuclear conflict" between India and Pakistan, telling the South Asian neighbours that America will do a "lot of trade" with them if they end hostilities.
"On Saturday, my administration helped broker a full and immediate ceasefire, I think, a permanent one between India and Pakistan, ending a dangerous conflict of two nations with lots of nuclear weapons," Trump said at the start of a press conference in the White House where he announced that he will set 30-day deadline for drugmakers to lower cost of prescription drugs.
He started the briefing by describing the historic events that took place over the last few days in the Indian subcontinent.
India and Pakistan reached an understanding on Saturday to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.
Indian government sources in New Delhi have been maintaining that the Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMOs) of India and Pakistan reached an understanding to stop all firings and military actions on land, air and sea, with immediate effect. They said no third party was involved.
Trump said that India and Pakistan were going at it hot and heavy, and it was seemingly not going to stop.
"I'm very proud to let you know that the leadership of India and Pakistan was unwavering, powerful, but unwavering in both cases, having these they really were from the standpoint of having the strength and the wisdom and fortitude to fully know and to understand the gravity of the situation," Trump has said.
The US President said he told India and Pakistan that America will do "a lot of trade" with them if they stop the conflict.
"And we helped a lot, and we helped also with trade. I said, 'Come on, we're going to do a lot of trade with you guys. Let's stop it. Let's stop it. If you stop it, we're doing trade. If you don't stop it, we're not going to do any trade'".
"People have never really used trade the way I used it, that I can tell you. And all of a sudden they (India and Pakistan) said, I think we're going to stop," Trump added.
"And they have, and they did it for a lot of reasons, but trade is a big one. We're going to do a lot of trade with Pakistan. We're going to do a lot of trade with India. We're negotiating with India right now. We're going to be soon negotiating with Pakistan, and we stopped a nuclear conflict," Trump said.
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