Greetings pour in as Manmohan Singh turns 88; Rahul says India feels absence of PM with his 'depth'
New Delhi: As former prime minister Manmohan Singh turned 88 on Saturday, greetings poured in from across the political spectrum with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi saying that India feels the absence of a PM with the "depth" of Singh.
If anyone in public life alive today is deserving of the Bharat Ratna, it is "undoubtedly" Singh, said his party colleague P Chidambaram who served as finance minister and home minister under the UPA I and II governments led by Manmohan Singh.
Greeting his predecessor on his birthday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wished Singh a long and healthy life.
Several Union ministers and BJP leaders, including Nirmala Sitharaman, Rajnath Singh, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Vasundhra Raje Scindia, DMK chief M K Stalin and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also extended their greetings.
Manmohan Singh headed the UPA coalition governments between 2004 and 2014 and earlier as a finance minister under the P V Narasimha Rao government supervised the liberalisation of the Indian economy in the 1990s.
"Birthday greetings to Dr Manmohan Singh Ji. I pray to Almighty that he is blessed with a long and healthy life," Prime Minister Modi tweeted.
Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi wished Singh, saying, "India feels the absence of a PM with the depth of Dr Manmohan Singh. His honesty, decency and dedication are a source of inspiration for us all."
"Wishing him a very happy birthday and a lovely year ahead," Gandhi tweeted with the hashtag 'HappyBirthdayDrMMSingh'.
Stalin hailed Singh for his "visionary leadership & futuristic ideas", saying that they had been instrumental in establishing India's global prominence.
"Greetings to former Prime Minister and Economist Dr. Manmohan Singh ji on his birthday. Wishing him good health and more productive years in public life," Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee tweeted.
Congress general secretary in-charge organisation K C Venugopal lauded Singh's "journey filled with incredible achievements".
"Dr. Manmohan Singh's life is an inspiration to us all. His humility, honesty and incredible intellect make him an exemplary leader," he tweeted.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh extended warm wishes to Singh, praying for his good health and long life.
"We thank him for his leadership during UPA years, for a robust economy, bringing lakhs of people out of poverty, working tirelessly in national interest," Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said in his message.
Chidambaram wished the former prime minister many more years of good health and service to the nation.
"The story of Dr Singh's life is a story of the rise of a young boy from a humble background to the heights of public service armed only with one tool his education and scholarship," he said in a series of tweets.
The whole nation is proud of the life and service of Singh and holds him as an example for every young boy or girl, he said.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Ahmed Patel, Shashi Tharoor, Sachin Pilot, as well as several other senior and young Congress leaders wished Singh on his birthday.
The Congress, on its official Twitter handle, said a dedicated leader's primary aim is always to eradicate the worst evils that plague the society in the soonest and surest possible way.
"Today, we celebrate former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh's commitment towards the overall well-being of each Indian," the party said.
In his journey towards greatness, he took a billion people along, the Congress said in another tweet.
"One of the most competent world leaders, Dr Manmohan Singh's vision for our nation is uncompromising. India is forever indebted to this great son for leading her through highs & lows," the party tweeted.
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Trump administration says its war in Iran has been 'terminated' before 60-day deadline
Washington (AP): The Trump administration is arguing that the war in Iran has already ended because of the ceasefire that began in early April, an interpretation that would allow the White House to avoid the need to seek congressional approval.
The statement furthers an argument laid out by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during testimony in the Senate earlier Thursday, when he said the ceasefire effectively paused the war. Under that rationale, the administration has not yet met the requirement mandated by a 1973 law to seek formal approval from Congress for military action that extends beyond 60 days.
A senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the administration's position, said for purposes of that law, “the hostilities that began on Saturday, Feb 28 have terminated.” The official said the US military and Iran have not exchanged fire since the two-week ceasefire that began April 7.
While the ceasefire has since been extended, Iran maintains its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, and the US Navy is maintaining a blockade to prevent Iran's oil tankers from getting out to sea.
Under the War Powers Resolution, the law that sought to constrain a president's military powers, President Donald Trump had until Friday to seek congressional authorisation or cease fighting. The law also allows an administration to extend that deadline by 30 days.
Democrats have pushed the administration for formal approval of the Iran war, and the 60-day mark would likely have been a turning point for a swath of Republican lawmakers who backed temporary action against Tehran but insisted on congressional input for something longer.
“That deadline is not a suggestion; it is a requirement,” said Sen Susan Collins, R-Maine, who voted Thursday in favour of a measure that would end military action in Iran since Congress hadn't given its approval. She added that “further military action against Iran must have a clear mission, achievable goals, and a defined strategy for bringing the conflict to a close."
Richard Goldberg, who served as director for countering Iranian weapons of mass destruction for the National Security Council during Trump's first term, said he has recommended to administration officials to simply transition to a new operation, which he suggested could be called “Epic Passage,” a sequel to Operation Epic Fury.
That new mission, he said, “would inherently be a mission of self-defence focused on reopening the strait while reserving the right to offensive action in support of restoring freedom of navigation.”
“That to me solves it all,” added Goldberg, who is now a senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a hawkish Washington think tank.
During testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday, Hegseth said it was the administration's “understanding” that the 60-day clock was on pause while the two countries were in a ceasefire.
Katherine Yon Ebright, counsel at the Brennan Center's Liberty and National Security Program and an expert on war powers, said that interpretation would be a “sizeable extension of previous legal gamesmanship” related to the 1973 law.
“To be very, very clear and unambiguous, nothing in the text or design of the War Powers Resolution suggests that the 60-day clock can be paused or terminated,” she said.
Other presidents have argued that the military action they've taken was not intense enough or was too intermittent to qualify under the War Powers Resolution. But Trump's war in Iran would certainly not be such a case, Ebright said, adding that lawmakers need to push back against the administration on that kind of argument.
