"Lemons to protect Rafale" part of Indian culture: Nirmala Sitharaman
Pune, Oct 11: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday defended her cabinet colleague Rajnath Singh performing 'puja' of a Rafale jet by placing lemons under its wheels and coconut on the top, and said the action was not superstition but a part of Indian culture.
Pictures of Singh receiving the first Rafale jet in France had shown him drawing an "Om" sign in devnagri script on the cutting edge plane and also placing lemons under the wheels.
"So what is wrong? We strongly believe that you need to have the strength to be able to take such decisions and benefit the country," she said.
"You may not approve of it, you may think oh this is superstition, never mind. vishwas jinka hai woh karte hain, iss desh mein usko mahatva hai (those who have faith, they do it) and I think he (Singh) did everything right," Sitharaman told reporters in Pune.
She also linked Singh's act to Indian culture, saying every person in India does this in some form or the other.
Sitharaman said the previous defence minister and his wife launched Navy ships as per rituals followed in their faith.
"At that time in India, how many of us worried about superstition? Were we worried?" the minister said.
Sitharaman also justified Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks in a viral video, where he is seen taking a dig at those indulging in superstition.
An old Modi speech, ridiculing "nimbu-mirchi" superstition, was widely shared on Twitter after the Rafale 'puja'.
In the video clip of Modis address at the inauguration of Delhi Metros Magenta line in August 2017, the Prime Minister is heard saying: "Apne car ke upar nimbu-mirchi aur pata nahi kya kya...Yeh log desh ko kya prerna denge? Aisee andh shraddha mein jeene wale log sarwajanik jiwan ka bahut ahit karte hain. (On their car, they place lemons, chilli and what not..How will such people inspire the country? People living with such blind beliefs cause lot of harm to public life)." Modi had spoken of a chief minister putting "nimbu and mirchi" on his new car, but not named the minister.
Twitterati had shared the clip of Modis speech alongside photographs of nimbu under the wheels of the Rafale fighter jet that Singh had "worshipped" in France.
Sitharaman said Modi is also correct (in his views on belief and superstition) and added that the government has not "abandoned" science or scientific development.
Countering the Opposition's claim that the BJP is using abrogation of Article 370 to deflect attention from issues like lack of jobs or growth, Sitharaman said she is "worried" at such comments.
She said the government is committed to reforms and it is a "responsive" government which is not yet done with its measures to prop-up economic growth.
If the auto industry feels that consumer demand has not been revived, and needs something specific, it can always talk to the government, she said.
On the International Monetary Fund flagging a "more pronounced" slowdown in India, she said the government always takes the IMF's commentary seriously.
To a query on transmission of rates, Sitharaman said she will take up the issue during her meeting with chiefs of state-run banks on Monday.
After the IRCTC IPO's success, the government will move ahead on all the other divestment proposals cleared by the Union cabinet, she said.
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MP cruise boat tragedy: Search ops expanded to trace four missing passengers
Jabalpur (PTI): Army divers and disaster response teams on Saturday expanded their search at Bargi Dam in Madhya Pradesh to locate a man and three children still missing after the cruise boat tragedy that claimed nine lives two days ago, officials said.
With 28 of the 41 identified passengers onboard the ill-fated cruise boat rescued safely, police are preparing to register an FIR in connection with the accident that occurred at the reservoir in Jabalpur district on Thursday evening, they said.
The search radius has been expanded to 5 km in the backwaters of the Bargi Dam, located downstream of the Narmada River, area sub-divisional officer of police (SDOP) Anjul Ayank Mishra told PTI.
Nine people drowned in the incident, while 28 were rescued, and efforts are ongoing to trace the missing persons, he said.
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According to the police, more than 200 rescuers, including around 20 Army divers airlifted from Agra, began the search operation at 5 am on Saturday to trace Kamraj, an employee of the Ordnance Factory in Khamaria, his son Tamil (5), Vijay Soni (6) and Mayuram (5).
Mishra said that an inquest case has been registered and the post-mortem of nine deceased persons has been completed.
"Our priority is to search for the missing persons. We will soon register an FIR," he said.
Investigators have said that CCTV footage near the boarding point showed 43 people heading towards the ill-fated boat, and the names of 41 persons, who boarded the vessel, have been ascertained so far.
Collector Raghvendra Singh confirmed that a search is underway for four missing persons.
The rescue operation, being carried out by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and local divers, was briefly affected around 9 am due to strong winds.
The state government on Friday ordered a probe into the incident and dismissed three crew members after survivors alleged negligence and safety lapses, including failure to provide life jackets.
The government also banned the operation of similar vessels in the state.
The boat, operated by the state tourism department, sank during a sudden storm around 6 pm on Thursday, and the wreckage was retrieved from the dam water on Friday, after the rescuers confirmed that there were no more bodies inside.
Eyewitnesses have said that strong winds made the water choppy, prompting passengers to raise an alarm and ask the crew to steer the vessel towards the riverbank.
A survivor alleged negligence by the crew and described a last-minute scramble for life jackets.
