Modi a 'chowkidar' who lets in thieves: Rahul
Kurnool (Andhra Pradesh), Sep 18 : Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a 'chowkidar' who opens the door and lets thieves in.
Addressing a public meeting in this Andhra Pradesh town, he said that if Modi was a real 'chowkidar' he would have sacked Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for allowing fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya to leave the country.
Gandhi said Modi did not sack Jaitley because he himself was corrupt.
The Congress leader cited the Rafale deal in support of his allegation.
He said after becoming the Prime Minister, Modi changed the contract signed during the previous UPA government to buy 126 fighter jets. He alleged that the price for each jet was increased to Rs 1,600 crore from Rs 526 crore decided earlier.
Gandhi said the contract was snatched from Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), which had 70 years experience of making aircraft, and given to a private company.
He said Jaitley himself admitted that Mallya met him and told him that he was leaving the country. "The only possibility is that the Finance Minister allowed Mallya to leave the country in exchange for something. There was a deal between them."
Gandhi said demonetization and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) were aimed at taking money from people's pocket and putting them in the pockets of some of the richest businessmen.
Alleging that the Modi government erased NPAs of Rs 1.3 lakh crore of the richest people, Gandhi promised that if voted to power in 2019, farm loan waiver will be the first thing the Congress would do.
Addressing the public meeting and earlier interacting with students, he alleged that Modi was disrespecting the people of Andhra Pradesh by breaking all promises made to Andhra Pradesh during bifurcation.
Gandhi promised that immediately after coming to power, the Congress would accord special category status to Andhra Pradesh as per the commitment made by the government of India when unified Andhra Pradesh was split in 2014.
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Trump pauses Project Freedom, claims great progress for final agreement with Iran
Washington (PTI): President Donald Trump has suspended “Project Freedom,” to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, claiming progress in negotiations with Iran toward an agreement to end the war.
In a post on Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump said, “Great progress has been made toward a complete and final agreement with representatives of Iran.”
“Based on the request of Pakistan and other Countries, the tremendous Military Success that we have had during the Campaign against the Country of Iran and, additionally, the fact that Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran, we have mutually agreed that, while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom (The Movement of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz) will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed," Trump said.
Project Freedom was launched on Monday to escort ships, stranded due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, out to safety. Trump had announced the operation on Sunday and the US Central Command began implementing it the next day.
However, the Project led to friction in the vicinity of the narrow seaway, a key route for transporting one-fifth of the global oil supplies, with the UAE claiming that its ships were attacked by Iran. The US also claimed to have destroyed several Iranian small boats.
Trump’s statement on Truth Social came hours after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Operation Epic Fury, launched on February 28, had concluded as its objectives have been achieved.
"Operation Epic Fury is concluded. We achieved the objectives of that operation. We're not cheering for an additional situation to occur. We would prefer the path of peace. What @POTUS would prefer is a deal... that is, so far, not the route that Iran has chosen," Rubio told a press conference at the White House on Tuesday.
On Project Freedom, Rubio said the goal was to rescue almost 23,000 civilians from 87 different countries who were trapped inside the Persian Gulf and left for dead by the Iranian regime.
"This is not an offensive operation. This is a defensive operation, and what that means is very simple: there’s no shooting unless we're shot at first. We’re not attacking them, but if they're attacking us or they’re attacking a ship, you need to respond to that," Rubio said.
