Modi slams Congress for disrespecting Ambedkar
New Delhi, May 10: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday hit out at the Congress for "disrespecting" Dalit icon Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar and accused it of preventing the OBC Commission from getting a constitutional status in Parliament.
Interacting with the SC/ST, OBC, Minority and Slum Morchas of the Karnataka BJP through the 'Narendra Modi Mobile App', the Prime Minister said there was no place for Dalits in the hearts of the Congress and asked it to mention a single thing done by it for the betterment of the community.
"There is no place for Dalits in the heart of the Congress. This has been continuing for last many decades. Even the Congress has no respect for Ambedkar. They did everything to defeat him in the 1952 general elections and the bypoll to Bhandara parliamentary constituency in 1953," he said.
He said the Congress humiliated Ambedkar till they were in power. "They did not even confer the Bharat Ratna on him. It was only when Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ji formed the government that Babasaheb was conferred the title", he said.
He stated that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was working on developing Panchteerth of Ambedkar. "Taking inspiration from all the great saints, today we are trying to fulfil Babasaheb's dream of a powerful and prosperous nation", Modi remarked.
Attacking the Congress for not letting the OBC Commission get a constitutional status in Parliament, he said they were only involved in vote bank politics and never cared about empowering the weaker sections.
"You will be surprised to know that during the Congress regime, OBC leaders used to demand a constitutional status to OBC Commission but they (Congress) never cared. They only remain involved in vote bank politics... To stop the OBC Commission getting constitutional status, they did not allow the Parliament to function," he said.
Noting that the BJP had the maximum number of MPs from the SC, ST, OBC and minority communities, the Prime Minister said that leaders of various morchas had a paramount role in connecting directly with people and furthering the party's reach. He urged them to further the reach of the party's initiatives among the weaker sections.
Invoking Ambedkar, social reformer Jyotiba Phule, Sant Kabir and Ravidas's contribution to fight social injustice, Modi said their efforts were inspirational and continued to show his government the way.
During the interaction, Modi also took questions from the BJP leaders and spoke at length about several welfare measures being undertaken to uplift them.
Highlighting several initiatives being undertaken by the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre, Modi said that in 2015 the government strengthened the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and increased the offences listed in the Act from 22 to 47 to empower the weaker sections.
He said that "Stand up" and "Mudra Yojanas" were helping to make SC/ST, OBC and women financially empowered.
Mentioning several pro-poor schemes launched by his government, Modi spoke about how India was rapidly growing.
"Today India is the second largest steel manufacturer in the world, second largest mobile phone manufacturer and fourth largest automobile manufacturer," he said, adding that 99 cities are on the verge of becoming smart cities and 500 cities are having a positive impact of the AMRUT scheme.
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Chinese astronauts return to earth safely after six-month stint in space station
Beijing, Nov 4: Three Chinese astronauts who spent six months developing China’s low orbit space station returned to Earth safely early Monday, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said.
The capsule of the spaceship Shenzhou-18' carrying astronauts Ye Guangfu, Li Cong and Li Guangsu, touched down at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region at 1:24 am (Beijing Time).
The three astronauts, after staying in orbit for 192 days, were all in good health and the Shenzhou-18 manned mission was a success, the CMSA said.
Ye, the Shenzhou-18 mission commander, has become the first Chinese astronaut with an accumulative spaceflight time of more than a year, setting a new record for the longest duration of stay in orbit by a Chinese astronaut.
He served as a crew member in the Shenzhou-13 mission from October 2021 to April 2022.
"Chinese astronauts have flown to space in successive missions. I believe that the record of the duration in orbit will be broken in the near future," Ye said.
Another astronaut Li Guangsu said that they grew two types of plants -- cherry tomatoes and lettuce -- and they had harvested some lettuce leaves for food.
"Being able to eat fresh vegetables in space is truly a blessing. These green plants have also brought a touch of green and good cheer to our busy work," Li was quoted by state-run Xinhua news agency.
China launched the Shenzhou-18 manned spaceship in April this year.
During the mission, the Shenzhou-18 crew utilised the scientific experiment cabinets and extravehicular payloads to carry out dozens of experiments in the fields of basic physics in microgravity, space material science, space life science, space medicine and space technology, Xinhua report said.
The three were relieved by another set of three Chinese astronauts, including a woman who docked with the orbiting space station on October 30.
China changes crew for the station every six months.
China built its space station after it was reportedly excluded from the International Space Station (ISS) over concerns that China's space programme is manned by its military, the People's Liberation Army, (PLA).
The two robotic arms of the station, especially the long one which has the ability to grab objects including satellites from space, drew international concerns.
Early this month China announced its plans for the further development of space programmes which included launching a manned lunar mission, construction of a lunar space station, exploration of habitable planets and extra-terrestrial life to expand its space programme in the next few decades.
