NDA government dares to take decisions others don't: Modi on triple talaq
Bhubaneswar, Sep 22 : Making a veiled attack on the Congress and other parties accusing them of stalling the triple talaq bill, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that his government dared to take decisions that others were afraid of taking.
"Three days ago, the Centre took a decision that was needed since decades. When the intentions are clear, then one needs to take decisions that no other can dare to take. One of these decisions was on triple talaq.
"When our government made the decision on triple talaq, there was an effort to stall it in the Rajya Sabha. Now, it has been declared illegal," he said in an apparent reference to the promulgation of an ordinance making triple talaq a criminal offence.
Addressing a public meeting in Talcher, Odisha, after laying the foundation stone for the country's first coal gasification-based fertiliser plant, he said the union government was committed to taking the nation forward to newer heights of development with renewed energy and greater momentum.
"Talcher fertiliser plant is a proof of failure of the previous government but it will be a testament to our achievement," said the Prime Minister in Angul district.
He said the coal gasification-based fertiliser plant at Talcher will script a new chapter of new Odisha and new India and it will be one of most successful ventures of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government.
"When the Bharatiya Janata Party government came to power in the Centre, the work on fertiliser plants picked up speed.
"I assure you that the construction of Talcher fertiliser plant will be completed in 36 months and I will again come here to inaugurate it," he said.
The Prime Minister said that he was left stunned when such fertiliser plants have been promised for years, but no actual work has taken place.
"I had asked the workers by when can they finish the pending work here and they have promised me that it will be done within 36 months. I will come back to you after 36 months," he said.
The Prime Minister also used the opportunity to take on Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for opting out of the Centre's Ayushman Bharat scheme and failing to keep the cleanliness drive momentum.
"About 10 crore families, which is about 50 crore people, will benefit from the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana under Ayushman Bharat scheme which will be launched tomorrow (September 23) from Jharkhand.
"If Odisha government does not cooperate, I will not be able to serve you," Modi said.
He said Odisha needs to work towards sanitation and come at par with other states on the issue of cleanliness.
"I had urged Chief Minister Naveen Babu that Odisha will be left behind in cleanliness. But today, when I have come here, I again urge Naveen Babu to give priority to cleanliness in Odisha for the health of the people here," he added.
He also said Odisha will get five new medical colleges and the union government is giving Rs 570 crore for the colleges.
Mentioning former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's famous assertion that only 15 paise out of one rupee sanctioned by the Centre reaches the beneficiaries, he said, "They knew about the 'bimari' but had no vision to solve it."
"You might remember, we had a Prime Minister in the country who had said that if Re 1 is sent from Delhi, then just 15 paise reaches the states. Such corruption continued for years. However, our government is making sure that whatever money is allotted, all of it reaches the people," Modi said.
"One crore thirty lakh poor people have bank accounts in Odisha due to the Jan Dhan Yojana and the government benefits are being transferred directly to the accounts," said the Prime Minister.
On the Naveen Patnaik government claiming to provide Re 1/kg rice to the poor, Modi said it is only possible as the Centre gives subsidies for this rice.
"We give Rs 450 crore to the Naveen Patnaik government for these subsidies," he informed.
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Jamshedpur man among crew of LPG vessel back from West Asia, family heaves sigh of relief
Jamshedpur (PTI): A family in Jharkhand's Jamshedpur heaved a sigh of relief after learning that the Indian-flagged LPG vessel Shivalik, on which their son was working, had safely reached Gujarat's Mundra port after crossing the Strait of Hormuz amid the conflict in West Asia.
Mithilesh Tripathy said his only son, Ansh Tripathy, who serves as the second engineer on the vessel, was responsible for monitoring the ship's technical operations during the journey through the strategically crucial maritime corridor.
Tripathy said he last spoke to his son over a WhatsApp call about four to five days ago, when the vessel was leaving Qatar.
"They were instructed to maintain a safe distance from the Strait of Hormuz until they received the green signal from headquarters. The Indian government was negotiating with Iranian authorities to ensure safe passage," Tripathy told PTI.
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A former flight engineer with the Indian Air Force, Tripathy later worked at Uranium Corporation of India in Jadugora near Jamshedpur. He now lives in a residential society near Pardih in the city.
Speaking about his son, Tripathy said Ansh completed his schooling in Jamshedpur and Jadugora, pursued mechanical engineering at BIT, and later graduated as a marine engineer from Kochi. He joined the Shipping Corporation of India around 2014-15.
"Before leaving Qatar, Ansh told me they were heading towards the Indian Ocean. That was all he said," he added, noting that he did not discuss the number of crew members on board.
Tripathy said the family remained anxious after hearing about the war in West Asia.
"We were extremely worried about Ansh and the crew members since the war broke out in the region. We were glued to the TV for updates," he said, expressing relief after hearing that the ship had reached Mundra port safely.
"It was a very painful time, but we were confident that if my son and the crew returned safely, it would be due to the efforts of PM Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar," he said.
Tripathy said that while people may hold different views about the tensions in West Asia, his experience in the Air Force helped him understand the realities of operating in a conflict zone.
Two Indian-flagged LPG carriers, Shivalik and Nanda Devi, with 92,712 metric tonnes of LPG, crossed the Strait of Hormuz early on Saturday following negotiations between India and Iran.
Shivalik arrived at the Mundra Port on Monday with 46,000 metric tonnes of LPG ordered by Indian Oil Corp Ltd, officials said.
While 20,000 MT will be unloaded at Mundra, 26,000 MT will be unloaded at Mangaluru, they said.
Nanda Devi is scheduled to reach Gujarat's Kandla port on Tuesday, they added.
These two ships were among the 24 ships stranded on the west side of the strait since the war broke out in the region.
Besides the 24 on the west side of the strait, four others were stranded on the east side.
India imports about 88 per cent of its crude oil, 50 per cent of its natural gas and 60 per cent of its LPG needs. Before the US-Israel strikes on Iran on February 28 and Tehran's retaliation, more than half of India's crude imports, about 30 per cent of gas and 85-90 per cent of LPG imports came from West Asian countries such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
The conflict has led to a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the main transit route for Gulf energy supplies.
