Nitin Gadkari says BJP chief is responsible for poor Assembly election results
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday seemed to suggest that party chief Amit Shah was responsible for the BJP’s poor show in the recent Assembly elections, reports said.
“If I am the party president, and my MPs and MLAs are not doing well, then who is responsible? I am,” The Times of India quoted the minister as saying at the 31st Intelligence Bureau endowment lecture in New Delhi. His remark comes days after he reportedly said the party “leadership should own up to defeat”. On Sunday though, he had accused a section of the media of quoting him out of context.
The minister told the Intelligence Bureau that “tolerance is the biggest asset” of the country and that he liked Jawaharlal Nehru’s speeches, The Indian Express reported. “I liked Nehru’s sayings,” he said. “India is not a nation but a population.” Gadkari invoked the former prime minister while saying that people should not create problems if they cannot provide solutions.
Last week, actor Naseeruddin Shah sparked a debate by voicing his worries about mob violence in the country. He had to cancel his event at the Ajmer Literature Festival after vociferous protests by Hindutva groups. On Sunday, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh stepped into the debate, rejecting allegations of rising intolerance in the country. India is the most tolerant country in the world, the home minister had claimed.
Gadkari said it was good to win elections “but if we cannot bring about socioeconomic changes in the lives of people then it will not make a difference when you come to power, or go out of power”. The minister said governments will come and go but the country remains. “This country doesn’t belong to any party or individual but to 120 crore Indians,” he added.
The transport minister said a performance audit was a better tool than a financial audit for evaluating the managerial and administrative capabilities of officials, the Hindustan Times reported. He also advocated out of the box thinking to solve the country’s problems.
courtesy: scroll.in
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Rupee falls 32 paise to all-time low of 95.20 against US dollar
Mumbai, Apr 30 (PTI): The rupee depreciated 32 paise to an all-time low of 95.20 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday, weighed down by elevated Brent crude oil prices, hovering around USD 122 per barrel, and strong American currency.
Forex traders said the USD/INR pair may see further downside, as rising crude oil prices are likely to sharply impact India's import costs, while concerns over potential wider conflict in West Asia are fuelling investor anxiety.
Meanwhile, the US dollar added to gains after the US FED Reserve kept rates unchanged. Safe-haven demand was also boosted by another diplomatic setback between Washington and Tehran.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 95.01 against the US dollar, then lost some ground and touched an all-time low of 95.20 against the US dollar in initial trade, registering a fall of 32 paise over its previous close.
On Wednesday, the rupee depreciated 20 paise to close at an all-time low of 94.88 against the US dollar.
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"The main effect on the rupee has been from the rising oil prices, which touched USD 120 per barrel and looked headed for further upside as the US continues with its blockade of Iranian ports, while Iran does not allow any ship/tanker to pass through the Strait of Hormuz," said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.01 per cent higher at 98.96.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 3.16 per cent at USD 121.76 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex tumbled 821.79 points to 76,674.57 in early trade, while the Nifty dived 287.3 points to 23,890.35.
Foreign Institutional Investors offloaded equities worth Rs 2,468.42 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
"FPIs continue with their sale of Indian Equities and debt (the yield touched 7 per cent on Wednesday) and are also dollar buyers consistently," Bhansali added.
