PM Modi cites East India Company, Indian Mujahideen to hit back at opposition alliance
New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday derided the opposition alliance INDIA as the most directionless the country had ever seen and cited reviled names such as East India Company and Indian Mujahideen to assert that people cannot be misled merely by the use of the country's name.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said the prime minister told the BJP Parliamentary Party meeting that the conduct of the opposition has been such that it has decided to stay in opposition.
BJP leader Ramesh Bidhuri said the prime minister said even those wanting to break the country had names like East India Company and Indian Mujahideen, but people will not be misled by these gimmicks.
Former Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said Modi told BJP leaders that Indian National Congress and East India Company were founded by foreign nationals.
He said people were also using names such as Indian Mujahideen and Popular Front of India and their realities were quite different from what they tried to project.
Other leaders attending the meeting said the prime minister remarked that there was never such an aimless and directionless opposition in the country.
Modi said the opposition was frustrated and disappointed and its conduct shows that it has made up its mind to remain in the opposition.
He expressed confidence that the BJP will come to power after the 2024 polls with people's support, asserting that India will become the third largest economy in his government's next tenure.
With opposition parties rallying around the name of their alliance 'INDIA', Modi hit back at them saying it is just an attempt to mislead people, sources said.
He took names of several organisations with the name of 'India' to make the point that merely having such a term in their nomenclature does not change anything, the sources said.
As many as 26 opposition parties have launched the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) to take on the BJP-led NDA in the Lok Sabha elections next year.
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EAM Jaishankar meets Jamaican PM, gifts over 10 BHISHM Cubes
Kingston (PTI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday met Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness and discussed ways to further deepen "political, economic and people-to-people cooperation."
Jaishankar also conveyed greetings from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Holness.
"Pleased to call on Prime Minister @AndrewHolnessJM in Kingston. Conveyed the greetings of PM @narendramodi," Jaishankar posted on X.
"Discussed deepening our political, economic and people-to-people cooperation. Value his commitment towards further strengthening India-Jamaica relations," the post further read.
Also, the external affairs minister handed over 10 BHISHM (Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog Hita & Maitri) Cubes as a gift to Jamaica.
"Formally handed over 10 BHISHM Cubes as a gift from India to Jamaica, in the presence of PM @AndrewHolnessJM, Health Minister @christufton and FM @kaminajsmith," Jaishankar posted on X.
"The BHISHM Cube mobile hospital system, designed for rapid deployment, will help Jamaica during disasters and emergencies. The gift of these cubes is a statement of friendship, a commitment to disaster preparedness, and an outcome of innovation," the post said.
Jaishankar arrived in Kingston on Saturday evening, marking the first leg of his nine-day tour of Jamaica, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago, aimed at further strengthening India's strategic and cultural ties with the Caribbean nations.
Earlier in the day, he interacted with the Indian diaspora and discussed India's ongoing transformation in infrastructure, human development and technology-driven governance and entrepreneurship with them.
He also highlighted the cricket bond between both countries as India gifted a scoreboard to Jamaica.
A scoreboard was dedicated at Sabina Park in Kingston. It is the home of the Jamaica cricket team and is the only Test cricket ground in the Caribbean island nation.
The minister expressed hope that the new scoreboard would witness many memorable innings, including those symbolising the enduring friendship between the two countries.
Cricket has long been a strong cultural bridge between India and Jamaica, which is part of the West Indies cricket team.
Jamaican players, including Chris Gayle, Courtney Walsh and Michael Holding, have played a major role in shaping the legacy of West Indies cricket in the international arena, contributing to its dominance in earlier decades and its continued global appeal.
