Rahul attacks Modi government over lynchings, says people angry due to its policies
Hamburg (Germany), Aug 23 : Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday made a strong attack on the Narendra Modi government by referring to incidents of lynching and attacks on Dalits, saying people in India were angry and the ruling alliance was weakening support structures meant for the weaker sections.
Speaking at the Bucerius Summer School here in Germany, Gandhi also attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over attacks on women, "lack of jobs," demonetisation and "flawed" implementation of the Goods and Services Tax and said corporates were being favoured over the rights of the marginalised communities.
Gandhi, who later took questions from the audience, also referred to his hugging the prime minister during the debate in parliament on the no-confidence motion, saying certain "hateful remarks" made against him by Modi prompted him to do so but "he (Modi) didn't like and was upset by it".
Gandhi is in Germany as part of reach out to the NRI community ahead of next year's Lok Sabha elections. He will also go to the United Kingdom.
The Congress leader accused Modi government of not being keen on benefiting all sections from transformation taking place due to urbanisation.
"They do not feel that every single person in India should have access to fruits of transformation. They feel that tribal communities, poor farmers, Dalit, should not get the same benefits as the elite of the country gets. We feel everybody took the risk, everybody should get the reward," Gandhi said.
"The other thing they have done is they have started attacking the support structures that were designed to help certain groups of people," he added.
Gandhi said welfare measures of UPA government such as the right to food and the right to guaranteed employment had been weakened and money going into these schemes "is going into the hands of very few people, the largest corporates in the country."
Gandhi alleged that demonetisation carried out by Modi had taken away lakhs of jobs as it had destroyed cash flow of small and medium businesses.
"China produces 50,000 jobs every 24 hours, India only 450," Gandhi said, adding that bad implementation of GST had let to closure of thousands of businesses.
"These things are what has made people in India angry. That is what you get to read in the newspaper. When you hear about lynchings in India, when you hear about attacks on Dalits in India, when you hear about attacks on minorities in India, that is the reason for it," Gandhi said.
He said the transition that is shaping the world requires certain protection for people. "That protection is being taken away and India is reacting to that. It is very dangerous in 21st century to exclude people. If you do not give people a vision in the 21st century, somebody else will which is not going to be good. That is the real risk of excluding large number of people from our development processes," he said.
Gandhi said hate is a dangerous thing in a connected world and it is a choice. "I can fight you, take you on. I can compete with you but hating you is something I have to actively chose to do."
Gandhi said his main complaint with Modi is that India has jobs problem but he does not say it and asked how it will be fixed if it is not even acknowledged.
Gandhi said level of violence is increasing in India and "women were getting a huge share of it." He called for a change in the attitude of Indian men at the way they treated women.
He said non-violence in India was a foundational philosophy of India's nationhood and noted violence can only be fought by non-violence.
Referring to assassinations of his grandmother Indira Gandhi and his father Rajiv Gandhi, he said the only way to move forward after violence is forgiveness.
Answering a question on the US and China, Gandhi said India's role will be to balance like that of Europe. He said India's actions will be guided by self-interest and noted that it is closer to the US than to China.
Referring to Modi coming to power in India and "certain style" of leaders coming to power in the US and some European countries, he said the reason was failure of jobs, particularly to non-white collar persons.
"We are outcompeted by Chinese. That is creating a lot of anger," he said. He also said India was not in a race with China but was wanted to develop according to its values.
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Karnataka govt directs municipal corps to regulate, prohibit pigeon feeding
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka government has issued directions to municipal corporations across the state to regulate and prohibit feeding pigeons in public places, citing serious public health concerns.
Deputy Secretary to Government V Lakshmikanth has written to the Urban Development Department requesting it to issue directions to the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) and all municipal corporations to take immediate steps to implement the measures.
In an official note dated December 16 issued by the Health and Family Welfare Department and released to the media on Wednesday, the department said uncontrolled feeding of pigeons in public places has resulted in large congregations of birds, excessive droppings and serious health concerns, particularly respiratory illnesses linked to prolonged exposure to pigeon droppings and feathers such as hypersensitivity pneumonitis and other lung diseases.
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"The commissioner, the Greater Bengaluru Authority and the Commissioners and chief officers of other municipal corporations shall take necessary action to mitigate the causes of dangerous disease spread by pigeon and enforce specified guidelines in their respective jurisdiction," the note said.
According to the department, these include a prohibition on feeding pigeons or causing pigeons to be fed in areas where it may cause nuisance or pose a health hazard to the public. Pigeon feeding shall be permitted only in designated areas in a controlled manner, subject to certain conditions.
"The designated areas may be selected in consultation with stakeholders. The responsibility for upkeep of the designated areas and compliance to the directions shall be taken up by some charitable organisation or an NGO. The feeding in designated areas shall be permitted only for some limited hours in the day," it said.
The note further stated that authorised officers of local authorities shall issue on-the-spot warnings and may impose fines for violation of the order, or lodge complaints to prosecute offenders under Sections 271 (Negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and 272 (Malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
It also directed local authorities to conduct public awareness campaigns, including the display of signboards, banners and digital messages, explaining the health hazards associated with pigeon droppings and feathers, the content of the regulatory directions and penalties for violations, and alternative humane methods of bird conservation that do not endanger public health.
