Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj Arrives In China On A Four-Day Trip

India's Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj has arrived in China for a four-day visit to the country. In China, she will meet the President Xi Jinping and hold talks with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on an array of topics. She will also be taking part in the Russia-India-China (RIC) trilateral.

She is expected to give final touches to the agreement between India and China regarding the second root for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. The agreement was signed last year during President Xi Jinping's visit to India. The root through Nathu La Pass in Sikkim that will provide the pilgrims with easy bus route to Kailash Mansarovar, is expected to be opened in the coming two-three months.

Swaraj will be accompanied by the newly-appointed foreign secretary S Jaishankar and other top officials of the ministry.

The foreign minister's China trip comes within a week of US President Obama's three-day visit to India. The foreign ministry has said that the external affairs minister will hold talks on 'bilateral, regional and global issues of concern to both sides' with her Chinese counterpart.

The possibility of a PM Modi's visit to China towards the end of the year will also be explored during the visit. In her four-day stay in the neighboring country, Swaraj will address the India-China Media Forum, meet the Indian community living in Beijing, and inaugurate the 'Visit India Year' ot bolster the tourism sector.   

Hua Chunying, the spokesperson of the Chinese foreign ministry, earlier told the media that China gives great importance to the visit of the foreign minister; and the mutual relationship between the two developing nations are on the right track. 

Prior to her visit, a number of articles and critical commentaries were appearing in the Chinese media accusing President Obama of giving too much importance to India in order to contain the Chinese influence in the region.

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AAP Has The Potential To Shake The Modi Government: Anna Hazare

Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) Chief Subash Ghising Passes Away In Delhi Following A Liver Ailment

AAP Has The Potential To Shake The Modi Government: Anna Hazare

Social activist and anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare is of the opinion that the Aam Admi Party has the potential to shake the Modi government.

One of BJP's political ads is the topic of discussion these days. The ad depicts AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal in marital knot with the Congress party, and in the background Anna's picture is shown with a garland over it. When Anna was asked to comment on the mentioned ad, he said he would not like to comment as he has not seen the ad yet. After he was shown the cartoon, he burst into laughter.

When the media asked him to respond to Kejriwal's statement that the BJP has 'murdered' Anna, he again laughed out loudly.      

Hazare refused to comment on the coming Delhi elections. He said that he will only comment on the topic when the results are out.

Anna said that he has lost all faith in the Modi government. He further said that not just he but the people of India have also grown disenchanted with the Modi government.

Anna vowed that a movement for a strong Janlokpal Bill and an impartial Land Acquisition Act will be kick-started in Delhi soon. He said, "During the election Modi promised that he will weed out corruption from the system, and bring the black money home; but, there is corruption everywhere, and nothing has been done towards bringing the black money back. And to make the things worse, the BJP government has changed the Land Acquisition Act in favor of the rich."  

On being asked about the movement he said that everything will be scheduled after a meeting within the organization. But, one thing is certain that the movement will have none of the old members of the previous movement. 

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Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) Chief Subash Ghising Passes Away In Delhi Following A Liver Ailment

Senior Congress Leader Jayanthi Natarajan Resigns From The Party, Blames Rahul Gandhi For It

Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) Chief Subash Ghising Passes Away In Delhi Following A Liver Ailment

The founder of the Gorkhaland movement and the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) chief Subash Ghising died at a hospital in Delhi yesterday. Ghising, 79, was suffering from several diseases including a liver disorder for which had to move to Delhi in September 2014.

"Ghising was undergoing treatment at Sir Gangaram Hospital. He died this afternoon (Thursday). His body will be taken to Siliguri (in West Bengal) for the final rituals on Friday," GNLF's Prakash Dahal told the media.

A hospital source said that Ghising was brought to the hospital five days earlier for the treatment of liver cirrhosis. He had to be admitted to the hospital with somewhat similar problem two months back as well.  

Both the ruling TMC and the opposition Communist Party of India-Marxist expressed grief at the veteran leader's death and offered the condolences to the family and supporters. 

Ghising, a former soldier in Indian Army's Gorkha Rifles, led a long and rigorous struggle for a seperate state Gorkhaland to be carved out of West Bengal's Darjeeling district in the 80s. He eventually signed a pact with the central and state government for the creation of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC), an autonomous body to overseen developmental works in the hill areas. He headed the DGHC till 2008. 

He was forced into exile after the GNLF was sidelined in 2008 by the Grokha Janmukti Morcha, an organization founded by ex-GNLF member Bimal Gurung, who heads the separate state movement now. He somehow managed to return back to the hills in 2011.

Subhash Ghising, born in 1936, was quite vocal on topics related to the hills; he formed a political party named Nilo Jhanda in 1968.    

He demanded a separate state for the Nepali-speaking people of the Darjeeling hills in 1979 and formed the GNLF in 1980 to give a corporal form to his demands.

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Senior Congress Leader Jayanthi Natarajan Resigns From The Party, Blames Rahul Gandhi For It

Senior Congress Leader Jayanthi Natarajan Resigns From The Party, Blames Rahul Gandhi For It

Senior Congress leader and former Environment Minister in the Manmohan Singh led UPA government Jayanthi Natarajan has resigned from the membership of the Congress party. Sources say that she will announce her decision through a press conference today. She will also make 'evidences' of Rahul Gandhi's interference in the day-to-day functioning of the UPA government. 

In a somewhat vitriolic letter - published in a national English Daily today - to the Congress President Sonia Gandhi, she has accused the vice-president of the Party Rahul Gandhi of interfering in her work as Environment Minister.

Natarajan, who was removed from her post for delaying the clearance of big projects associated with her ministry, has written in her letter, "During my tenure as Minister, it was the clear and specific policy of the party, to take all steps to protect the environment...and keep a balance between environment and industry. As Chairperson NAC, you have written several letters to me regarding projects in the Environment Ministry, and protection of tribal rights, and I have always kept you briefed that due care was being taken by me to protect the environment. I received specific requests [which used to be directives for us] from Shri Rahul Gandhi and his office forwarding environmental concerns in some important areas and I took care to honor those requests."

She has alleged that some 'chosen individuals in the party' conducted a motivated campaign against her. She is of the opinion that her being asked to resign from her post in December 2013 had a direct connection with a speech that Rahul Gandhi delivered at a FICCI meet the very next day, where he said, "the corporate world that they need no longer worry about environmental clearance delays and that bottlenecks would be removed."

She has mournfully written that after she was asked to resign, she tried to meet Rahul Gandhi, but he expressed his inability to meet her as he was busy at that time; he promised to meet her soon but even after waiting for a year, the meeting was never held.

She also claims that she was forced by the party high-command to keep throwing verbal-volleys at Narendra Modi in what is known as the Snoopgate controversy, even though her aversion to personal criticism was well known.

Her letter explains that she was asked by PM Manmohan Singh to give up her ministerial post as the party need her services in the light of the General elections that are approaching in six months times. She resigned, but no such organizational work was assigned to her; to add insult to injury, she was soon removed from the party spokesperson's post.

Jayanthi Natarajan joined the Congress party in the 80s and had a nice rapport with Rajiv Gandhi. She has been elected for the Rajya Sabha three times on a Congress ticket from Tamil Nadu. In the 90s, she along with other congress leaders who were unhappy with Narasimha Rao broke away from the Congress and formed Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) under G K Moopanar. The TMC, however, merged with the Congress after Moopanar death.

Natarajan replaced Jairam Ramesh as the Environment Minister in 2011.

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India Will Host The ICC World T20 2016

S Jaishankar Has Been Appointed As New Foreign Secretary Of India

India Will Host The ICC World T20 2016

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has declared that the ICC World T20 championship 2016 will be held in India between 11 March and 13 April. The announcement was made after the ICC held a meeting at its headquarters in Dubai. The schedule for the ICC events during the period 2016-2019 was released.

The qualifiers for the event will be hosted by Ireland and Scotland between 6 and 26 July 2015.

England will host three ICC events in the next four-year period. In 2017, England will host the ICC Champions Trophy from June 1 to June 19, and the Women's World Cup from August 4 to August 27; in 2019, it will host the ICC World Cup between May 30 and July 15. The last time England hosted the Champions Trophy, it managed to go until the finals where it was defeated by the Indian team led by MS Dhoni.

The first ever ICC World T20 championship was won by India in 2007 when it defeated Pakistan by 5 runs; the last iteration of the tournament was won by Sri Lanka, it defeated India by six wickets in Bangladesh.

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Anna Hazare Threatens A Movement Against The Modi Government

S Jaishankar Has Been Appointed As New Foreign Secretary Of India

Anna Hazare Threatens A Movement Against The Modi Government

Social activist and anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare has blamed the BJP and the Modi government of not fulfilling the promise that they made during their run-up to the last year's General Elections.  

"It is clear that PM Modi is not serious about fighting corruption. In eight months, the government has not given any priority to corruption and there has been no progress on the Lokpal law. We are gathering people for a movement," the septuagenarian told the media.

When asked about forming a team with new faces he preferred to keep mum on Kiran Bedi and Arvind Kejriwal, who were the two most prominent faces of the erstwhile 'Team Anna'. The Team Anna was the principal figure in the India Against Corruption movement in the year 2011. 

"Ekla Chalo Re," he quoted Tagore. "I don't need Kiran Bedi or Arvind Kejriwal. I have the public with me. Why should I be upset at not having a team?" he said. The veteran public-leader has conspicuously distanced himself from both Ms Bedi and Mr Kejriwal, who have managed to emerge as two political faces of Delhi. 

"Let Delhi decide whether to choose Kiran or Arvind. Why drag me into the muck?" Anna Hazare said.

Sources say that Kiran Bedi's joining the BJP has seriously aggrieved Hazare, and he has reportedly refused to even take her calls. 

"Any Indian citizen can contest elections. The Constitution does not say that a person has to subscribe to any party or view. It is because of party politics that the country has suffered," said Hazare with a tone of sadness.

Polls will be held in Delhi on 7 February and the result will be out on 10 February. 

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S Jaishankar Has Been Appointed As New Foreign Secretary Of India

Shiv Sena Demands Permanent Deletion Of The Words 'Secular' and 'Socialist' From the Constitution Of India

S Jaishankar Has Been Appointed As New Foreign Secretary Of India

S Jaishankar, India's ambassador to the US, has been appointed the foreign secretary of India. The opposition parties are questioning the timing of his appointment as he replaces Sujatha Singh, who had six more months to complete her tenure.       

"I am really honored to have been given this big responsibility. My priorities are the same as the government's priorities," said the newly appointed foreign secretary.

Dr Jaishankar’s appointment was announced after a meeting of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, chaired by the PM himself, was held last evening. 

An official statement said that the services of Ms Singh have been curtailed with immediate effect; she took office in August 2013. Sujatha was only the third foreign secretary in Indian history.  The news of the appointment of Jaishankar came just a day after the Obama visit was concluded.  The three-day visit of the US President to India saw the nuclear deal go through, that was stuck for some time now. 

Before becoming the US ambassador, Jaishankar was India's longest serving ambassador to China.

Media sources say that the foreign minister Sushma Swaraj wanted Sujatha to complete her tenure but PM Modi was keen to get the man on board as soon as possible.       

Questions are being raised by the opposition. "If the PM was unhappy with the foreign secretary, why didn't he ask her to go nine months ago. The timing is questionable. Why wait for the presidential visit to end? Did something happen during the visit? The PM needs to explain," said senior Congress leader Manish Tiwari. 

Jaishankar, 60, is a 1977 batch officer of the IFS. He is said to be the choice of former PM Manmohan Singh to replace Ranjan Mathai as Foreign Secretary in 2013. That, somehow, could not materialize, and he appointed Sujatha Singh on the basis of seniority.     

S Jaishankar happens to be the son of K Subrahmanyam, one of India's leading strategic analysts who played a major role in the nuclear deal with the US in 2008.

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Shiv Sena Demands Permanent Deletion Of The Words 'Secular' and 'Socialist' From the Constitution Of India

Shiv Sena Demands Permanent Deletion Of The Words 'Secular' and 'Socialist' From the Constitution Of India

The political upheaval caused by an Information and Broadcasting Ministry advertisement that presented the preamble of the Constitution of India without  the words 'secular' and 'socialist' doesn't seem to calm down as the ruling party BJP's  allay Shiv Sena has demanded the permanent deletion of the words for the Constitution.

A new controversy came to the fore yesterday when an I&B ministry advertisement carried the picture of the Preamble of the Constitution as kit used to be before the 42nd amendment, without the words 'secular' and 'socialist'.  

"We welcome the exclusion of the ('secular' and 'socialist') words from the Republic Day advertisement. Though it might have been done inadvertently, it is like honoring the feelings of the people of India. If these words were deleted by mistake this time, they should be deleted from the Constitution permanently," Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut demanded.

"From the time they (the words) were included in the Constitution, it is being said that this country can never be secular. Balasaheb Thackeray and before him Veer Savarkar had been saying that India was divided on the lines of religion. Pakistan was created for Muslims, thus, what remains is a Hindu Rashtra," Raut said. Raut was of the opinion that the minority communities are created only for scoring political points, whereas the Hindus of the country are being 'continuously disrespected'.

The government finds itself in a difficult situation as it is facing criticism from all quarters. "This is a secular country and not a Hindu country. The word secular cannot be removed arbitrarily on its own. This is an attempt to undermine the Constitution of the country," Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyer accused. 

The Ministry was quick to refute the accusation, the Minister of State for I&B Rajyavardhan Rathore said that the preamble was only used in its original form that was before the 42nd amendment to honor the first preamble. Rathore also mentioned that the same image was used last year when Congress was ruling the country and Manish Tiwari was the I&B minister.  

The Preamble of the Constitution of India is as follows:  WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens:

JUSTICE, social, economic and political; LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship; EQUALITY of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all

FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation; IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.

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India Challenges WTO Panel's Ruling In The US Poultry Import Case

India Challenges WTO Panel's Ruling In The US Poultry Import Case

India has challenged the ruling of a WTO panel that holds India's ban on US poultry product imports as something inconsistent with the global norms.  India has filed an appeal in the Dispute Settlement Board of the World Trade Organization (WTO).  

"WTO Secretariat received ... a notice by India announcing its decision to appeal certain issues of law and legal interpretation in the panel report in the case ....," a WTO statement said.

A government source has also confirmed that India has gone to WTO's appellate authority against the ruling that is not in the country’s favor.

The Indian import of various agricultural products was banned in 2007 as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of Avian Influenza. Taking a retaliatory action, the US dragged India to the WTO against the ban on US poultry products. The WTO panel ruling came on 14 October 2014 that was in favor of the US, and called the Indian move "arbitrarily and unjustifiably discriminate between Members where identical or similar conditions prevail and are applied in a manner which constitutes a disguised restriction on international trade".

The US sees India growing as one of its principal markets for the poultry products; US is the largest chicken exporter in the world. India's chicken consumption in 2014 was 3.72 million tons, and is expected to grow at a rapid speed in the times to come.    

The US has been saying that India's Avian Influenza fears are completely based on false premises, neither has it fulfilled a relevant international standard nor has a proper scientific risk assessment.

India, on the other hand, says that the WTO panel made many legal errors in its interpretation and application of numerous articles of the SPS agreement.         

The WTO has a provision for parties in a dispute to appeal against the ruling of the panel.

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Cartoonist RK Laxman Dies At 94

Obama Stresses On Communal Harnomy, Wonem Security, and Mutual Ties Before Concluding Three-Day India Visit