India, Pakistan expected to raise terrorism issue
Pakistan summoned Indian diplomats to its Foreign Ministry twice on Friday to raise its concerns about the bail granted to 2007 Samjhauta blasts case accused Swami Aseemanand and cross-border firing along a section of the shared border. Pakistan lodged a protest about bail being granted to Aseemanand, who is among those accused of setting off the explosions that killed 68 people, 42 Pakistanis among them. Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit also raised the Kashmir issue, saying that the country would “never abandon Kashmiris and their cause”. India responded by raising the issue of cross-border terrorism, with Union External Affairs Spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeting that the “only struggle in Jammu and Kashmir” was “Pakistani-sponsored terrorism”. Officials said that both countries are expected to accuse each other of being involved in terrorism during the talks between their National Security Advisers on August 23-24.
Parliament has become ‘an arena of combat’: President
President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday criticised the country's political parties, saying that Parliament had been turned into “an arena of combat”. In his annual address to the nation ahead of Independence Day, Mukherjee quoted BR Ambedkar, saying that the functioning of the legislature and the executive would depend on the people of India and the political parties they had voted into power. “It is time for serious thinking by the people and their parties,” the President said. Later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that Mukherjee’s speech had been an “insightful address” to the people of the nation. The recently-concluded Monsoon session of Parliament saw little legislative work in either House due to the constant disruptions by Opposition parties as they demanded the resignations of key ministers allegedly involved in corruption.
Government working to implement OROP, Jaitley says
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday said that the Central government was working to implement the One Rank One Pension scheme for former members of the Armed Forces. Even as ex-servicemen conducted a protest at Jantar Mantar in the New Delhi over the delay in executing the scheme, Jaitley said that the government was working on the “arithmetic translation” of the programme. Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said that there were “technical difficulties” in implementing OROP. The Delhi police came under heavy criticism for its attempts to remove the ex-servicemen from Jantar Mantar.
Government rejects Congress’ conditions for GST
The Narendra Modi-led Central government on Friday rejected the conditions laid down by the Congress for supporting the Goods and Services Tax Bill. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the three conditions put forward by Congress leader P Chidambaram were an “after-thought”. Union Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal expressed confidence that the tax would be implemented by April 1 next year, adding that the government would work out alternatives to roll out the tax if the Bill was not passed by Parliament.
US offers to produce fighter jets with India
The United States on Friday offered to jointly produce fighter jets with India to promote deeper military ties between the two countries. India faced a “critical shortage” of front-line jetfighters, US Ambassador to India Richard Verma said, adding that cooperation between the two countries would help to counter this challenge. The Ambassador also condemned recent cross-border terror attacks in India, saying that there was “no justification for violence on innocent people”.
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Pakistan summoned Indian diplomats to its Foreign Ministry twice on Friday to raise its concerns about the bail granted to 2007 Samjhauta blasts case accused Swami Aseemanand and cross-border firing along a section of the shared border. Pakistan lodged a protest about bail being granted to Aseemanand, who is among those accused of setting off the explosions that killed 68 people, 42 Pakistanis among them. Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit also raised the Kashmir issue, saying that the country would “never abandon Kashmiris and their cause”. India responded by raising the issue of cross-border terrorism, with Union External Affairs Spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeting that the “only struggle in Jammu and Kashmir” was “Pakistani-sponsored terrorism”. Officials said that both countries are expected to accuse each other of being involved in terrorism during the talks between their National Security Advisers on August 23-24.
Parliament has become ‘an arena of combat’: President
President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday criticised the country's political parties, saying that Parliament had been turned into “an arena of combat”. In his annual address to the nation ahead of Independence Day, Mukherjee quoted BR Ambedkar, saying that the functioning of the legislature and the executive would depend on the people of India and the political parties they had voted into power. “It is time for serious thinking by the people and their parties,” the President said. Later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that Mukherjee’s speech had been an “insightful address” to the people of the nation. The recently-concluded Monsoon session of Parliament saw little legislative work in either House due to the constant disruptions by Opposition parties as they demanded the resignations of key ministers allegedly involved in corruption.
Government working to implement OROP, Jaitley says
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday said that the Central government was working to implement the One Rank One Pension scheme for former members of the Armed Forces. Even as ex-servicemen conducted a protest at Jantar Mantar in the New Delhi over the delay in executing the scheme, Jaitley said that the government was working on the “arithmetic translation” of the programme. Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said that there were “technical difficulties” in implementing OROP. The Delhi police came under heavy criticism for its attempts to remove the ex-servicemen from Jantar Mantar.
Government rejects Congress’ conditions for GST
The Narendra Modi-led Central government on Friday rejected the conditions laid down by the Congress for supporting the Goods and Services Tax Bill. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the three conditions put forward by Congress leader P Chidambaram were an “after-thought”. Union Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal expressed confidence that the tax would be implemented by April 1 next year, adding that the government would work out alternatives to roll out the tax if the Bill was not passed by Parliament.
US offers to produce fighter jets with India
The United States on Friday offered to jointly produce fighter jets with India to promote deeper military ties between the two countries. India faced a “critical shortage” of front-line jetfighters, US Ambassador to India Richard Verma said, adding that cooperation between the two countries would help to counter this challenge. The Ambassador also condemned recent cross-border terror attacks in India, saying that there was “no justification for violence on innocent people”.