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December 16, 2024 3:01 PM

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Midday News

THE HEADLINES:

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi holds talks with Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in New Delhi.
  • Rajya Sabha discusses glorious journey of 75 years of Indian Constitution.
  • Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman says, it is time to reaffirm the commitment to build India; Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge accuses government of undermining the Constitution. 
  • Nation remembers its bravehearts on Vijay Diwas being celebrated today commemorating India’s victory over Pakistan in 1971 war.
  • President, Vice President and Prime Minister express grief on the demise of tabla maestro Zakir Hussain.
  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President-elect Donald Trump discuss situation in Syria and hostages held by Hamas.
  • And in cricket, rain disrupts third day’s play between India and Australia at Brisbane; Visitors were 51 for 4 at stumps.

 

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi held bilateral talks with the visiting Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in New Delhi today. Both leaders held discussions on the issues of mutual interest. After the talks, the two leaders are now holding a press conference in New Delhi. We now go over live to the press briefing:

 

Earlier, today, the visiting dignitary was accorded ceremonial reception at the forecourts of Rashtarpati Bhavan this morning. President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed Mr Dissanayake. The Sri Lankan President paid floral tributes to Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat.

 

The Sri Lankan President who is on a three-day visit to India arrived in New Delhi on Sunday. He was received by Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Dr L Murugan. The Sri Lankan President is scheduled to meet President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar this evening. He will also visit Bodh Gaya, Bihar. This is the first bilateral visit of President Dissanayake to India, since he assumed Presidency.

 

Ministry of External Affairs said, the visit is expected to further strengthen the multi-faceted and mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries. Mr Dissanayake will also participate in a business event in Delhi to promote investment and commercial linkages between India and Sri Lanka. The Merchandise trade between India and Sri Lanka has reached 5.5 billion dollars in 2023-24. Sri Lanka is India’s closest maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean Region and holds a central place in the Prime Minister Modi’s vision of SAGAR and India’s Neighbourhood First policy.

 

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The Rajya Sabha today began a special discussion on the glorious journey of 75 years of the Constitution of India with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman leading the charge from the treasury benches to hit out at the opposition on the issue of freedom of expression and protecting the Constitution. Initiating the discussion, she cited the then Congress government’s decision to jail the famous lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri and veteran actor Balraj Sahni for criticizing the rule in 1949. She also targeted the Congress for imposing emergency in the Country saying the term of the Lok sabha was extended during the emergency without proper justification and during the extended term, the entire opposition was put to jail.

 

Mrs Sitharaman said, it is time to reaffirm commitment to build India that will uphold the spirit enshrined in this sacred document. She said, India’s experience has shown that the country’s constitution remains robust and has stood the test of time.

 

The Minister asserted that BJP has always been committed for the welfare of women and Women reservation. She added that despite having a brute majority the then Rajiv Gandhi government did not bring the Women Reservation Bill but her government passed the legislation to provide quota to women in Lok Sabha and State assemblies.

 

Participating in the discussion, Leader of Opposition in the House, Mallikarjun Kharge accused the government of undermining the Constitution. He said, it is the Congress which has given Universal adult franchise rights to the people to vote. On the issue of employment, Mr Kharge alleged that the Centre has failed to fulfil its promises of providing two crore jobs every year. He listed out the various schemes brought by the Congress government for the welfare of the poor. Mr Kharge said, the schemes like MGNREGA, Food security Act and Land reforms were intended to establish socialism in the country. The discussion is underway.

 

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The BJP today took a dig at Congress following a media report that former party President Sonia Gandhi  had taken away donated papers of first Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru from the Prime Ministers’ Museum & Library in 2008. A member of the Prime Ministers’ Museum & Library Society and Historian Rizwan Kadri has written to senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi recently seeking the return of the papers. Talking to media outside the Parliament, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said it has come to fore that 51 cartons of letters that were written by Nehru ji to Edwina Mountbatten, Jayaprakash Narayan and several others were taken away by Sonia Gandhi when she was the UPA Chairperson.

 

Meanwhile, Congress has hit back at BJP saying the ruling party is trying to divert the attention from the issue related to the  bribery charges against a prominent business group. Party MP Imran Masood told the media outside Parliament that  it is a political agenda to divert the issue.

 

Mr Patra also raised the issue during the Question Hour in the Lok Sabha.

 

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Union Minister Pralhad Joshi has hit out at the Congress for questioning the EVMs. He was talking to media outside Parliament this morning. Referring to Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s criticism of Congress for its inconsistent stance on EVMs, Mr Joshi said, even some opposition parties are raising fingers on the main opposition party. He said that the Congress party should realize its mistakes.

 

Earlier, Mr Abdullah had said that once one gets hundred Lok Sabha seats using the same EVMs and celebrates that as a victory, one cannot then turn around and blame EVMs when the results are not as per expectations.

 

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The Central Government has said that there are about 21 fake universities in the country. Replying to supplementaries in the Lok Sabha today, Minister of State for Education, Sukanta Majumdar said, in the last ten years, twelve fake universities have been closed. Mr Majumdar said that UGC has released the list of fake universities and recognized universities every year, before the academic session.

 

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The Nation is remembering its martyrs on the occasion of Vijay Diwas commemorating India’s victory over Pakistan in 1971 war. Rich tributes are being paid to the martyrs who laid down their lives during the war. The end of the war also resulted in subsequent secession of East Pakistan into Bangladesh.

 

President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Defense Minister Rajnath Singh today paid tribute to the valiant soldiers of the 1971 war.

 

To mark the day, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also laid a wreath at the National War Memorial in New Delhi. Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi, Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh and Vice-Chief of Navy Vice-Admiral Krishna Swaminathan also laid wreaths and paid homage to the fallen heroes.

 

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On the second day of his Chhattisgarh visit, Union Home Minister Amit Shah today interacted with the family members of the martyred security personnel in Jagdalpur, the divisional headquarters of Bastar. More from our Raipur correspondent-

 

The Union Home Minister, while interacting with the family members of the martyred jawans in Jagdalpur, said that the Ministry of Home Affairs, Tribal Affairs and Rural Development of the Government of India will jointly formulate a special plan to address the problems of the families of the martyred jawans and to compensate for the loss suffered by them. He said that to ensure that no other family suffers the pain that these families have suffered, the Central and Chhattisgarh governments together will eliminate Naxalism from this entire area by March 2026. Earlier, the Union Home Minister paid tribute to the martyred jawans at the Amar Shaheed Vatika in Jagdalpur. He also planted saplings under the Ek Ped Shaheedon Ke Naam campaign. Vikalp Shukla, Akashvani News, Raipur.

 

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Legendary tabla maestro Zakir Hussain passed away in the United States last night. He was 73. Zakir Hussain had been admitted to a hospital in San Francisco after experiencing heart-related problems. Family sources said that the maestro was battling blood-pressure related problems.

 

President, Vice President and Prime Minister have expressed grief on the demise of tabla maestro Zakir Hussain.

 

In a social media post, President Droupadi Murmu said, Ustad Zakir Hussain was known for his extraordinary creativity and inventiveness.

 

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar said, Zakir Hussain leaves behind a rich legacy and an indelible imprint on Bharat’s cultural landscape.

 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Zakir Hussain will be remembered as a true genius who revolutionized the world of Indian classical music.

 

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President-elect Donald Trump have discussed  developments in Syria and the hostages held by Hamas. Both leaders spoke on phone to discuss the recent push to secure the release of Israeli and foreign hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Netanyahu said, the issue will be a challenge for Trump when he takes office, unless it is resolved before he is sworn in on January 20.

 

Netanyahu reiterated that recent airstrikes against Syrian military sites were carried out to ensure that the weapons would not be used against Israel in the future.

 

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India were 51 for four at the end of a rain-marred day three of the third Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia at the Gabba in Brisbane. The visitors are still trailing by 394 runs based on the first innings.

 

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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN:

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi holds talks with Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in New Delhi.
  • Rajya Sabha discusses glorious journey of 75 years of Indian Constitution.
  • Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman says, it is time to reaffirm commitment to build India; Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge accuses government of undermining the Constitution. 
  • Nation remembers its bravehearts on Vijay Diwas being celebrated today commemorating India’s victory over Pakistan in 1971 war.
  • President, Vice President and Prime Minister express grief on the demise of tabla maestro Zakir Hussain.
  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President-elect Donald Trump discuss Syria situation and hostages held by Hamas.
  • And in cricket, rain disrupts third day’s play between India and Australia at Brisbane; Visitors were 51 for 4 at stumps.

 

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