Tag: Congress

  • India to be renamed soon?

    A proposal to officially change India’s name to Bharat may be tabled by the Narendra Modi-led government during the upcoming special session of the Parliament from September 18-22.

    Speculation about the name change was fuelled amid reports that Rashtrapati Bhawan has sent an invite for a G20 dinner on September 9 in the name of “President of Bharat” instead of the usual “President of India”.

    The Constitution of India currently refers to the country as “India, that is Bharat…”, but there is a growing call among the ruling party’s right-wing support base to amend this to simply “Bharat”.

    Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament Parvesh Verma has also prepared a private member’s bill seeking to amend the Constitution’s preamble to remove the word India even as lawmakers have been informed that there will be no private members’ day or zero question hours during the special session.

    Verma’s bill says the name Bharat has been widely recognised internationally as an alternate name for India as reported by Hindustan Times.

    “By officially adopting ‘Bharat’ as the formal name of our nation, we will establish a unified identity in global forums, promoting India’s cultural and historical heritage on the international stage. Renaming India as ‘Bharat’ will reinforce our cultural identity, foster national unity, and project a more authentic representation of our country’s rich heritage on the global stage.” It adds this move will align with the aspirations of the citizens seeking to embrace and “celebrate our cultural roots.”

    There was no official confirmation of the introduction of the renaming bill even as the Opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc constituents linked the reference to the Bharat in the G20 invite to the BJP’s nervousness over the formidable challenge they pose to the ruling party.

    On the previous Thursday, the government announced a special session, triggering speculation that it has been convened for a Uniform Civil Code legislation, the celebration of India’s G20 presidency, and the new Parliament building, etc.

    BJP’s ideological fount, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), has been pushing for the change in name from India, using Bharat in its communication.

    Congress leader Jairam Ramesh hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Rashtrapati Bhawan’s invite for the G20 dinner on September 9 in the name of “President of Bharat” instead of the usual “President of India”. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), he cited the Constitution’s Article 1 that “Bharat, that is India, shall be a Union of States” and added now even this “Union of States” is under assault.

    Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal asked the BJP whether it would change the name of Bharat if the opposition alliance INDIA renamed itself Bharat.
    “There is no official information about it but I have heard rumours. Why is this happening? Some parties have come together to form the INDIA bloc. If the INDIA alliance changes its name to Bharat, will they rename Bharat?” Kejriwal said. “This is treason.”

    People took to X to question the alleged decision by the BJP. Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M.K.Stalin, said, “After Non-BJP forces united to dethrone the fascist BJP regime and aptly named their alliance #INDIA, now the BJP wants to change ‘India’ for ‘Bharat.’”

    Member of Parliament for Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, since 2009 and writer Shashi Tharoor and said, “I hope the government will not be so foolish as to completely dispense with “India”

    Investigative Journalist Saurav Das took a rather humorous take and questioned why ‘Prime Minister of India’ isn’t being called ‘Emperor of Bharat’.

    Journalist Nidhi Razdan questioned whether every stakeholder was contacted in this regard or not stating that India belongs to all instead of one political party.

  • US could default by next month unless debt ceiling is raised

    US could default by next month unless debt ceiling is raised

    Janet Yellen, the United States Treasury Secretary, has written to Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, warning that the federal government may exceed its spending limit by June 1 if Congress does not raise the debt ceiling. Yellen’s letter, which was published on Monday, noted that available data suggests that the government will no longer be able to cover its expenses in early June if Congress does not raise the limit before then.

    Yellen emphasised the importance of Congress taking action to increase or suspend the debt limit as soon as possible, to ensure that the government can continue to make its payments. While Yellen’s letter indicates the US could enter default as early as June 1, she also noted that it is impossible to predict the exact date when Treasury will be unable to pay the government’s bills.

    The potential for a default has raised concerns among experts about its possible impact on the US economy. It could lead to a fall in the US credit rating, resulting in higher interest rates and a possible recession. The process of raising the US spending limits is typically routine, but it has become increasingly contentious in recent years. Republicans in Congress are pushing for steep cuts to social programs in exchange for their support to raise the debt ceiling this year. In contrast, the Biden administration has called for an increase to the debt ceiling without conditions, stating that debates over various programs can be hashed out during negotiations on the yearly budget.

    Last week, the Republican-led House of Representatives passed a bill that agreed to raise the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion in exchange for $4.5 trillion in spending cuts for programs like healthcare for low-income communities, renewable energy and transportation. The bill is considered dead on arrival in the Democrat-controlled US Senate, and Biden has stated that he would veto it. However, its passage in the House is considered a victory for McCarthy, who has since called for Democrats to approve the bill and avoid a default.

    Democrats have called for a “clean” debt limit increase without haggling or addendums. Virginia Senator Mark Warner tweeted on Monday that the US has about a month until it defaults on paying its debt and emphasised that this is not new spending, but about paying bills already incurred. On May 9, US President Joe Biden reportedly called for a meeting with Democratic and Republican leaders to discuss spending and the debt limit. The Congressional Budget Office has also stated that it sees an increased risk of the government running out of funds by early June due to tax receipts that were lower than expected.

  • ‘Putin has no idea what’s coming’: Biden closes all airspace to Russian flights

    ‘Putin has no idea what’s coming’: Biden closes all airspace to Russian flights

    United States (US) President Joe Biden, while addressing a joint session of Congress, announced that the US is closing its airspace to all Russian flights.

    Biden said, “Tonight, I’m announcing that we will join our allies in closing off American airspace to all Russian flights, further isolating Russia and adding an additional squeeze on their economy”, further adding that Putin has no idea what’s coming.

    Biden said the country is imposing “powerful sanctions” on Russia. He repeatedly hit out at Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, saying that Putin alone is to blame for the war.

    During the address, the US President also paid a nod to Kyiv’s ambassador to Washington, Oksana Markarova, who was in attendance.

    The US has shown support to Ukraine after the Russian invasion. However, Biden has made it clear that the country will not send troops to fight Russia in Ukraine.

    Currently, Russia is showing no sign of stopping an assault that has included strikes on the Ukrainian capital i.e Kyiv and Kharkiv. Dozens have been killed and hundreds of thousands have fled the country to seek shelter.

    Earlier this week, both Moscow and Ukraine sat together for talks on the Ukraine-Belarus border with the aim of an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian forces but no decision could be made.

  • ‘Victory against injustice’: Rahul Gandhi’s response to Modi’s U-turn on controversial farm laws

    Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi has taken a U-turn by announcing that his government will repeal three controversial agricultural reform laws, which set off huge protests across India by the farmers.

    “Today I have come to tell you, the whole country, that we have decided to withdraw all three agricultural laws,” announced Modi.

    “In the parliament session starting later this month, we will complete the constitutional process to repeal these three agricultural laws.”

    “I appeal to all the farmers who are part of the protest … to now return to your home, to your loved ones, to your farms, and family. Let’s make a fresh start and move forward,” said the Indian prime minister.

    “Friends, I apologise to the countrymen and want to say with a clean heart and conscience that we must have fallen short in our efforts to explain (the benefits of the farm laws) to a section of the farmers.”

    Rahul Gandhi, leader of the Congress party, took to Twitter and wrote, “Congratulations on this victory against injustice!”

    In a high-profile protest against controversial agricultural reforms, tens of thousands of farmers drove a convoy of tractors festooned with brightly-coloured flags through the outskirts of India’s capital of New Delhi on the country’s Republic Day, January 26.

    Three laws pertaining to agriculture and farming were passed in India, which the farmers said would affect their livelihood. Modi billed these laws as necessary to modernise Indian farming.

  • ‘Shouted slogans, threw stones, and set fire’: Muslim ex-FM home attacked in India

    ‘Shouted slogans, threw stones, and set fire’: Muslim ex-FM home attacked in India

    Hindu extremists have attacked and set fire to the home of a former Indian foreign minister (FM), police say, in the latest incident of religious violence. Critics say religious violence has increased under Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi, reports Al-Jazeera.

    Salman Khurshid, a Muslim from the Opposition Congress party, published a book in which he compared the kind of Hindu nationalism that has grown under Modi to “extremist groups” such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/ISIS).

    A mob of about 20 people from an extremist local Hindu group massed outside Khurshid’s house near the northern city of Nainital on Monday.

    “They shouted slogans, threw stones, broke several windows, ransacked [the entry] and set fire [to a door],” said a local police chief Jagdish Chandra.

    Khurshid posted images of the aftermath of the attack on social media, and wrote, “Shame is too ineffective a word.”

    “I hoped to open these doors to my friends who have left this calling card. Am I still wrong to say this cannot be Hinduism?” he added.

    Activists say that religious minorities in Hindu-majority India have faced increased levels of discrimination and violence since Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in 2014.

  • ‘Anti-Pakistan bill moved in US Senate to build pressure on President Biden’: Shah Mahmood

    Reacting to the proposed bill moved in the United States (US) Senate, evaluating Pakistan’s alleged role in Afghanistan before and after the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that the Republicans submitted the bill to build pressure on US President Joe Biden.

    Qureshi, while speaking on Geo News programme ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Saath’, said, “The anti-Biden administration in Congress views it [Afghanistan debacle] as a major opportunity to mount pressure on Biden. Pakistan cooperated with the US at every step.”

    “Besides India, some forces want to target and destabilise Pakistan and put the whole burden of the Afghan situation on Pakistan.”

    He said that in view of new realities, it is time to build new strategies. He also said that in the near future, a high-profile US personality will visit Pakistan.

    American senators have proposed a bill in the US Senate, demanding a deeper investigation into the Taliban’s victory in Afghanistan and sanctions on the group as well as those who assisted them in driving out the Ashraf Ghani-led regime.