Martyr's family to get 25 lakh henceforth : CM Fadnavis

A family of martyr would get only Rs. 8 lakhs till now. However, a martyr's family would get Rs 25 lakh in the future as compensation, announced Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday.

The CM announced this in a program organized by Atharva Foundation in Mumbai. This program was organized to honor the soldiers and the family of the martyrs.

The theme of this program is 'One for All, All Four One'. Such a program has been organized for the first time through the concept of Foundation's President Sunil Rane. Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, CM Devendra Fadnavis, Governor of Assam Prof. Jagdish Mukhi were present as the chief guest of this program. Param Veer Chakra awardee Captain Capt. Bana Singh, Yogendra Yadav and Sanjay Kumar graced the occasion with their presence. 

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Another Addition to India's Naval Might

The Indian Navy today added to its naval might by launching the third Scorpene-class submarine Karanj at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited in Mumbai. Navy chief Admrial Sunil Lanba, was the chief guest on the occasion while his wife Reena Lanba launched the submarine.

Speaking on the occasion, Admiral Lanba said the submarine will undergo rigorous tests for the next one year before it is commissioned. a total six submarines are going to be built at the MDL. The submarines are being built in collaboration with French shipbuilding major Naval Group.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month commissioned the first of the six Scorpene-class submarine Kalvari into the Indian Navy and said its induction was a big step in the country's defence preparedness. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had then said that submarine building is a sophisticated and exacting craft which very few countries possess in their industrial capacity.

Karanj is the third of the six Scorpene-class submarines being built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited - MDL under the Project 75 programme. The first one, INS Kalvari, was commissioned on December 14 last year. The second one, Khandari, has already been launched and is undergoing sea trials. It is equipped with precision guided weapons and capable of launching both, torpedoes and anti-ship missiles.The submarines also have the ability to launch a crippling attack on the enemy using precision guided weapons. The attack can be launched with both torpedoes and tube launched anti-ship missiles, whilst underwater or on surface.

The contract for the construction and transfer of technology for six Scorpene submarines in series has Naval Group, formerly called DCNS, of France as collaborator and are being built by MDL.

The technology being used for construction of the Scorpene class submarines has ensured superior stealth features such as advanced acoustic silencing techniques, low radiated noise levels and hydrodynamically optimized shape.

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Donald Trump Hails 'New American Moment' in State of the Union

"This is our new American moment," Trump declared to lawmakers gathered at the Capitol for his first State of the Union address.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday night said that that his administration's policies on jobs, deregulation and national security have spurred a "new American moment."

"This is our new American moment," Trump declared to lawmakers gathered at the Capitol for his first State of the Union address.

The president pointed to tax cuts passed at the close of last year, along with planned pushes for infrastructure and immigration reform and continued deregulation efforts by the administration.

Trump asked members of both parties "to come together to give us the safe, fast, reliable and modern infrastructure our economy needs," while coalescing around an immigration plan that protects Americans "of every background, color and creed."

While delivering his first State of the Union address, the US President declared suspension of security assistance to Pakistan. He also said that nations like China and Russia challenge American economy and values.

The White house in a tweet said that Trump’s conditions-based South Asia Strategy provides commanders with the authority and resources needed to deny terrorists the safe haven they seek in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Trump said that no regime has oppressed its own citizens more totally or brutally than the cruel dictatorship in North Korea and further added that North Korea's reckless pursuit of nuclear missiles could very soon threaten American homeland.

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A Barbaric and Dastardly Act

The suicide blast that killed at least 95 people and wounded 158 others in Kabul is a barbaric and dastardly act. It reminds us that Taliban terrorism has not disappeared from the war-ravaged country Afghanistan completely. This follows the cowardly terror attack on the children and civilians in Jalalabad on 24 January.

India has strongly condemned the terrorist attacks in Kabul. The attacks have targeted innocent civilians and the wounded under treatment. There can be no justification for such reprehensible attacks. The perpetrators of these attacks and their supporters should be brought to justice. Indians stands in solidarity with the government and the people of Afghanistan at this difficult times of mindless violence and terror imposed on them.

The attackers drove an ambulance laden with explosives past a police checkpoint into a street that was only open to government workers. The driver passed through one checkpoint by claiming to be escorting a patient to the hospital. He set off the explosives at the second checkpoint. It happened near the old Interior Ministry building and offices of the European Union and High Peace Council.

Government offices, businesses, a school and a hospital are close to the site of attack. The vibrations of the attack could be felt several kilometres away.

Witnesses say the area - home to foreign embassies and the city's police headquarters - was crowded with people when the bomb exploded today. Plumes of smoke were seen from around the city. The International Committee of the Red Cross said the use of an ambulance was harrowing.

Just four days ago, explosions and heavy gunfire rocked Kabul's Intercontinental Hotel on Sunday killing at least 40 people. The victims also included a number of foreigners. The heavily-guarded luxury hotel was popular among foreigners and Afghan officials.

The siege started on Saturday night and lasted 13 hours. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack which saw more than 150 guests flee.

Witnesses said the gunmen were dressed in army uniforms, but it was unclear how many were involved. The government said three gunmen were killed while witnesses said four were involved and the Taliban said five.

The Intercontinental Hotel, an imposing 1960s structure set on a hilltop and heavily protected like most public buildings in Kabul, was previously attacked by Taliban fighters in 2011. While it shares the same name, the hotel in Kabul is not part of InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), which issued a statement in 2011 saying that "the hotel Inter-continental in Kabul is not part of IHG and has not been since 1980".

The assaults being carried out by Haqqani Network terrorists underlines the need to effectively deal with the issue of safe havens to terrorists in our neighbourhood.   

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US Indicts Pakistan Again for Terrorism Links

Ever since President Donald Trump has arrived at the helm, the United States has taken many steps against Pakistan, the scourge on the humanity, for harboring terrorism. The latest in the series is slapping of sanctions on four Taliban and two Haqqani network leaders for terrorist activities. This is again an indictment of Pakistan for its links with terrorism activities that has troubled its two neighbors – India and Afghanistan.

The US has said that Pakistan must work with the US to deny the terror groups safe haven on its soil and target their funding. All six have been designated as global terrorists by the US Department of Treasury. All property and interests in property of these persons subject to US jurisdiction are blocked and the US citizens are prohibited from engaging in transactions with them.

The four Taliban leaders include Abdul Samad Sani, Abdul Qadeer Basir, Abdul Baseer, Hafiz Mohammed Popalzai, and Maulawi Inayatullah, while Haqqani network leaders as Faqir Muhammad and Gula Khan Hamidi.

Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Sigal Mandelker said the Trump administration is targeting six individuals related to the Taliban or Haqqani Network who have been involved in attacks on coalition troops, smuggling of individuals or financing these terrorist groups.

He said the action supports the President Donald Trump's South Asia Strategy by disrupting terrorist organisations and publically exposing individuals who facilitate their activities.

This comes in the wake of a top commander of the Haqqani network along with two others being killed by a US drone attack. The drone struck a home near Pakistan's restive tribal Kurram agency bordering Afghanistan.Haqqani Network Commander Ehsan alias Khawari and two of his companions were killed during the strike. The drone strikes, carried out by US spy planes, targeted on the Haqqani Network hideout in the North .

US President Donald Trump had announced a new Afghan policy in August, in which Pakistan was accused of offering safe havens to agents of chaos.

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Opposition Tries to Hold Together

Under the Garb of Constitution

Various opposition parties tried to hold fort together against Bharatiya Janata Party under the garb of constitution. They they held a march ostensibly to "save" the Constitution which they alleged was under "attack".

Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar led the efforts to mobilize against BJP and announced that opposition parties will meet in New Delhi on January 29 to mull on the way ahead in the fight against the ruling BJP. 

The march was organized coinciding with the Republic Day marking the democratic rule in India. Several opposition leaders, including from the Left, gathered on a single platform. The show of unity on the part of opposition assumes significance in view of the just over a year left for the Lok Sabha polls. Besides Pawar, Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M) Sharad Yadav (rebel JD-U leader), D Raja (CPI), Hardik Patel (Gujarat's Patidar leader), Dinesh Trivedi (Trinamool Congress), Sushilkumar Shinde (Congress), Raju Shetty and leaders from various states attended the "Save the Constitution" march that started from Oval Maidan near the state secretariat and concluded at the Gateway of India in South Mumbai, covering a distance of around two kilometres. NCP leaders Praful Patel and D P Tripathi, former Maharashtra chief minister and Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan and ex-MP Ram Jethmalani were also present.

Addressing the media at the Gateway of India, Pawar said it was a joint decision of "like-minded" parties to come together and rally to "save" the Constitution. "It would be a great disservice to the nation and the Constitution if we do not raise our voice against this. All the like-minded parties, committed to our cause, will sit together in Delhi and deliberate on the way ahead to save the Constitution," he said.

Yechury claimed the fundamental rights of people, guaranteed by the Constitution, were being "assaulted" by the ruling party. "All the opposition parties have come together at the Gateway of India, which was once seen as a sign of slavery but is now a sign of freedom to save our democratic institutions, for which we have taken an oath. Our Constitution ensures equality for all. However, the fundamental rights, guaranteed by the Constitution, are being assaulted," he said.

Chavan alleged that the government has moved towards "dictatorship", and all secular people, who have a stake in democracy, should unite to fight against the BJP. "They are attempting to change the Constitution and this poses a grave threat to the country," he said.

Ever since a Nitish Kumar-led mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) of RJD, JD(U) and Congress handed down a stunning defeat to BJP in 2015 Bihar Assembly election, a grand alliance is being seen as the only way to stop the saffron party which has won elections in nearly a dozen states since 2014.

However, attempts to forge a grand alliance in Uttar Pradesh fizzled out. The Presidential election also saw fresh moves for opposition unity against the BJP but they too came a cropper.

In July last year, Nitish Kumar-led JD(U)returned to the BJP-led NDA, dealing a blow to efforts to form an anti-BJP front ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

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Will Shiv Sena Benifit from Separation? Hardly!

Even though Shiv Sena has announced that it would fight the coming Assembly and Lok Sabha elections on its own, the challenge is not an easy one for the party. Shiv Sena has a herculean task ahead of it to attract middle-class and urban voters in the state who have turned to Bharatiya Janata Party lately. The party has set for itself an ambitious goal of winning 25 seats (out of a total 48) in Lok Sabha and 150 seats (out of a total 288) in the Assembly elections that are widely expected to happen before the schedule.

The war-cry given by Shiv Sena is not an easy one for the 50-year old party. It has to achieve exceptionally good performance in Mumbai, Vidarbha and Western Maharashtra regions. The party passed a resolution not to align with the BJP and go solo in the polls to be held next year. The National Executive meeting of the party was held coincidng with birth anniversary of Balasaheb Thackeray, the founder of the party.

BJP and Shiv Sena took advantage of resentment against the then ruling Congress and Nationalist Congress Party during the last Lok Sabha elections when they fought together and Assembly elections that they fought separately. However, BJP had made inroads in all regions except Konkan riding on the Modi wave. Vidarbha, especially Nagpur, is BJP's bastion and eroding the party's base there is a gigantic task.

This time around, political observers have placed their bets on Lok Sabha and Assembly elections being held together. So winning Vidarbha being ruled out, Shiv Sena has to focus on Mumbai, Western Maharashtra and Marathwada. In Mumbai, it cannot gain victory relying solely on the Marathi Manus agenda. Besides, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena is there, alive and kicking, to eat into its Marathi votes. It has had a glimpse of the reality last year during the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation election. On the contrary, north Indians, Gujarati etc. voters seems to vote en masse to BJP.

This is why Uddhav Thackeray spoke about the unadulterated Hindutva during the rally where he announced his decision to go solo. Thackeray has not forgotten how he had to sweat it out while winning back the BMC, the real power house of Shiv Sena. The party, with 63 MLAs and 18 MPs, is an ally of the BJP in the state and Centre but it wants to protect its own identity. That is why it is routinely attacking the BJP-led governments at the Centre and in the state over a variety of issues--from demonetisation and GST to the plight of farmers and cross-border assaults by Pakistan. Thackeray's announcement of contesting elections outside Maharashtra should be seen in this light. 

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