Reservation Policy Is Here to Stay : Amit Shah

BJP President Amit Shah on Friday said that the Modi government will neither scrap the reservation policy nor allow anyone else to do so. While addressing the gathering at the Maharashtra BJP's Maha Melava rally on the 38th Foundation Day of the BJP, Shah accused the Opposition of not allowing the Budget session of Parliament to function.

Shah said in a press conference  that the journey of the party has been a difficult journey and full of sacrifices. He said BJP sacrificed maximum number of its leaders after independence as compared to any other political party. 

Shah was addressing a in Mumbai after the Maha-BJP-Maha Melava .The party President said BJP is a democratic party and it follows an ideology. Shah added that BJP from two MPs in Parliament, has now 330 members in Parliament. He said there are 1600 BJP MLAs in the country today.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today interacted with thousand of the BJP workers on the occasion of 38th Foundation Day of party.

Addressing through video conferencing, Mr Modi said, the BJP is a party which is completely driven by democratic rules.He said, there is no dynasty and casteism in the party. He said the party has brought a new hope for development of the country. 

Earlier, in his message, Modi said that the BJP is the party of a New India and is privileged to receive the blessings of people of all age groups, across all sections of society. He said party believes in diversity, unique culture of the country and above all the strengths of 125 crore Indians.

Prime Minister thanked people for their unwavering faith in BJP. He said, it is party's commitment that it will continue to devote itself towards India’s transformation.

Modi said that for BJP, the party workers are everything and they are the heart and soul of the party, whose sweat has taken the Party to new heights. He said party remember, with great pride, the heroic service and sacrifice of all party workers who built the BJP and committed themselves towards creating a stronger and better India.

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Chabahar port : Historic Deal Finalized

Iran has awarded a much-awaited agreement to India over the management of part of its strategic Chabahar port. The historic move could enable India to dodge Pakistan and reach markets in Afghanistan, Central Asia and beyond.

The agreement was signed during a visit to New Delhi by President Hassan Rouhani would lease the operational control of Shahid Beheshti port – phase one of Chabahar port - to India for 18 months, said Press TV, 

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi who oversaw the signing of the agreement together with Rouhani later told reporters in a joint press conference that the expansion of connectivity was important for New Delhi. Modi also emphasized that his country was interested in the construction of a rail link between Chabahar and Iran’s southeastern city of Zahedan – a crucial link that India would need to expand its reach northward. 

"We will support the construction of the Chabahar-Zahedan rail link so that Chabahar gateway's potential could be fully utilized," he said.

"We want to expand connectivity, cooperation in the energy sector and the centuries-old bilateral relationship."

Rouhani for his part emphasized that Chabahar could reinforce Iran and India’s historical ties by serving as a bridge connecting the subcontinent to Afghanistan, Central Asia, and Eastern Europe.

“We are ready to sign bilateral and trilateral agreements to turn the transit route passing through Chabahar into a strategic pathway serving the reinforcement of regional ties,” he said.

On a related front, Iran’s Minister of Road and Urban Development Abbas Akhoundi said Iran and India would jointly operate Shahid Beheshti port, adding that New Delhi would invest as much as $87 million in the project.  Akhoundi emphasized that this would be part of a total investment of $2 billion that India would make in Iran’s port and rail projects.  

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India, Iran Ink Nine Agreements in Different Areas

India and Iran have reiterated their commitment to combat terrorism in all its forms and stressed that there can be no justification for any act of terrorism. 

In a joint statement issued after the talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in New Delhi, the two leaders expressed their conviction that the fight against terrorism should not only seek to disrupt and eliminate terrorists and terrorist organizations but should also identify and address conditions conducive to terrorism as well as extremist ideologies. 

The two sides also urged for an immediate end to all support and sanctuaries enjoyed by terrorist groups and individuals. They said, States that aid, abet and directly or indirectly support terrorism should be condemned. 

India and Iran welcomed the growing interaction between their National Security Councils and agreed to enhance regular and institutionalized consultations between them and others concerned on terrorism and security. Both sides also expressed interest in enhancing cooperation possibilities in maritime domain.

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Talks with Iranian President Fruitful : PM Modi

The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi has termed his talks with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani as fruitful.
India and Iran on Saturday signed nine agreements in different areas after delegation-level talks between PM Modi and President Rouhani in New Delhi. 
The fields in which the agreements were inked include extradition treaty, Chabahar port, medicine and agriculture. 
In a joint statement, Modi said, he had a fruitful discussion with Dr. Rouhani on a wide range of issues of mutual interest. He said, the Iranian President's visit will further deepen and strengthen bilateral ties. 
Modi also said, both countries would like to see a prosperous and terror-free Afghanistan. He said, India and Iran are connected by common Sufi strain and want the region to be free of terror. 
The Prime Minister also thanked Mr Rouhani for providing leadership in developing Chabahar Port which is a gateway to Central Asia.
Both leaders also released a special postal stamp. Earlier in the day, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj called on the visiting dignitary and discussed ways to strengthen co-operation in energy, connectivity, IT, education, culture and people-to-people contact. 
The Iranian President was accorded a ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhawan Saturday morning. He also visited Rajghat to pay tributes to Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi.
Rouhani will meet President Ram Nath Kovind and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu later on Saturday.
The Iranian President, who is on three-day visit to India, arrived in New Delhi last night after his stay in Hyderabad.

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Reason to Cheer for Donald Trump After Republican Memo's Release

United States President Donald Trump has reason to cheer after the release of the formerly classified Republican memo. "It totally vindicates me," he claimed on Twitter on Saturday (February 3).

Trump's fellow Republicans in the US House of Representatives released on Friday a previously classified memo that portrays senior officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Justice Department as being biased against him in the federal investigation into potential collusion between his 2016 presidential campaign and Russia.

The memo raised questions about what its Republican authors called "the legitimacy and legality" of FBI and Justice Department interactions with a special court to gain permission to eavesdrop on former Trump campaign advisor Carter Page, an oil industry consultant with numerous contacts in Russia. It cited "a troubling breakdown of legal processes established to protect the American people from abuses" related to the court, set up under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

A remaining issue is whether Trump uses the memo as rational for firing Deputy U.S. Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Special Counsel Robert Mueller in May 2017 after the president fired FBI Director James Comey, and oversees Mueller's work.

Democrats said the memo mischaracterizes highly sensitive classified information as part of a coordinated propaganda effort to discredit the FBI and Justice Department and terminate Mueller's investigation, which potentially threatens Trump's presidency.

US Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team wanted to question President Donald Trump as part of the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential elections. The investigation also reportedly involved a probe into whether the President obstructed justice when he allegedly asked ex-FBI Director James Comey to drop an inquiry into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.

Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his conversations with the Russian Ambassador, becoming the first senior White House official to cut a cooperation deal in Mueller’s inquiry.

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Thanks President!

One has to thank the US President Donald Trump as he announced that he was open to citizenship for 'Dreamers' in 10-12 years. This is for the first time that President Trump has indicated that he was open to a path to citizenship for America's so-called "Dreamers" in 10 to 12 years.

The move will certainly welcomed by millions of people all over the world especially in India as it may also benefit thousands of Indian-origin undocumented immigrants.

Some 6,90,000 undocumented immigrants, who were illegally brought to the US as children, are likely to get benefited. Among them include several thousand people of Indian descent.

The term "Dreamers", which is used for the undocumented immigrants living in the US illegally, came from the DREAM Act, a bipartisan legislation that was first proposed in 2001 to provide citizenship to them under certain conditions. The bill was never passed.

Trump told reporters during an impromptu news conference at the White House before he left for Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos.

Trump called this as an "incentive" for the immigrants for the hard work. However, a senior administration official later said no final decision has been taken yet over the issue.

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