Rahul Gandhi slams mob lynchings and attacks on Dalits; BJP hits back

Rahul Gandhi said the Modi government believed that tribals, poor farmers, Dalits, minorities and people from other lower castes should not get the same benefits that the elite of India does.

Latest News: Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said mob lynchings and attacks on Dalits and minorities reflected the anger that currently pervaded India’s society because of growing joblessness and the Narendra Modi government taking away protections provided to the country’s poor. He said the Modi government’s demonetisation and poorly implemented goods and services tax (GST) have destroyed the informal economy and killed jobs in the small and medium businesses, which contributed to this anger.

Addressing a gathering at the Bucerius Summer School at Hamburg in Germany, of which Rahul Gandhi is an alumnus, the Congress president pointed to the example of the rise of the Islamic State, in Iraq and Syria to caution that excluding a large number of people from the development process could lead to creation of insurgent groups anywhere in the world.

Also Read: Rahul Gandhi Germany Speech

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) picked on Rahul Gandhi’s comments to allege the Congress chief was not only belittling and insulting India abroad, but also justifying terrorism. BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said Rahul “lied through his teeth” in his criticism of the Modi government. Patra asked whether Gandhi's submission was that minorities in India would “sell their soul” to IS if jobs are not available for them, and this amounted to “denigrating” the community. The BJP spokesperson said he wondered whether the data on job growth was “made in 10, Janpath”.

Rahul Gandhi said the Modi government believed that tribals, poor farmers, Dalits, minorities and people from other lower castes should not get the same benefits that the elite of India does. He said unleashing of demonetisation and faulty implementation of GST killed jobs that the poor used to get, and the accompanying weakening of "protections" has “made India angry”, and...continue reading

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News Source: BS

Rahul Gandhi's Germany speech not broadcast live due to tech glitch

Gandhi's address was to be aired via a YouTube link, starting 9:30 pm IST, which was later rescheduled to start from 10:30 pm IST.

 

Latest News: Congress president Rahul Gandhi's address to the Indian Overseas Congress in Berlin in Germany Thursday could not be aired 'live' due to a technical glitch, the party said.

Gandhi's address was to be aired via a YouTube link, starting 9:30 pm IST, which was later rescheduled to start from 10:30 pm IST.

The address, however, could not be aired 'live' and the Congress party cited a technical glitch as the reason for it.

Gandhi is on a five-day tour to Germany and the UK.

Also Read: Rahul Gandhi slams mob lynchings and attacks on Dalits

On Thursday night, he had addressed a gathering at the Bucerius Summer School in Hamburg, Germany.

He was to address the Indian Overseas Congress Friday night during his two-day stay in Germany.

He heads to London Saturday.

In London, he will address students of London School of Economic tomorrow. And on Saturday, he will address a gathering of the Indian National Overseas Congress.

Rahul Gandhi Germany Speech

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News Source: BS

Priorities fake news issue over payments service plans: Govt to WhatsApp

WhatsApp has been told that the fake news issue is far more important than other plans in the current circumstances.

Latest News → IT Ministry is keen to see WhatsApp priorities curbing of fake news on its platform, against the backdrop of lynching incidents claiming many lives, over its plans to launch payments service, as per a senior government official.

The official told PTI that WhatsApp's payment service matter had figured in the meeting on Monday between IT Secretary Ajay Prakash Sawhney and top WhatsApp executives, including COO Matthew Idema.

The meeting saw the executives outlining the steps initiated by the Facebook-owned company recently to combat circulation of fake messages which incited lynching incidents in several parts of the country.

Whatsapp Fake News Issue

The ministry is of the view that WhatApp needs to resolve on priority basis the overhanging issue of misinformation and take more steps to control the rampant abuse of its platform for circulation of fake messages.

WhatsApp has been told that the fake news issue is far more important than other plans in the current circumstances, said the official, who was privy to the recent discussions.

WhatsApp did not respond to an emailed query.

The official noted that there are outstanding concerns over Whatsapp's proposed payment service plan, including how and where will the data of users be stored in the backdrop of RBI's instructions, mandating that data be stored in India.

The government wants greater clarity on how the storage issue is being handled by WhatsApp and these matters are under discussion, the official said, adding that detailed examination is required also given that....continue story

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News Source : BS