PM likens opposition to Pakistan; attacks Manmohan, Chidambaram, Rahul

Breaking News : In an aggressive speech, with oodles of sarcasm thrown in, more reminiscent of his election campaign speeches in the run up to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today equated opponents of ‘note ban’ of trying to shield the corrupt, just as Pakistan starts firing on Indian border posts to distract Indian Army so that infiltrators can sneak into Jammu and Kashmir under its cover.

The PM also attacked Congress leadership, particularly former PM Manmohan Singh and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi. Questioning the former PM's integrity, Modi expressed surprise that there was no blot on Singh even when he has been part of India's economic policy think tank since the early-1970s.

The PM was speaking at the foundation laying ceremony of Mahamana Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya Cancer Centre in Varanasi, his Lok Sabha constituency. Modi said when he announced ‘note ban’ decision he didn't think it was possible that politicians and political parties would be so unashamed as to come out openly to defend the corrupt.

“Now I understand for whose benefit these protests (by the opposition) are taking place,” he said. Apart from likening the opposition to Pakistan, he also said his opponents reminded him of a gang of pickpockets at work at a village or town fair. He said the disruptions in Parliament during the winter session was to alert and protect the corrupt. Modi said when a pickpocket is at work in a village fair his associate distracts the police by misleading them and shouting that the pickpocket has fled in the other direction. “This is exactly the strategy being employed now to protect the corrupt,” the PM said at the event at the Banaras Hindu University.

The PM’s comments come a day after Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi demanded at a public rally in Mehsana in Gujarat that he come clean on allegations that he had received over Rs 40 crore in cash payments from individuals associated with the Sahara India Group and Aditya Birla Group when he was the chief minister of Gujarat. The BJP rubbished the allegations, and said these stem from the Congress Vice President’s frustration at successive electoral defeats.(more)

Uri attack: Military reviews 'escalation ladder'

Uri attack: Military reviews 'escalation ladder'

The strike by jihadi militants on Sunday on an army camp near Uri, in which 18 soldiers were killed and 29 injured, has inflamed tensions along the Line of Control (LoC). On Tuesday, the army shot down eight Pakistani militants after intercepting a 15-strong group that was discovered infiltrating from Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK).

With public opinion and the media aroused, and with Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowing to punish those responsible; and the army's top operations officer declaring the military would retaliate at a time and place of its choosing, both sides of the LoC are bracing for what might come.

New Delhi has pinned the attack on the Lashkar-e-Toiba, a militia controlled by the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), a wing of the Pakistani Army. Home Minister Rajnath Singhhas declared Pakistan a "terrorist state" and the Indian Army, already grappling with public turmoil in the Kashmir Valley, is evaluating options to extract revenge for Uri.

Pakistan presents an easy target for an Indian diplomatic offensive against its terror-friendly ways, in western capitals and multilateral forums. However, a calibrated military riposte would need more careful consideration.(more)

Also Read: Army's 2016 death toll highest in six years; 31 terrorists killed

Visakhapatnam gears up to showcase Indian naval power

Once in each President's five-year term in office, he or she carries out a "naval fleet review", a deliberately public assembly of the entire fleet, except forwarships on essential patrols. Behind the ceremonial pomp and show lies a simple strategic signal: "Here is our fleet; it is ready for war."

In earlier days, fleet reviews were "a prelude to war or an explicit show of force to deter adventurism by a potential adversary", says Raghavendra Mishra of the National Maritime Foundation. Possibly the first ever fleet review was held in 1415, when British monarch, Henry the Vth, inspected his navy before embarking on war with France.

Hope brightens for Indo-Pak Jan 15 talks after arrest of some Pathankot suspects

The January 15 India-Pakistan foreign secretary level talks seemed on track after Pakistan made some arrests related to the Pathankot air base terror attack.

The Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also ordered the setting up of a high-profile joint investigation team (JIT) to investigate the leads given by India that allegedly link the Pathankot air base attackers with Pakistan.

The decision to set up the JIT was set up at a meeting that Sharif chaired. Reports quoted unnamed sources in the Pakistan government who claimed that the Army was no board Sharif’s decision.

Pakistani security agencies raided places in Gujranwala, Jhelum and Bahawalpur districts and an unspecified number of people were arrested. The JIT comprises Intelligence Bureau, Inter-Services Intelligence, Military Intelligence, Federal Investigation Agency and Police.

Sharif calls Modi on Pathankot attack, assures action

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday called up his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi regarding the terror attack on the PathankotIndian Air Force base and assured that prompt and decisive action will be taken against the terrorists involved, an official statement here said.

Sharif phoned up Modi from Sri Lanka, where he is on a three-day official visit.

The terrorists launched the assault on Indian air base in Pathankot that killed 7 Indian security personnel and injured 22.

In a latest statement, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said six militants who attacked Pathankot air base have been confirmed killed, adding that a four-day-old operation to secure the compound was still under way.

BJP attacks Congress for trying to gain 'mileage' over terrorism

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday slammed the Congress Party for criticising the ruling dispensation on the terror attack at Pathankot air base, saying the age old party needs to stop politicising terror.

"I think there are certain issues primarily issues like national security is a matter of concern to the whole country, so we feel that the Congress Party needs to stop politicising terror," BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Raosaid.

Rao further said that any party trying to derive political mileage by making such untimely comments was condemnable.

"They are making such comments even when an operation is going on the field and our security forces are fighting bravely and have given their life. It shows the Congress Party in utterly poor light," he added.

Pathankot attack: Operation enters third day, more forces rushed to air base

The operation against militants holed up at Pathankot air base entered the third day today after explosions and firing continued intermittently overnight.

Security forces had yesterday killed one of the at least two terrorists on the second day of the attack in which seven security personnel lost their lives including a Lieutenant Colonel of the NSG. Four terrorists were eliminated on Saturday when they had struck at the air base.

PM chairs high-level meeting on Pathankot terror attack

The operation stretched through the night with sounds of gunfire and explosions continuing till around 10 a.m today after which they have ceased. Attack helicopters were still flying over the area.

More quick response teams have been rushed to the site.Read More.

Indian Navy successfully tests long-delayed air defence missile

In a giant capability boost for the Indian Navy, a naval warship on Wednesday test-fired a new missile that can shoot down incoming aerial threats – aircraft and missiles – whilst they are still 70 kilometres away.

A defence ministry press release stated: “Adding a quantum jump in its air defence capability, INS Kolkata, Indian Navy’s state of art, indigenous stealth destroyer, successfully test fired the Long Range Surface to Air Missile (LR-SAM).  Two missiles were fired on December 29 and 30 of on high-speed targets, during naval exercises being undertaken in the Arabian Sea.”

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and India’s Defence R&D Organisation (DRDO) have jointly developed the LR-SAM. The Israelis call this cutting-edge missile system the Barak-8, while India calls it the LR-SAM. In earlier days, ship-to-ship battles were fought with heavy-calibre guns, requiring warships to come within gun range of each other. Once a shell was fired from a gun, there was no way of intercepting it in mid-flight.Read More.

Army cooperating with police in finding rape accused jawans

Army is cooperating with the police in tracing the two jawans accused in therape case of a minor girl during a train journey to Amritsar.

“Police are doing all the investigation and we are co-operating with them. We are sharing all the information we have so that the accused can be caught and action taken against them as per the law of the land,” Army sources said today.

A 14-year-old girl from Kolkata was allegedly raped by two Army jawans inside a compartment of the Howrah-Amritsar Express yesterday.

Third jawan who allegedly compelled her to consume alcohol has already been arrested from Madhupur railway station in Jharkhand.

Sources said the jawan is posted in Kolkata at the Eastern Command headquarters.

Chennai Floods: When politics hijacks relief efforts

So I step out of my house and go from where I live in Chennai floods to one of the inundated localities. Just as I was about to step into a narrow street, a blaring horn scares the pedestrians, including me, away. And what follows is 14 SUVs, one after the other, repeating the honking, zipping past us. Except two, all the others have the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) party flag fluttering up front. The other two were police escort cars. It was the local MLA who had come to ‘tour’ the area. This exemplifies the sycophancy and hypocrisy of how the Chennai crisis caused by rains and floods have has been handled.

I am of the more fortunate Chennaiites who haven’t been affected by the flood waters. So, I tried my hand at helping those in need in whatever little way possible. One caveat before I get to what I really want to say: not often am I critical of the government machinery and this is not a bashing of the authorities I want to do but more of the anguish I have felt in the past few days.

Much has been written about the callousness of planning, coordination and rescue efforts during the flooding. But what has followed in the aftermath has been an utter disregard for the immediate concerns of the needy.

Take this, for instance: the INS Air avat, the naval vessel with tonnes of essential supplies and relief material reached Chennai port on Friday, December 4, but the officials and Navy personnel were scrambling to find out where the materials were to be transported. A relief worker who has been with them says, there was absolutely no way to contact any state government official. And he corrected himself, saying "We didn't know whom to get in touch with." They then contacted an Army officer who directed them to a place where they could offload the relief material; they found their way by themselves.

The most shocking part, though, is over 'owning' the relief materials and the politics behind it. Many of my friends, mostly professionals, from Coimbatore and Tirupur got together and prepared food, clothes and bought essential supplies. They sent all this to Chennai and Cudallore in different trucks. At key 'check points', these trucks were stopped to do – guess what? Stick posters of the Chief Minister on the trucks and carton boxes before being distributed. In fact, I was told that in one of the areas, a truck was made to wait for more than four hours because of a delay in printing these stickers!

Chennai Floods 2015,There are still areas that need volunteers, supplies, help and relief material. But there is not one official point of contact or a place to access necessary information. It's all hearsay or social media (which not entirely reliable) or through journalists' word of mouth. That's how ineffective coordination and planning has been. The head of one of the rescue teams which did exemplary service had an Army officer tell him "we do not know Chennai's geography at all and the information coming us from the local police or corporation officials was minuscule. It was better to liaise with such local volunteers." Make no mistake, some of the bureaucrats are among the best and capable lot. But it seems they have no authority and have to wait for orders at every step.

I'm reminded of the first media conference which was held in 2011 after the new government came to power and I was a journalist with a leading television channel. The question I asked was: "While there has been development and investments (are) coming into the state during previous stints, there is a thought that you tend to micro-manage every aspect. Will this change this time?" Pat came the reply: "The very charge in your statement is false." Perhaps we now the real answer. The unfortunate part is it took a tragedy of colossal proportions to make it obvious.