Modi, Xi just a call away from each other: Sushma
NEW DELHI: The informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President X Jinping in Wuhan last month saw them developing the kind of rapport that the two leaders can now speak to each other directly on any issue of importance, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said at her annual press conference on Monday.
Commenting on Pakistan at the same conference, Swaraj said that it was clear that talks and terror could not go on at the same time, referring to terror strikes in India by Pakistan-based terror groups.
However, justifying the talks between the national security advisers of the two countries, she said the mechanism was to ensure talks on terror.
Swaraj said the informal summit between Modi and Xi enabled the two leaders to discuss issues without any listed agenda.
“Today the ease (between them) is such that President Xi has said that whenever you think there is something going against you, pick up the phone and talk to me directly. And PM Modi said if you want to know my opinion about any subject, pick up the phone and talk to me. So this informal summit has established this ease,” Swaraj said.
The minister explained that there were three major objectives for the informal summit.
“First, smoothen relations; second, to bring an understanding on global issues; and third, increase mutual trust. All three objectives have been met. That’s why we termed the meet successful,” the minister said. The meeting, the minister claimed was an “unprecedented dialogue mechanism that has never been tried anywhere in the world”.
She said the status quo was restored and persists at Doklam, the India-Tibet-Bhutan tri-junction, where the India and Chinese armies faced off last year before Modi and Xi resolved the issue.
On ties with Pakistan, the minister said, “We are willing to have a dialogue, but with the caveat that terror and talks cannot go together. This has always been our position.”
The minister spoke out against the order on Gilgit-Baltistan on May 21 by Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi through which the national government got authority from the local council to deal with the affairs of the region. The order is seen as Islamabad’s efforts towards incorporating the disputed region as its fifth province.
MUMBAI:Palghar and BhandaraGondia parliamentary constituencies witnessed low voter turnout amid a row over technical glitches in EVMs. By 6pm, Palghar registered 46.5% votes and Bhandara-Gondia saw 42.5%. This is in sharp in contrast to the 2014 general elections when 62.91% and 72.31% voting was registered in Palghar and Bhandra-Gondia respectively. The low turnout is being attributed to lack of interest among voters since it’s a by-election, the scorching heat and also technical glitches in voting machines.
The by-election is significant for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which won both the seats in 2014. The bypoll in Palghar was necessitated due to the death of sitting BJP MP Chintaman Wanga.
In the case of Bhandara-Gondia, sitting MP Nana Patole quit the BJP after alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not paying any attention to the problems of the farmers in the region. Palghar has become a BJP versus ally Shiv Sena fight as the latter fielded Wanga’s son Shrinivas. The BJP, in turn, fielded Congress turncoat Rajendra Gavit. Congress’ Damodar Shingda and local outfit Bahujan Vikas Aghadi’s Baliram Jadhav— both former MPs—are also in the fray.