BJP silent...

He is expected back on Saturday or early on Sunday, people familiar with the matter said.

Both the Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) have demanded that the government remove Akbar from his position after the allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced. “Seven women journalists have come forward recounting their experience of sexual harassment and unacceptable behaviour from M.J. Akbar when he was the editor of various newspapers,” the CPI (M) said in a statement. On Wednesday, the Congress’ S Jaipal reddy said it was untenable for Akbar to continue as a minister.

“I appreciate that the media is accosting his (former) female colleagues, but I think it is for the gentleman concerned to issue a statement (and) not for me because I was personally not present there,” Smriti Irani, the Union minister of textiles, told journalists in Mumbai. A few party functionaries declined to comment on the course of action the party is likely to follow, but said it is only “fair” that the minister is given a chance to reply to the allegations. Among them was Uttar Pradesh tourism minister Rita Bahuguna Joshi who said a thorough probe is needed before any discussion on resignation.

A senior functionary, not wishing to be named said the issue was “informally” discussed by the party, with some senior leaders underlining that the issue has cast a cloud on the party’s claims of empowering women.

“When Prime Minister Nar- endra Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat, he used to go doorto-door to encourage families to send girls to school. He gave ₹ 21 lakh from his personal savings to set up a fund for the girls of drivers and peons in government offices just before becoming PM. So, it is reasonable that the party should send a message that it is serious about the safety and empowerment of women,” the functionary said.

The decision to appoint as many as six women in the Modi cabinet, two of whom are in the cabinet committee on security, the fight to ban triple talaq among Muslims and the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign have all been women-centric policies.

The BJP’S ideological mentor, Rashtriyaswayamsevak Sangh, did not make a formal statement on the issue, but a senior functionary of the organisation said it is for the party to take a decision. One RSS joint general secretary, Dattatreya Hosable, posted a comment on Twitter that suggested his support for the #metoo campaign. He shared a post from a woman named Ankhi Das which said, “You needn’t have a #Metoo moment to support the women journalists who have narrated their victimisation. You needn’t even be a woman. You just need to have a sensibility of what is right and what is wrong.”

Although neither external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj nor the ministry have not commented on allegations against Akbar, two people familiar with development said on condition of anonymity that it had been left to the minister of state to decide on whether he should continue in his post after his return, given the serious nature of the allegations against him.

However, the thinking within the party is that a resignation could set a precedent and open the doors for the opposition to seek the resignation of other ministers facing allegations of impropriety. promise of fighting corruption”.

At a press conference at the Congress headquarters in New Delhi, Gandhi, who has been unsparing in his criticism of the government over the deal, also termed defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s ongoing three-day visit to France as part of a “great cover-up”. The minister is expected to visit Dassault’s Rafale fighter jet manufacturing facility outside Paris on Friday.

“One thing is very clear... India’s Prime Minister got the Rafale contract for Anil Ambani’s company (Reliance Defence), and this is not the only contract, some more defence contracts will come. Questions will be raised on the entire defence contracts,” Gandhi said, calling for a probe.

Both the government and Reliance have repeatedly denied such allegations.

At its press meet, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) once again rejected Gandhi’s charges of corruption against PM Narendra Modi , accusing the Opposition leader of “lying through his teeth shamelessly” and indulging in “politics of misinformation” to build his political career.

“His press conference was full of lies and deception which he is using to build his political career,” BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said, according to news agency Press Trust of India.

In its statement, seen as a response to the report by French news website Mediapart that cited Segalen’s remarks, Dassault Aviation reiterated that it had “freely chosen” Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group as an offset partner for the Rafale deal and sold 36 fighters to India within the framework of an intergovernmental agreement between the two countries.

Dassault is sourcing 50% of the value of the ~59,000-crore purchase in India under the offsets contract. The French company said it had forged a joint venture, Dassault Reliance Aerospace Ltd (DRAL), on February 10, 2017 to execute part of its offset commitments. The French plane-maker said the company also signed partnerships with companies such as BTSL, DEFSYS, Kinetic, Mahindra, Maini and SAMTEL as part of its offset commitments. “Other negotiations are ongoing with a hundred-odd other potential partners,” the firm added.

“In compliance with French regulations, Chief Operating Officer Loïk Segalen informed, May 11, 2017, the Central Works Council of the creation of the DRAL joint-venture in order to fulfil some of the offsets commitment,” the statement issued in France added. It said a team of Indian managers was trained for six months in Biarritz, France, and the first Falcon 2000 parts would be delivered by 2018-end.

“While Dassault Aviation’s clarification has to be taken into account, it is for the French authorities to investigate the deal,” said former Western Air Command chief Air Marshal PS Ahluwalia.

Signing an offset contract is a requirement of Indian law under the defence procurement procedure, CEO Trappier said in the interview with AFP. “The implementation of offsets is an obligation and, under the Indian regulation, the choice of the partners belongs to us,” Trappier was quoted as saying. “In full compliance with this regulation, Dassault Aviation therefore decided to set up the DRAL joint venture with Reliance and build a plant in Nagpur, which should enable us to meet about 10% of these offset obligations,” he added.

The NDA’S decision to enter an $8.7 billion deal with France to buy 36 Rafale warplanes made by Dassault was announced in April 2015, with an agreement signed a little over a year later. This replaced the previous UPA regime’s decision to buy 126 Rafale aircraft. The deal has become controversial with the Opposition claiming that the price at which India is buying Rafale aircraft now is Rs 1,670 crore for each, three times the Rs 526 crore, the initial bid by the company when the UPA was trying to buy the aircraft. PANAJI : The case against Bollywood actor Prateik Babbar for dangerous driving has been withdrawn after the aggrieved parties reached a settlement, news agency ANI reported on Thursday.

Babbar was booked on Wednesday night for dangerous driving under Motor Vehicles Act after his vehicle knocked down a bike driver on a one-way street in Goa’s Porvorim town.

“One person was injured, but not seriously,” police inspector, Porvorim, Paresh Naik had

THE NDA’S DECISION TO ENTER INTO AN $8.7 BILLION DEAL WITH FRANCE TO BUY 36 RAFALE WARPLANES MADE BY DASSAULT WAS ANNOUNCED IN APRIL 2015

said.while Babbar was involved in a brief altercation with the youth whom he knocked down, no formal complaint was registered.