Punjab BJP leader dares Akalis
A senior BJP leader, Madan Mohan Mittal has dared the Akalis to break the alliance with his party. “The BJP is ready to contest all 117 Assembly seats in Punjab,” Mittal, the party’s core panel member, said on Wednesday. He claimed that several Akali, AAP and Congress leaders wanted to switch over to the BJP. “The Akalis can form the next government in 2022 only if they keep the alliance and the BJP will contest 59 of the total Assembly seats,” Mittal said. The Shiromani Akali Dal has so far contested 94 seats and the BJP 23. “The SAD cannot get a majority if they contest 94 seats and, hence, the BJP will contest 59 seats,” he argued. Punjab BJP chief Ashwani Sharma told The Sunday Guardian that there was no discussion on breaking the alliance. “We will react only to an official BJP statement,” said SAD spokesman, Dr D.S. Cheema.
Ahead of the 2017 assembly elections, Mittal was at the forefront of a group within the BJP which had advocated breaking the alliance. He charged that the Akalis took a U-turn on the three farm Bills only after a farmers’ dharna outside the Badals’ house.
China trying to disturb Naga peace talks
In Nagaland, the Chinese have been trying to influence rebel leaders to create “internal unrest” and delay the peace process. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has been alerted by the Intelligence Bureau about Chinese designs. The MHA has instructed the IB to engage Naga insurgent group NSCN (I-M)’s general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah. NSCN (I-M) chairman Q. Tuccu, vice-president Tongmeth Wangnao and 13 others are in Delhi and have joined Muivah in the talks with IB officials. There are differences in the outfit’s ranks. Tuccu and his team decided to stay at separate locations, although accommodation had been arranged at one place.
Cracks in Haryana BJP
On Thursday, a day after their “secret” meeting at Panchkula, five Haryana BJP leaders (all former MLAs), said they would stand with the farmers in case the ruling party fails to address their issues. The meeting, organised by Parminder Singh Dhull, a former MLA from Julana Assembly, was attended by former MLAs Balwan Singh Daulatpuria (Fatehabad), Rampal Majra (Kalayat), Shyam Singh Rana (Radaur) and Buta Singh (Guhla). They said, “Before being members of the BJP, we are farmers first.” While Rana was elected on BJP ticket in 2014, all others are former INLD MLAs who switched over to the BJP before the 2019 Assembly elections.
Hero of the Zero Hour
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla was praised as hero of Zero Hour of the House by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, for his role in conducting proceedings of the House during Covid-19 pandemic. During Zero Hour, members raise issues of public importance. Recalling his earlier days as a parliamentarian, Joshi said a new MP would consider himself fortunate to get an opportunity to raise a matter during the Zero Hour. Getting even one chance to speak during the Zero Hour was a “big thing”, he said adding that “you have become hero of the Zero Hour, you give opportunity to everyone, so everyone is happy.
LS-RS websites not accessible abroad
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has complained that the Rajya Sabha website is not accessible abroad. The party’s chief whip in the Upper House, Ramesh tweeted that he has been receiving emails from students abroad saying they are unable to access the Rajya Sabha website. “On checking I’m informed both LS & RS websites have been geofenced for a month, till mid-October, due to ‘continuous suspicious attacks’, and, therefore, can be accessed only from India,” he said.
Indian firm sells stake in Israeli defence company
Piramal Group, a global Indian business conglomerate with diverse interests in pharma, financial services, real estate, glass packaging and defence on Thursday sold its complete stake in an Israeli defence firm, BlueBird Aero Systems to Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd (IAI).
The IAI, a world-leading aerospace and defence company, signed an agreement to acquire 50% of the equity of BlueBird, which is a leading unmanned aircraft system (UAS) developer and integrator in the small tactical arena. The IAI is acquiring the holdings of Piramal Technologies SA as well as additional shares from Fiberless Access and Ronen Nadir. Ronen Nadir will continue to hold 50% of BlueBird shares and continue to serve as the company’s CEO.
In recent years, both IAI and BlueBird have focused on vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) capabilities, a category that provides significant benefits to ground and naval forces. BlueBird has developed several advanced VTOL platforms, including the WanderB-VTOL and ThunderB-VTOL. The company has recently sold more than 70 of the mentioned systems to an undisclosed customer.