'...With another 10 per cent hike in budgetary allocation in 2020-21, the cost of SPG cover for PM Modi has sharply grown. At Rs 592 crore, the cost of protecting the prime minister comes at about Rs 1.62 crore a day or about Rs 6.75 lakh an hour or Rs 11,263 a minute... PM Modi incidentally has also undertaken more foreign trips than Manmohan Singh during his tenure. Manmohan Singh undertook 93 foreign visits in 10 years. Modi had already crossed this number in less than six years. PM Modi's domestic and foreign tours have their bearing on SPG cover cost...'
'The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Gujarat legislative Assembly recently prepared a report to follow up audit observations that had been submitted in 2014 by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India to the Gujarat government sharply criticising it for bestowing “undue” favours on a company in the Adani group that operates India’s largest private port. Gautam Adani heads the Adani group of companies. He is the country’s second richest man, according to one estimate. The industrialist is perceived to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi...
'Prime minister Narendra Modi addressed the Lok Sabha in an over hour-long speech on February 6. Amidst the attacks on Congress and the Left, discussions on the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the protests opposing the legislation, the PM also spoke about the abrogation of provisions of Article 370.
'Ahmedabad-headquartered National Institute of Design (NID) has indefinitely postponed its convocation at the last minute. The invitation cards for the event, which was scheduled for Friday, were sent out and families of graduating students have already assembled in Ahmedabad. Sources said that the reason behind the development is the NID’s decision to invite activist and classical dancer Mallika Sarabhai, a vociferous critic of Narendra Modi from the time he was Gujarat’s chief minister, as chief guest for the event. Mallika is also one of the prominent faces of the anti-CAA...'
'Prime Minister Narendra Modi today termed the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests at Shaheen Bagh, Jamia and Seelampur in Delhi as not a “sanyog” (coincidence) but a “prayog” (experiment). He urged the capital to vote for the BJP in the upcoming Delhi assembly elections in order to prevent similar protests and blockades of roads and lanes.
'Caught up in the maelstrom of divisive politics, India is silently but surely sliding into an environmental abyss under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's watch. The latest EPI ( Environmental Performance Index) report released on the sidelines of the WEF conclave at Davos puts us at third from the bottom- at 177 out of 180 countries, a decline of 36 places since 2016 ( when we were at 141). We do even worse in the index of air quality, at 178 out of 180.
'The State Bank of India (SBI) resorted to misinformation, and in some cases falsehood, in its responses to Right to Information (RTI) inquiries on the controversial electoral bonds scheme, even as it regularly funnelled information on the scheme to the Finance Ministry, documents reviewed by HuffPost India establish.
'The Ministry of Law and Justice signed off on the Narendra Modi government’s decision to hastily pass the controversial electoral bond scheme by bypassing the Rajya Sabha, despite putting on record that the government’s strategy was illegal and unconstitutional, documents obtained by HuffPost India establish. In a two-page note, the law ministry said this illegal step was a one-off exception and urged the Modi government to “avoid considering this practice as a precedent”, the documents reviewed by HuffPost India show.
'The Centre did not discuss the 124th Constitution Amendment Bill with any ministry or department other than the Ministry of Law and Justice before getting it passed by both houses of parliament in January 2019. The move, which provides for 10% reservation in jobs and education for poor ‘upper’ caste people, went from drawing board to law within a span of just 20 days.
'...PM Modi was interacting with a group children at his residence in the national capital. During the interactive session, PM Modi shared an anecdote with the students to encourage them to sweat themselves out by working hard... he said: "Many years ago, someone asked me about the secret behind the glow on my face. I told him that I work very hard....and I sweat so much that I massage my face with it."...'
