Chidambaram hits out at BJP, Narendra Modi at Davos

January 22, 2014

Chidambaram
Davos, Jan 22: As India prepares for elections, Finance Minister P Chidambaram today hit out at BJP terming its economic policies as retrograde and "blood-eyed" and asked why the Opposition Party's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi never fielded a Muslim candidate.

He also expressed confidence that Rahul Gandhi would be Prime Minister if Congress comes back to power, saying the young leader as enough "fire in his belly" for the post, although it was unlikely that any party would get majority and polls were likely to throw a "very very fractured mandate".

Speaking at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting here, Chidambaram also took dig at Aam Aadmi Party, saying there was no place for mob-democracy in India and the country was a party-based democracy where individuals can not be bigger than a party.

On BJP being anti-muslim, Chidambaram said some sections of Muslim people may have voted for BJP, as Narendra Modi himself claims, but the fact is that Modi has never fielded any Muslim candidate ever in any election in his state. "What does that mean," he wondered.

When asked why doesn't he join BJP, Chidambaram said BJP does not represent all sections of India and it does not even have presence in many parts of the country."It has got policies that would destroy the very idea of India. Their's a blood-eyed economic model," he said.

Asked about the next Prime Minister, Chidambaram said, "nothing is impossible, but it is unlikely because Congress party is clear that if Congress is in position to form a government it will be headed by Rahul Gandhi".

In 2004 Sonia Gandhi was elected leader, but the next day she declined and another leader was chosen. That model has worked, but that does not mean that we will have same model again, he said.

"If Congress is called to form the government, I'm pretty certain in my mind that Rahul Gandhi will be the Prime Minister," he said.

Asked whether Rahul Gandhi had enough fire in his belly for the PM post, Chidambaram said: "There was enough fire in his belly when he spoke at the AICC meeting".

On upcoming general elections, Chidambaram said it may be an unfortunate event that no party is a clear winner and no one gets majority, as the elections are likely to throw a very fractured mandate.

Meanwhile, the Finance Minister said that unravelling of AAP has already begun within weeks of it coming to power in Delhi and it remains to be seen whether an "urban rejection" of mainstream parties that was seen in Delhi elections would be replicated in other parts of the country.

"One time that Mrs Gandhi stumbled and brought in an authoritative model that was at the time of Emergency, it failed and she had to go back," Chidambaram said.

In Delhi elections the rejection was for both Congress and BJP, he said, adding that one was ruling the state government and the other municipal bodies.

"But it is just a few weeks and we are seeing an unravelling of the Aam Aadmi Party," he said.

Saying that he was not privy to discussions in the state party unit regarding support to AAP, Chidambaram said Congress party was divided in its decision to give outside support to AAP and it was one section favouring the support that prevailed.

Responding to a query on how BJP can be described as following 'blood-eyed' economic model when factories were not being destroyed in Gujarat and businessmen were happy, Chidambaram said it is not about destroying factories.

Giving examples, he said that BJP is opposing multi brand retail on premise that it would kill jobs, while the fact was just the opposite.

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News Network
December 5,2025

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New Delhi, Dec 5: IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers issued a public apology this evening after more than a thousand flights were cancelled today, making it the "most severely impacted day" in terms of cancellations. The biggest airline of the country cancelled "more than half" of its daily number of flights on Friday, said Elbers. He also said that even though the crisis will persist on Saturday, the airline anticipates fewer than 1,000 flight cancellations.

"Full normalisation is expected between December 10 and 15, though IndiGo cautions that recovery will take time due to the scale of operations," the IndiGo CEO said. 

IndiGo operates around 2,300 domestic and international flights daily.

Pieter Elbers, while apologising for the major inconvenience due to delays and cancellations, said the situation is a result of various causes.

The crisis at IndiGo stems from new regulations that boost pilots' weekly rest requirements by 12 hours to 48 and allow only two night-time landings per week, down from six. IndiGo has attributed the mass cancellations to "misjudgment and planning gaps".

Elbers also listed three lines of action that the airline will adopt to address the issue.

"Firstly, customer communication and addressing your needs, for this, messages have been sent on social media. And just now, a more detailed communication with information, refunds, cancellations and other customer support measures was sent," he said.

The airline has also stepped up its call centre capacity.

"Secondly, due to yesterday's situation, we had customers stranded mostly at the nation's largest airports. Our focus was for all of them to be able to travel today itself, which will be achieved. For this, we also ask customers whose flights are cancelled not to come to the airports as notifications are sent," the CEO said.

"Thirdly, cancellations were made for today to align our crew and planes to be where they need to start tomorrow morning afresh. Earlier measures of the last few days, regrettable, have proven not to be enough, but we have decided today to reboot all our systems and schedules, resulting in the highest numbers of cancellations so far, but imperative for progressive improvements starting from tomorrow," he added.

As airports witnessed chaotic scenes, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) stepped in to grant IndiGo a temporary exemption from stricter night duty rules for pilots. It also allowed substitution of leaves with a weekly rest period. 

Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu has said a high-level inquiry will be ordered and accountability will be fixed.

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News Network
December 6,2025

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With IndiGo flight disruptions impacting thousands of passengers, the airline on Saturday said that it will offer full waiver on all cancellations/reschedule requests for travel bookings between December 5, 2025 and December 15, 2025.

Earlier in the day, the civil aviation ministry had directed the airline to complete the ticket refund process for the cancelled flights by Sunday evening, as well as ensure baggage separated from the travellers are delivered in the next two days.

In a post on X, titled 'No questions asked', IndiGo wrote, "In response to recent events, all refunds for your cancellations will be processed automatically to your original mode of payment."

"We are deeply sorry for the hardships caused," it further added.

Several passengers, however, complained of not getting full refund as promised by the airline.

Netizens have shared screenchots of getting charged for airline cancellation fee and convenience fee.

"Please tell me why u have did this airline cancellation charges when u say full amount will be refunded (sic)," a user wrote sharing a screenshot of the refund page.

"Well, but you have still debited the convenience charges," wrote another.

Passengers have also raised concerns about the "cancel" option being disabled on the IndiGo app. "First enable the 'Cancel' button on your App & offer full refund on tickets cancelled by customers between the said dates," wrote a user.

A day after the country's largest airline, IndiGo, cancelled more than 1,000 flights and caused disruptions for the fifth day on Saturday, the ministry said that any delay or non-compliance in refund processing will invite immediate regulatory action.

The refund process for all cancelled or disrupted flights must be completed by 8 pm on Sunday, the ministry said in a statement.

"Airlines have also been instructed not to levy any rescheduling charges for passengers whose travel plans were affected by cancellations," it said.

On Saturday, more than 400 flights were cancelled at various airports.

IndiGo has also been instructed to set up dedicated passenger support and refund facilitation cells.

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News Network
December 16,2025

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday held talks with Jordan’s King Abdullah II in Amman, during which the two leaders discussed ways to further strengthen bilateral relations, with the Prime Minister outlining an eight-point vision covering key areas of cooperation.

Describing the meeting as “productive”, PM Modi said he shared a roadmap focused on trade and economy, fertilisers and agriculture, information technology, healthcare, infrastructure, critical and strategic minerals, civil nuclear cooperation, and people-to-people ties.

In a post on social media platform X, the Prime Minister praised King Abdullah II’s personal commitment to advancing India–Jordan relations, particularly as both countries mark the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties this year.

“Held productive discussions with His Majesty King Abdullah II in Amman. His personal commitment towards vibrant India-Jordan relations is noteworthy. This year, we are celebrating the 75th anniversary of our bilateral diplomatic relations,” PM Modi said.

The meeting took place at the Al Husseiniya Palace, where the two leaders also exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest. According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), both sides agreed to further deepen cooperation in areas including trade and investment, defence and security, counter-terrorism and de-radicalisation, fertilisers and agriculture, infrastructure, renewable energy, tourism, and heritage.

The MEA said both leaders reaffirmed their united stand against terrorism.

PM Modi arrived in Amman earlier on Monday and was received by Jordanian Prime Minister Jafar Hassan, who accorded him a formal welcome. Following the talks, King Abdullah II hosted a banquet dinner in honour of the Prime Minister, reflecting the warmth of bilateral ties.

Jordan is the first leg of PM Modi’s three-nation tour. From Amman, the Prime Minister will travel to Ethiopia at the invitation of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali, marking his first official visit to the African nation. The tour will conclude with a visit to Oman.

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