White House invites Modi to visit U.S.

May 17, 2014

Washington, May 17: U.S. President Barack Obama effectively reversed a nine-year U.S. visa ban when he congratulated Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on his party's “historic” victory in the Indian general election, and then invited Mr. Modi to visit the U.S. at a “mutually agreeable time to further strengthen our bilateral relationship.”

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Additionally, the White House said on Friday, “We look forward to working with [the new Indian government] once formed to advance our partnership.”

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry chose micro-blogging site Twitter to say to Mr. Modi, “Congrats to @narendramodi and BJP. Look forward to working w/you/growing shared prosperity/security w/world's largest democracy.”

The State Department elaborated on Mr. Kerry's statement saying that it congratulated Mr. Modi and the BJP on its victory in winning a majority of seats in India's historic national election, “which saw more voters cast their ballots freely and fairly than in any election in human history.”

State Department officials said that they understood that the next steps were for the Indian Election Commission to officially inform the President of the certified election results, and for him to appoint a Prime Minister.

The U.S. has, since 2005, denied Mr. Modi an entry visa on the grounds that he has been linked to curtailments of religious freedom in the context of the 2002 Gujarat riots.

However, on Friday, the White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said during a media briefing “The Prime Minister of India will be welcomed to the U.S.,” and added that once the government was formed, the U.S. looked forward to working “closely with the Prime Minister and the Cabinet to advance our strong, bilateral relationship based on shared democratic values.”

The State Department echoed the White House view that “The Prime Minister of India will be welcomed to the U.S. [and] as Head of Government, Mr. Modi would be eligible for an A-1 visa.”

Some groups in the U.S. drew attention to the visa and Gujarat riots issue on Friday, and the Coalition Against Genocide (CAG), an umbrella group focusing on justice and accountability for the pogrom said that it “pledged to continue its struggle with renewed fervour in the wake of the election results in India.”

CAG Spokesperson Raja Swamy underscored Mr. Modi's alleged links to the RSS cautioning that “During this election campaign, RSS leaders have been openly raking up contentious issues, posing a threat to communal harmony and increasing the prospect of violence against minorities.”

Reactions to the BJP's stronger-than-anticipated victory in the elections were nevertheless broadly positive.

New York Democratic Congressman and Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian-Americans, said, in a statement “From Kerala to Jaipur, from Mumbai to Kolkata, the power of democracy was on display throughout the country. I applaud India's commitment to the democratic process and wish the Indian people and government the very best.”

Sanjay Puri, Chairman of the U.S. India Political Action Committee similarly said, “On behalf of the Indian-American community and friends of India in the U.S., USINPAC extends its warm congratulations to Narendra Modi for leading the BJP to a spectacular victory in these historic elections in India.”

Emphasising that Indian-Americans were “heartened to note that the BJP will have single party majority in the Parliament,” he added, “The Indian Diasporas and friends of India in the U.S. … cheer and send our best of wishes to the people of India, and the leadership of Mr. Modi.”

The Confederation of Indian Industry, which has spearheaded numerous efforts to boost India's profile as an investor in the U.S. economy and a destination for U.S. investments, welcomed the election results with an eye on the prospects for accelerating future economic growth.

Chandrajit Banerjee, CII Director-General, said, “With a decisive mandate, the new government could take the tough decisions that are urgently needed to revive economic growth. The first priority is to get the cleared projects operational. This is the quickest way to revive investment demand.”

He also urged the new government, once formed, to sharpen the focus on “issues arising out of the land acquisition act and the new companies act,” and passing a “strong reform package… to generate the 150 million new jobs that India needs over the next ten years.”

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March 16,2024

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Ottawa, Mar 16: An Indian-origin couple and their teenage daughter were killed in a "suspicious" fire which tore through their home last week in Canada's Ontario province, police said on Friday.

A fire engulfed a home at the Big Sky Way and Van Kirk Drive area of Brampton on March 7, a press release by the Peel Police said.

After the blaze was put out, investigators located what was believed to be human remains within the gutted house, but the number of people killed couldn't be ascertained at the time.

The charred remains were on Friday identified as those of three family members: 51-year-old Rajiv Warikoo; his wife, 47-year-old Shilpa Kotha; and their 16-year-old daughter, Mahek Warikoo.

Police said that they resided at the address before the fire.

Peel police Constable Taryn Young on Friday said the fire had been deemed suspicious, the CTV news channel reported.

"At this time, we are investigating this with our homicide bureau, and we are deeming this as suspicious as the Ontario Fire Marshal has deemed that this fire was not accidental," the report quoted Young as saying.

"There's not much left to it," Young said when asked about the possible cause of the fire.

"Looking into something like that as a fire marshal, I'm sure it's very tough when there is not much left to look at. But we are exhausting all avenues," she said.

The deceased family's neighbour, Kenneth Yousaf, said that the family had lived on the street for about 15 years, and he never noticed any problems with them.

Yousaf said he was alerted to the fire last week by a family member, who heard a big "bang." "When we came out, the house was on fire. So sad. Within a few hours, everything was down to the ground," the report quoted Yousaf as saying.

In a press release, police said they are continuing to investigate the deaths of the three family members and urged anyone with information to come forward.

"The circumstances surrounding the house fire remains the focus of an active investigation, and anyone with information or video footage (dashcam or otherwise) is urged to contact Homicide detectives," police said.

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March 18,2024

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Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed a landslide victory in the just-concluded presidential polls, securing him a fifth term in power. While Putin hailed the results as an indication of "trust" and "hope" in him, critics panned the polls for its preordained nature.

As early results poured in, Putin won 87.8% of the vote, the highest-ever result in Russia's post-Soviet history, Reuters quoted Public Opinion Foundation (FOM) exit polls. The Russian Public Opinion Research Centre (VCIOM) put Putin on 87%. 

If he completes the term, the 71-year-old President will also script history as Russia's longest-serving leader for more than 200 years, overtaking Josef Stalin. 

While Communist candidate Nikolai Kharitonov finished second with just under 4%, newcomer Vladislav Davankov third, and ultra-nationalist Leonid Slutsky fourth, partial results suggested.

In his victory speech, Putin said he would prioritise resolving tasks associated with Russia's "special military operation" in Ukraine and would strengthen the Russian military. 

"We have many tasks ahead. But when we are consolidated - no matter who wants to intimidate us, suppress us - nobody has ever succeeded in history, they have not succeeded now, and they will not succeed ever in the future," said Putin. He was welcomed by his supporters to the stage with "Putin Putin" chants. He also hailed the results as an indication of "trust" and "hope" in him.

Later, while interacting with reporters, Putin also warned the West that a direct conflict between Russia and the U.S.-led NATO military alliance would mean the planet was one step away from World War Three but said hardly anyone wanted such a scenario. "It is clear to everyone, that this will be one step away from a full-scale World War Three. I think hardly anyone is interested in this," Putin told reporters after winning the biggest-ever landslide in post-Soviet Russian history.

Meanwhile, the Western world condemned the elections, stating the polls were neither free nor fair. While Germany called it a "pseudo-election" under an authoritarian ruler reliant on censorship, repression and violence, UK Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron condemned "the illegal holding of elections on Ukrainian territory".

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said, "The Russian dictator is simulating another election".

Earlier during the elections, heeding an opposition call to protest, hundreds of  Russians crowded outside polling stations at noon Sunday, on the last day of the elections. The associates of Alexei Navalny, the critic of Putin who died earlier this month in an Arctic prison, had urged people who were unhappy with Putin or the war in Ukraine to go to the polls at noon on Sunday. Many turned up and lines outside a number of polling stations both inside Russia and at its embassies around the world appeared to swell at that time.

Among those heeding the call was Yulia Navalnaya, Navalny's widow, who joined a long line in Berlin. She later told reporters that she cast her vote and wrote her late husband's name on the ballot.  Asked whether she had a message for Putin, Navalnaya replied: "Please stop asking for messages from me or from somebody for Mr. Putin. There could be no negotiations and nothing with Mr. Putin, because he's a killer, he's a gangster."

One woman in Moscow, who said her name was Yulia, told the AP that she was voting for the first time. "Even if my vote doesn't change anything, my conscience will be clear ... for the future that I want to see for our country," she said. Like others, she didn't give her full name because of security concerns.

Another Moscow voter, who also identified himself only by his first name, Vadim, said he hoped for change, but added that "unfortunately, it's unlikely".

More acts of rebellion were reported on Saturday too. Cases were filed against at least 15 people for pouring dye in ballot boxes, started fires or lobbing Molotov cocktails at polling stations. Ella Pamfilova, the head of Russia’s CEC, said 29 polling stations across 20 regions in Russia were targeted, including eight arson attempts.

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March 28,2024

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Russia says it is "extremely hard to believe" that Daesh could have staged the recent hugely deadly attack on a Moscow concert hall that the country's intelligence and security officials have blamed on Ukraine and its Western backers.

Four gunmen burst into the Russian capital's Crocus City Hall on Friday and began shooting at the people, who were attending an event. The Takfiri terrorist group has allegedly claimed responsibility for the massacre that killed at least 143.

Speaking on Wednesday, however, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova cast that claim into serious doubt.

"In order to ward off suspicions from the collective West, they urgently needed to come up with something, so they resorted to ISIS (Daesh), pulled an ace out of their sleeve, and literally a few hours after the terrorist attack, the Anglo-Saxon media began disseminating precisely these versions," she said.

The chief of the Russian internal intelligence (FSB), Alexander Bortnikov has suggested that not only Ukraine, but also the United States and Britain might have been behind the shooting.

The Russian Federal Security Service has also said the gunmen planned to travel to Ukraine, where they were to be welcomed as "heroes." The FSB said Western intelligence services aided the attackers.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has also suggested that Ukraine stood to derive benefit from the attack and that Kiev might have played a role.

He has said that someone on the Ukrainian side had prepared a "window" for the gunmen to escape across the border before they were captured in western Russia on Friday night.

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