News18 Daybreak | PM Modi Did Not Ask Trump to Mediate on Kashmir, Clarifies India After US President Offers 'Help' and Other Stories You Need to Watch Out For
Episode 276, Jul 23, 2019, 02:58 AM
PM Modi Did Not Ask Trump to Mediate on Kashmir, Clarifies India After US President Offers 'Help'
Trump-Kashmir
The foreign ministry has denied US President Donald Trump's claim that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked him to "mediate" on Kashmir. President Trump, who hosted Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan at the White House on Monday, said, "If I can help, I would love to be a mediator".
"I was with Prime Minister Modi two weeks ago and we talked about this subject and he actually said 'Would you like to be a mediator or arbitrator', I said 'Where', He said 'Kashmir'. Because this has been going on for many, many years... I think they would like to see it resolved and you (Imran Khan) would like to see it resolved. If I can help, I would love to be a mediator," President Trump said at the joint press briefing with Imran Khan.
The "prayers of over a billion people will be with you if you can mediate and resolve the situation," Imran Khan responded.
In a series of tweets, the foreign ministry said "no such request has been made" by the Prime Minister. Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar posted:
Hours after Trump's remark, the US State Department on Monday said that the matter is a bilateral issue concerning Islamabad and New Delhi, however, Washington is "ready to assist".
President Trump and PM Modi had met last month on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was also at the summit, though there was no bilateral meet between him and PM Modi.
India has been against any third-party mediation in Kashmir, though it has been repeatedly sought by Pakistan in various international forums, including the United Nations.
The US had upheld India's stance, maintaining that Kashmir is a bilateral issue and should be solved between New Delhi and Islamabad.
India has also refused to initiate dialogue with Pakistan despite repeated appeals from Imran Khan, maintaining that Pakistan must first take action against terrorists operating from its soil.
Karnataka
The Karnataka assembly was adjourned close to midnight on Monday, with Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar giving a fresh deadline for the trust vote -- 6 pm on Tuesday. "I do not want this 11 pm thing again. Everyone has health conditions," the Speaker said at the end of a turbulent day. The house witnessed chaos as the Speaker turned down Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy's request for more time before the floor test and the BJP insisted on sitting till midnight if need be. The coalition has been asked to prove majority after its 16 lawmakers resigned and two independents withdrew support. The BJP has accused the Chief Minister of delaying the trust vote in hopes of reprieve from the Supreme Court.
The Karnataka assembly was adjourned close to midnight on Monday, with Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar giving a fresh deadline for the trust vote -- 6 pm on Tuesday. "I do not want this 11 pm thing again. Everyone has health conditions," the Speaker said at the end of a turbulent day. The house witnessed chaos as the Speaker turned down Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy's request for more time before the floor test and the BJP insisted on sitting till midnight if need be. The coalition has been asked to prove majority after its 16 lawmakers resigned and two independents withdrew support. The BJP has accused the Chief Minister of delaying the trust vote in hopes of reprieve from the Supreme Court.
The house was adjourned twice, once for more than two hours on Monday evening amid much slogan shouting. The slogan shouting continued even after it reconvened and the exasperated Speaker was heard saying that they could continue till "10 pm, 11 pm". Amid the chaos, Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy distributed copies of what he claimed was a fake letter of resignation that was being circulated by his political rivals.
Chandrayaan
India's moon mission Chandrayaan 2 lifted off from its launch pad at Andhra Pradesh's Sriharikota at 2:43 pm on Monday on board a giant heavy-lift rocket. India's space scientists had a narrow one-minute window for their second attempt at launching the moon mission, a week after the mission was aborted 56 minutes before lift-off.
In visuals, scientists at the Indian Space Research Organisation's control room closely watched the rocketas it gained speed and headed towards the outer atmosphere, propelled by the massive thrust from the powerful 640-tonne rocket.
Minutes later, the rocket successfully put Chandrayaan 2 into Earth's orbit - and a booming applause reverberated inside the control room as the scientists who have been working hard for the mission congratulated one another, hugged and shook hands.
"I am extremely happy to announce that GSLV Mark 3 successfully injected the Chandrayaan 2 into orbit... It is the beginning of a historical journey for India...We fixed a serious technical snag and ISRO bounced back with flying colours," ISRO Chairman K Sivan said, drawing loud applause from the scientists gathered around him at the control centre.
The success of Chandrayaan 2 mission will make India the fourth country after the US, Russia and China to pull off a soft landing on the moon.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi watched the Chandrayaan 2 lift-off on a giant screen at his office in Delhi and was also seen clapping with scientists of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) when the rocket successfully placed the Chandrayaan 2 into orbit.
"It is a matter of pride for every Indian," PM Modi said in an audio message after the historic lift-off.