आज का राशिफल

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टिप्स फॉर 31-07-2018 मंगलवार हमारी हर टिप्स ज्यादा से ज्यादा शेयर करे *सबका मंगल हो

*आज गजानन संकट चतुर्थी – भद्रा योग – पंचक – शोभना योग – तिथि कृष्ण चतुर्थी और पुरवा भाद्रापद नक्षत्र …

आज के योग के अनुसार आज शाम या रात्री में संकट नाशन गणेश स्तोत्र ज्यादा से ज्यादा करे और आखिर में ॐ गंग गणपतये नमः यह मंत्र की तिन मला जप करे …

आज का मंत्र लेखन – आज ॐ ह्रीं नमः यह मंत्र २१ बार लिख ( हो शके तो 108 बार लिखे )

आज क्या करे – आज कोई रिस्क लेना चाहते हे तो कोई बड़ी प्रॉब्लम नहीं हे पर सम्पूर्ण सोच विचार करके ही आगे बढे, आज मिकेनिकल और टेक्नीकल काम भी कर शकते हे, एग्रीकल्चरल एक्टिविटी करे, पानी से जुड़े सभी काम भी आज कर शकते हे…

आज क्या ना करे – आज किसी के दाह संस्कार ना दे अर्थात किसी को मुखाग्नि ना दे, हो शके तो आज के दिन यह फ्यूनरल को पोस्पोंड करे, ट्रावेल ना कर आज…

आज कहा जाना शुभ रहेगा – जहा पर हाई टेक्नोलोजीकल या मिकेनिकल इक्यूपमेंट हो वैसी कम्पनी या फेक्ट्री की मुलाक़ात लेना शुभ हे

आज शाम 4 बजे से 6 बजे के बिच कोई भी शुभ कार्य ना करे

भोजन उपाय – आज के दिन स्वीट ना खाए तो ही अच्छा हे

दान पुण्य उपाय – आज २५० ग्राम मूंगफली के दाने और गुड का दान करे उत्तम रहेगा

वस्त्र उपाय – आज गुलाबी रंग के वस्त्र धारण करे …

वास्तु उपाय – आज शाम घर में गुगुल और कपूर का धुप जरुर करे

31 जुलाई जिनका जन्म दिन हे और जिनकी शादी की सालगिरह हे वो आज हनुमान मंदिर में चमेली के तेल का दान करे …

दिनाँक 31/7/2018

मेष:
आज कड़वाहट को मिठास में बदलने की कला आपको सीखनी पड़ेगी। जीवनसाथी का सहयोग प्राप्त होगा। संतान की तरफ से निराशाजनक समाचार मिल सकता है। सांयकाल के समय कोई रूका काम बनने की संभावना है।

वृषभ:
आज का दिन संतोष और शांति का है। राजनैतिक क्षेत्र में किए गए प्रयासों में सफलता मिलेगी। शासन व सत्ता से गठजोड़ का लाभ मिल सकता है। रात्रि में कुछ अप्रिय व्यक्तियों से मिलने से अनावश्यक कष्ट का सामना करना पड़ सकता है।

मिथुन:
किसी मूल्यवान वस्तु के खोने या चोरी होने का भय रहेगा। संतान की शिक्षा या किसी प्रतियोगिता में अशातीत सफलता मिलने से हर्ष होगा। सांयकाल में कोई रूका कार्य पूरा होगा।

कर्क:
आजीविका के क्षेत्र में प्रगति होगी। मान-प्रतिष्ठा में वृद्धि होगी। संतान के दायित्व की पूर्ति हो सकती है। यात्रा, देशाटन की स्थिति सुखद व लाभदायक रहेगी।

सिंह:
आमदनी के नए स्रोत बनेंगे। वाणी की सौम्यता आपको सम्मान दिलाएगी। प्रतियोगिता में विशेष सफलता मिलेगा। अधिक भागदौड़ और नेत्र विकार होने की संभावना है। शत्रु आपस में लड़कर ही नष्ट हो जाएंगे।

कन्या:
व्यापार के क्षेत्र में जारी प्रयासों में अकल्पनीय सफलता प्राप्त होगी। संतानपक्ष से भी संतोषजनक समाचार मिलेगा। दोपहर बाद किसी कानूनी विवाद या मुकदमों में जीत आपके लिए खुशी का कारण बन सकती है।

तुला:
आज आपके चारों ओर सुखद वातावरण रहेगा। घर परिवार के सभी सदस्यों की खुशियां बढ़ेगी। कई दिनों से चली आ रही लेन-देन की कोई बड़ी समस्या हल हो सकती है। पर्याप्त मात्रा में धन हाथ में आ जाने का सुख मिलेगा।

वृश्चिक:
सहकर्मियों के सहयोग से आज आप एक परियोजना को पूरा करने में सफल रहेंगे। आपकी रचनात्मक क्षमता बढ़ेगी। परिस्थितियों का आकलन करें और फिर दिल और दिमाग की बात सुनकर फैसला लें।

धनु:
आज आपके विरोधी भी आपकी प्रशंसा करेंगे। शासन सत्ता पक्ष से निकटता व गठजोड़ का लाभ भी मिलेगा। ससुराल पक्ष से पर्याप्त मात्रा में धन हाथ लग सकता है।

मकर:
आज पारिवारिक व आर्थिक मामलों में सफलता मिलेगा। आजीविका के क्षेत्र में चल रहे नए प्रयास फलीभूत होंगे। कर्मचारियों का आदर व सहयोग मिलेगा। सांयकाल के समय किसी झगड़े विवाद में न पड़ें। माता-पिता का विशेष ध्यान रखें।

कुंभ:
आज आपके स्वास्थ्य सुख में व्यवधान आ सकता है। अपनी बुद्धि द्वारा किए कार्यों में हानि और निराश हो सकती है। कोई विपरीत समाचार सुनकर अकस्मात यात्रा पर जाना पड़ सकता है।

मीन:
आज का दिन पुत्र, पुत्री की चिंता तथा उनके कामों में व्यतीत हो सकता है। दाम्पत्य जीवन में कई दिन से चला आ रहा गतिरोध समाप्त हो जाएगा।

आज का उपाय :- घर में तिल के तेल में थोड़े काले-सफेद तिल डालकर दीपक जलाने से पारिवारिक सुख बढ़ेगा।

NRC – A common man’s journey through potholes

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Nearly unmissable for his trademark shorts with stripes — which even a cruel December can’t replace with trousers — I saw a familiar face entering our home. “Ketia ahile apuni? Apunarnamtu xumalene? Mur xumal eibar” (When did you come? Has your name entered? Mine has, this time). This was at 4 pm on 30 July from our domestic help’s husband Mantu (name changed) to me.

 

Earlier in the day, I was travelling from my wife’s place in Tinsukia to (my place in) Dibrugarh. A 48-kilometre distance, which Google Maps said would take 1 hour 54 minutes to complete. No, I neither walked nor travelled by public transport. And traffic! Nothing compared to what I usually encounter in Mumbai. This is the time taken when you drive down. In any case, I sat behind the wheel and started. I had perhaps completed one-fourth of my journey when my phone sprang to life.

“Simantik, is your name included? Can you send us a few inputs to the National Register of Citizens live blog if you are not busy?” asked my boss from Mumbai. I am on a week’s leave in Assam and this has nothing to do with the NRC. My being here is, as they mention in movies, “highly coincidental”.

I usually don’t take phone calls while driving but on seeing my boss’ name, I stopped my vehicle and answered. And what a place to stop. Almost next to the entry point to the Indian Army’s 2 Mountain Division just crossing Panitola, as a not a very amused looking gun-toting soldier stared disapprovingly at me. With supreme belief that he won’t disgrace his soldierly persona by pumping a bullet into a non-intimidating individual like myself, I took the call.

I told my boss I would contribute in whatever way I can and continued my journey on the horrible National Highway 37 dotted with potholes, competing with bikers who drive in all kinds of angles — who often overtake from the wrong side just to show how quickly they can move on bad roads. I dodged two-wheelers and, of course, six-seaters (they somehow manage to seat 10) who stop at any place they want to the moment they see a prospective passenger. It was around 10 am when my boss had called and he was utterly surprised that, till then, I had no clue if my name was included in the NRC. In December, when the NRC released the first list, except for my mother and my sister-in-law, four of us failed to make it to the list.

Soon after my boss called, my thoughts immediately flew to my NRC journey. The whole process was like the road I was driving on: It needed patience, an understanding of the process threadbare (as I mentally calculated which pothole won’t take me to the bottom of the earth) and drive through it, hoping to reach my destination safely (like I hoped my name would be in this time around).

I was confident that this time, no one can stop me from proving myself to be Assamese and with that positivity, I even registered my cellphone on one of the numbers given by the NRC authority. The deal was that they would give me an update via SMS after 12 pm on 30 July on my NRC application status. Cool, I thought.

I reached home around 12.30 pm and nearly dropped my phone when a few text messages appeared. In incredible haste, I unlocked my phone and opened the message app. Wow! Lodha thought I was rich enough to buy an apartment by pumping in a few crores in some upscale suburban locality in Mumbai, some Anjali thought I could shed a few kilos in two weeks and Yes Bank enticed me with a reward of Rs 1 lakh if I participated in some online campaign. And NRC! The feeling was much like being ditched by one’s date.

Undeterred, I jumped on to Google and furiously typed out NRC name-checking. Now it was Vodafone’s turn to torment. After sending out that lovely message – ‘Welcome to Vodafone Assam’ – soon after I landed the day before, the network started playing truant at the most critical juncture. I was in no mood to relent and finally, I successfully opened the NRC portal. I typed out the application number and behold! My name was there, along with the four that missed out earlier. I immediately informed my wife and a WhatsApp message was soon sent to my boss.

“Congratulations,” he said. Didn’t I just conquer the world? Never mind that my name has been wrongly spelled (and my father’s too). But it was because of his vote after India’s independence and before he married my mother that both his sons are part of the NRC. Dear father, your vote helped us. Thank you.

Well, you know when I was kind of sure that my name would be in this time? The day I saw regional channels beaming footage of NRC State Coordinator Prateek Hajela, accompanied by his daughter, visiting an NRC Sewa Kendra for a hearing. Okay, I thought: The man at whose mercy I was for my name to get a place in that gigantic record (22 lakh pages) is himself working hard to get his name enrolled. At least I was better off because I received no call for a hearing. That gave me hope, some real hope.

I would be at fault if I didn’t appreciate Hajela, the man who spearheaded the whole process, for his monumental effort. Kudos to everyone in his 48,000-strong team, including everyone at the NRC 24-hour call centre for whom I learnt a few chaste words in Assamese and how to be extremely polite. I had called the call centre twice or thrice. The NRC is no less an epic compared to the Ramayana and the Mahabharata (well, in magnitude only). I have no intention of converting myself to pulp by angering those who may be sensitive to the issue. Neither am I calling Hajela a 21st Century Valmiki or Veda Vyasa.

I feared that there might be some law and order situation or bandh calls (endemic in Assam) would follow soon after. None of them have happened on Monday. Credit must also go to Assam Police who managed it well (thus far).

January was the harshest month for me: My friends and a few relatives advised that I choose a country and get ready to jump over the fence (read Bangladesh) as soon as I’d uploaded my dismal NRC status on Facebook. Many had 😂 this to say, a few had 😁 and some 😄. Today, I have ✌ this to say. And this too, 😂.

“Thakibane keidin maan?” (Will you stay for a few days?) asked Mantu. I almost forgot. I haven’t revealed my reply yet. “Keidinman. Aru muru nam xumal (For a few days. And my name entered too),” I responded, quietly noting the undeniable similarities. Striped shorts, (I have a few and was wearing one then, for which my wife often compares me with him) and the similarities in NRC status too. For a while, the two of us, the two striped shorts generals were together celebrating the NRC victory. Jai Aai Axom, indeed

Salim Khan on ‘Hips-n-Boobs’ girl quit Bharat

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Desi Girl Priyanka Chopra has stirred quite a storm in Bollywood after her controversial exit from Salman Khan’s Bharat. While some claim that the actress’ engagement to beau Nick Jonas is the reason, others believe that PeeCee was not happy with the screen space she was getting in the movie. Earlier, there were reports that superstar Salman Khan is upset with Priyanka’s decision to leave the film but now father Salim Khan has put a full stop to them.

In an interview to SpotBoye, Salim said actors leave and join projects all the time and it’s nothing new. “It’s okay whatever happened. Priyanka is not doing Bharat, let her be. Such things happen in our industry,” he said. When asked if the film’s team was angry at Priyanka for leaving the film just when the shoot was about to begin, he said it was not true.

“Nope, it’s not the 9th hour. And I repeat, such things happen- sometimes they happen for date issues, or the role, or even the money aspect. Aur kabhi aadmi ki kuch apni majbooriyan hoti hai. I haven’t yet got into the details of why Priyanka left Bharat, but we shall soon cast someone else. We are not upset with Priyanka. Salman Khan is also not upset,” he added.

When asked who will replace Priyanka, Salim Khan was crystal clear in his thoughts and said, “Koi bhi aa jayeja (uski jagah par). Bahut saare log hain. (Anyone can replace here. There are many people),” he said.

It all started when Bharat director Ali Abbas Zafar confirmed the news of Priyanka’s exit from his film and tweeted, “Yes Priyanka Chopra is no more part of @Bharat_TheFilm & and the reason is very very special , she told us in the Nick of time about her decision and we are very happy for her … Team Bharat wishes @priyankachopra loads of love & happiness for life.”

Eight-member Trinamool Congress (TMC) delegation to visit Assam to assess situation in state after release of NRC final draft

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Kolkata: An eight-member delegation of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) will be visiting Assam later this week to assess the situation in the north-eastern state in the wake of the publication of the final draft of the NRC, the party said on Monday.

The final draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) was published in Assam on Monday. Over 40 lakh people of the state did not find their names in the document. “On August 2 and 3, a delegation comprising six MPs of the Trinamool Congress (Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Ratna De Nag, Nadimul Haque, Arpita Ghosh, Mamata Thakur), MLA Mohua Moitra and West Bengal minister Firhad Hakim will be visiting Assam,” the TMC said in a statement.

TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused the BJP-led central government of resorting to “vote-bank politics” with regard to the NRC and said “Indian citizens have become refugees” in their own land.

Amid tight security, the much-awaited NRC final draft was published in Assam on Monday with over 2.89 crore names of the 3.29 crore applicants.

NRC Assam: Over 40 lakh were declared ineligible for inclusion and, therefore, will not have any claim to Indian citizenship

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Unlike what the government had anticipated, Assam did not witness any significant disturbances on Monday, the day the state government released the final draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC). To prevent violence, central forces had been deployed in the state to maintain law and order.

However, this is not to say that the discontent already generated by this exercise will not be exacerbated by the knowledge that of the roughly 3.29 crore people who had applied to be included in the register, over 40 lakh were declared ineligible for inclusion and, therefore, will not have any claim to Indian citizenship. That this version of the register just published is only the final draft — the final NRC of Assam will be published after another round of claims and objections are filed and processed — will be of small consolation for those who face the prospect of being denied citizenship and either becoming “stateless” or being deported. Stateless people, like practically the entire Rohingya Muslim population, are those who are not recognised as citizens by any country.

The apprehension that the NRC being upgraded, and the criteria set to include in it, is a political stratagem to consolidate the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) majority vote bank in Assam is underlined by several factors.

First, the majority of those left out of the NRC are Bengali-speaking Muslims who migrated to Assam at some point. Theoretically, if they had arrived in the state before midnight on 24 March, 1971, they are eligible to be included in the register and claim citizenship. But in practical terms, it is not so simple. There are many people who did arrive before the cut-off date but do not have the requisite documentation to prove that; for instance, some because they went to other states when they migrated before shifting to Assam.

Second, there is more than a whiff of injustice that clings to any process, under whatever mandate, that seeks to make illegal the status of people living in a place for up to 47 years. Even more egregious and unconscionable is the decision to exclude them from the ambit of the NRC and also deny citizenship to those who were born in Assam to illegal migrants, as this is in violation of the Citizenship Act as amended in 2003.

Third, there is the parallel legislative manoeuvre of amending the Citizenship Act with the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016. This amendment Bill was tabled in the Lok Sabha in July 2016 and referred to a joint parliamentary committee about a month later. The committee is scheduled to table its report in the Winter Session of Parliament this year. This Bill seeks to grant citizenship to illegal immigrants, understood to be from the region, who are Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jains, Parsis or Sikhs. A Bill that explicitly discriminates against people professing a particular religion — Islam — seems, on the face of it, against the spirit of the Constitution.

When considered together, all of these have given the exercise of updating the NRC in Assam — and nowhere else — a communal and sectarian colour and has made it look as though it is being pushed through to subserve the BJP’s political and electoral calculations, obviously not just in Assam but countrywide. It would certainly not be outlandish to argue that the timing — months before crucial Assembly elections this year and the Lok Sabha elections next year — is suspect. On the other had, BJP supporters could argue that the exercise cannot be considered partisan as it was the Supreme Court that had ordered the government to identify illegal immigrants.

This argument does not really cut much ice. Illegal immigrants are illegal immigrants, regardless of their religion. So when the state simultaneously undertakes an exercise to identify illegal immigrants and seeks to provide immunity, i.e. citizenship, to some of them, the spirit of the Supreme Court’s order seems to be vitiated.

Opposition parties have Protested against the process of the NRC’s upgrade. The Congress warned that “illegals”, as well as Indian Muslims who are not part of the BJP’s vote base, will be targeted. A conglomerate of groups from the Barak Valley, which has a high concentration of Bengali-speakers, and rights groups have also critiised the way the Assam government has gone about the task set by the Supreme Court (beginning with setting the criteria determining eligibility) for violating human rights. There has also been talk of ethnic cleansing, though a bit extreme.

 

Assam’s neighbours will ultimately have to suffer some of the consequences of whatever outcome finally emerges. For now, 40 lakh people risk losing out; this figure could either drop significantly or rise. Within India, West Bengal would be the obvious destination for the “illegals” who are, as earlier mentioned, largely Bengali-speaking Muslims.

Not surprisingly, Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee has taken a stand against the exercise. She has accused the BJP of using this stratagem for electoral gains, of turning people — Bengalis, Biharis, Hindus and Muslims — into refugees in their own country and of pursuing a policy of divide and rule. Mamata also said that West Bengal will serve as a refuge for the displaced. Other parties have been similarly critical. Bangladesh, which may be affected as well, has understandably not reacted.

Mamata has a point, especially when she says that West Bengal — and by extension other neighbouring states — should have been consulted. This is in tune with her reiterations of the sanctity of the federal principle and her attempt to play a key role in building a “federal front” to fight the BJP.

However, the West Bengal chief minister is also playing to her constituency: Bengalis, in general, and Bengali-speaking Muslims in particular. In this context, the Trinamool Congress would do well to be careful to first stick to principles instead of countering one form of identity politics with another.

How BJP became the richest political party in the world in four years: Congress

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Anand Sharma advised Modi to talk sensibly and remarked Modi’s DNA

New Delhi:

The Congress continued to target Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his speeches in Lucknow last week, saying he should “stop dramatising” poverty.

Congress leader Anand Sharma told reporters here that speaking was part of Modi’s DNA and if he does not give speeches, “it probably can affect his health”.

Noting Modi shapes his address according to the composition of the audience, he said: “The prime minister should stop this drama of poverty. He should not play with sentiments of the poor. He cheated people with these sentiments in 2014 elections. Now it is time to give an account of his performance.” Sharma said.

He said Indian’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru was from an affluent background but he left everything and adopted khadi, while Modi was the first prime minister who wears “such good clothes” and changes his dress often.

Sharma said former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri was from a humble background but never mentioned about the poverty he faced while occupying the high post, while all the others from Indira Gandhi to Manmohan Singh life with simplicity.

Modi had said in a speech on Saturday in Lucknow that poverty had given him honesty and courage.

Sharma also referred to Modi’s remarks in Lucknow that he was “not afraid of” publicly standing beside industrialists because his intentions were “noble” and accused him of making baseless allegations against the Congress, which has never insulted the captains of Indian industry nor used abusive words.

“He (Modi) should talk responsibly. Congress Party has always encouraged industrialisation, investment, capital formation and redistribution of the capital for the common good. That has been the governing philosophy and the ideology of the Congress and the successive governments and that is why this country had seen unprecedented growth during our time,” he said.

He also said Modi should answer how BJP became “the richest political party in the world in four years”.

walk talk : It is the party not the leaders alike others who became the richest without any business.

JWAM urges immediate arrest of Mehbooba and Baig

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Demanded cancellation of the registration of PDP and arrest of its leaders including former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti and MP Muzaffar Hussain Baig under sedition charges for their “anti-national” statements.

Jammu:

The Jammu West Assembly Movement (JWAM) on Monday demanded deportation of Rohingya and Bangladeshi Muslims, fast-tracking development projects and dissolution of state assembly.

The memorandum, addressed to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and the state governor, opposed dialogue with Pakistan while seeking free hand to the security forces to crush terrorism and deal with separatists, the JWAM said in a statement.

Dimple who led the delegation also demanded cancellation of the registration of PDP and arrest of its leaders including former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti and MP Muzaffar Hussain Baig under sedition charges for their “anti-national” statements. The statement said the delegation discussed the “worst law and order situation” in the state during the meeting, demanded immediate deportation of illegally settled Rohingya and Bangladeshi Muslims.

India Tuesday

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Here’s what is expected to make the news on Tuesday:

Karunanidhi health update: Former Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi, who was admitted to Chennai’s Kauvery Hospital on Saturday because of an infection and age-related ailments, is said to be stable, and leaders from various parties are expected to visit the DMK chief at the hospital on Tuesday.

Vijay Mallya hearing: The extradition trial of liquor baron Vijay Mallya will take place at the Westminster Court in London on Tuesday. Closing arguments are expected to be made today, while the judge is likely to set further timelines for the final ruling.

File image of Vijay Mallya.

Flood warning in north India: The army has been put on high alert as incessant rains and Haryana government’s decision to release water from the Hathnikund barrage has resulted in a flood warning across hundreds of villages and towns across western Uttar Pradesh and the National Capital Region.

Parliament: The Assam NRC issue hit Parliament’s functioning on Monday and is likely to again be taken up for debate and discussion on Tuesday. Trinamool MPs are likely to take up the NRC issue in Parliament, while West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has said she will call on Home Minister Rajnath Singh on the issue.

Narendra Modi to hold BJP parliamentary meeting with party MPs: The prime minister is expected to make a brief address to lawmakers, whereby he will spell out the party’s stand on contentious issues like the Dalit agitation and tricky situation with disgruntled allies like Ram Vilas Paswan’s LJP.

Nawaz Sharif health update: Former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who has been hospitalised since Sunday after complaining of chest pain and irregularities were detected in an electrocardiogram, is expected to stay at the hospital through Tuesday. Late on Monday came the news that the doctor treating Sharif has also suffered a heart attack.

Quarterly results of Tata Motors; Tech Mahindra: The quarterly results of these two will be announced today. The results will also reveal stock market movements post the result; it will also look at future course of action of these companies.

Release of Draft E-Commerce National Policy: This policy is also likely to be released on Tuesday. The policy looks at making available customer data to be stored exclusively in India. This move could affect e-commerce giants like Flipkart, Amazon and others and also social media firms.

Badminton: World Championships are on at the moment in Nanjing, China. Top Indian shuttlers Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth will play. International stars like Tai Tzu Ying and Carolina Marin will also be in action.

“Strong nations must have strong borders,” Trump

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“We’re the laughing stock of the world. We have the worst immigration laws anywhere in the world,”

“As far as the border is concerned and personally, if we don’t get border security, after many, many years of talk within the United States, I would have no problem doing a shutdown. It’s time we had proper border security,” he said.

Washington:

US president Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened a government shutdown if his demand of funding a wall on the Mexican border is not met by Congress, as he reiterated his demand of an immigration system that is based on merit and ends the visa lottery and chain immigration. “We’re the laughing stock of the world. We have the worst immigration laws anywhere in the world,” he said adding the US needs border security,” Trump said at a White House joint news conference with visiting Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte.

“Border security includes the wall, but it includes many other things. We have to end the lottery. We have to end the chain migration, which is like a disaster. You bring one person in and you end up with 32 people,” he said. “We have to end these horrible catch-and-release principles where you catch somebody, you take their name and you release them. You don’t even know who they are. Then they’re supposed to come back to a court case where they want us to hire thousands of judges. The whole thing is ridiculous and we have to change our laws. We do that through Congress,” he added.

Trump said he and the Italian prime minister are united in their conviction that strong nations must have strong borders. “We have a solemn obligation to protect our citizens and their quality of life. My administration is working hard to pass border security legislation, improved vetting and establish a merit-based immigration system, which the United States needs very, very importantly, very badly,” he said.

“As far as the border is concerned and personally, if we don’t get border security, after many, many years of talk within the United States, I would have no problem doing a shutdown. It’s time we had proper border security,” he said.

Trump said he and Conte are focused on the urgent need to protect their nations from terrorism and uncontrolled migration. “Our countries have learned through hard experience that border security is national security, they are one and the same,” he said. “Like the United States, Italy is currently under enormous strain as a result of illegal immigration, and they’ve fought it hard and the prime minister frankly is with us today because of illegal immigration. Italy got tired of it, they didn’t want it any longer,” said the president.

The people of Italy have borne a great part of the burden for Europe through the course of the migration crisis, he said as he applauded Conte for his bold leadership in this regard. “I hope more leaders will follow this example, including leaders in Europe,” he said. “The prime minister and I are united in our conviction that strong nations must have strong borders,” Trump said.

Be wise enough to differentiate between Nation Builders & Thieves

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His theme: They were nation builders and not thieves. “Hum unko apmanit karenge, chor lootere kahenge. Ye kaun sa tareeka hai

“The middle class plays an important and challenging role in social and economic transformation of society. Its role has to be recognised. The emergence of the neo middle class has to be redefined”

Modi said he took pride in being the ‘bhagidar’ in the problems faced by all sections of society and in finding the solution to those problems.

By the end of 2012, the “middle class” had become a kind of bad word in the political narrative. No political party talked of its concerns or its aspirations. In fact, on various occasions, the ruling class even blamed it for consumerism and said that it led to a price rise. The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA), which was at nearly the end of its second term at the Centre, thought the poorer section of voters would bring them back to power on the promise of a law on the right to food and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act wages.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, which otherwise was perceived to be champions of the middle class, after losing badly in the metros—Delhi and Mumbai in 2004 and 2009 elections—also quietly dropped this word from their political vocabulary.

In December 2012, Narendra Modi, then chief minister of Gujarat, surprised many inside and outside politics by eloquently speaking of the concerns of the middle class, its aspirations and its contribution to nation-building. The BJP’s election manifesto went on at length to make promises for ‘navodit’ or neo middle class, his new social and political constituency.

At the time, it was considered a bold move for Modi to have openly sided with the middle classes’ aspirations. “The middle class plays an important and challenging role in social and economic transformation of society. Its role has to be recognised. The emergence of the neo middle class has to be redefined”, Modi said at a speech in Ahmedabad. By that time, it was clear that after his victory in Gujarat, Modi would be a natural prime ministerial candidate for the BJP. The rest is history.

On Sunday, when Modi talked eloquently of contributions of business and industry in the development of the nation, he was, yet again, breaking ranks from the rest of his rivals.

When political parties are in power, they talk of public-private sector partnerships, private sector investments in states under their command, seek donations and other favours. However, over the years, Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal in particular, through their actions and speeches make one feel as if those engaged in business and industry were a curse on the nation. Rahul Gandhi’s “suit-boot ki sarkar” jibe to Modi was one such manifestation of his disdain for industry.

When Modi came to power at the Centre in May 2014, he was perceived to be a business-friendly prime minister. But over the next four years, many of his actions were in the socialist mold: More socialist and centrist than many so-called socialists and centrists. Modi would not do anything that could be seen to be overtly business and industry friendly. A series of reforms undertaken by his government pinched the business community. Modi also invited criticism that his priorities had changed. His political rivals, of course, continued to fling against him the charge of crony capitalism.

But Sunday was different. While laying the foundation stone for 81 projects worth around Rs 60,000 crore in Lucknow at a packed auditorium made up of business and industry representatives including some honchos, Modi explained the importance of their role in the nation’s progress. His theme: They were nation builders and not thieves. “Hum unko apmanit karenge, chor lootere kahenge. Ye kaun sa tareeka hai (we humiliate them, call them thieves and robbers. This can’t be the way).

He added that they have had a clear role in making India a better country, just like farmers, artisans, bankers and workers. Modi’s punch line: Since his intentions was clear, unlike other political leaders, he was not afraid of getting his picture taken with industry leaders. For the titans of industry that had gathered, Modi’s words must have been very soothing. The live telecast and informal chat would have ensured that Modi’s message travelled far and wide.

And by doing so, Modi not only answered his political opponents— in particular Rahul—but also addressed the concerns of industry and criticism of some dispassionate economic analysts. In the past week, Modi has spoken at length twice about Rahul ‘bhagidar’ (partner) charge. Modi said he took pride in being the ‘bhagidar’ in the problems faced by all sections of society and in finding the solution to those problems.

Modi knows that in his last year in power, with three months to go for Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram elections and parliamentary elections only eight months away, he can’t let the narrative slip away. The choice of Lucknow as a venue to vent his feelings or launch a counter-narrative is also significant. Last time, Uttar Pradesh gave 73 out of 80 parliamentary seats to BJP and its ally and Modi is obviously looking for a repeat performance. Private sector investments and industrial development across the state bring jobs and consequently a change in social and economic status. That’s the key to keep alive the popular faith in Modi.