Page 14 - The Indian EYE 021221

EYE on INDIA February 12, 2021 |
Chief Secretary also directed to demarcate tourism zones in
forest areas, list out the dams, river stretches and water bodies hav-
ing good potential for boating, water boats, cruises and placement
of houseboats.
It was decided that the diesel motorboats engaged in tourist
sites would be converted to CNG mode.
Additional Chief Secretary Forest and Environment Dr Mona
Sharma, present in the meeting were advised to start nature camps
in thirty to forty new locations during the year. It was also decided
to invite more private sector investment for making nature tourism
activity more competitive and employment generating.
Customs official escapes
car attack
A sense of what he has to do for the country. When asked if he was
car in which Sumit Kumar, Customs Commissioner (Pre-
ventive), who is probing the high-profile gold smuggling
case in Kerala involving Chief Minister’s office former
principal secretary M Sivasankar and high-ranking officials in
UAE consulate, was allegedly attacked en route from Wayanad to
Kozhikode airport.
The incident happened on Thursday when Kumar was return-
ing to Kozhikode airport after attending an official function at
Kalpetta, Wayanad. Kumar, who escaped the attack has said that
next time, ‘they should get some professional henchman, not such
amateurish people’. Speaking to ANI on Friday, Sumit Kumar,
who lodged an FIR in connection with the incident said “I know, If
I don’t get them, they will get me. I am not afraid.”
Detailing on the incident that happened on Thursday regarding
which he also put a brief Facebook post, Kumar said “Yesterday I
was on a tour of North Kerala with my formation unit as we were
inaugurating a Customs remittance office at Kalpetta, Wayanad.
While returning, on the heavy traffic road my security officials and
driver noticed our car was being tale-gated by a vehicle and two
motorcyclists. Initially, we thought it’s some pranksters. Later, they
were trying to push us off-road and we took evasive action.”
Customs Commissioner (Preventive) further said that once the
driver managed to get the vehicles in front, they tried to block the ‘consultant’: dinesh trivedi
car and cause an accident.
“After that, this (chasing) continued for nearly 24 KM, till we
entered Kozhikode Airport. We noted down the number with Ko-
chi registration maybe it is fake and we have lodged FIR with po-
lice,” he said
When asked who would be behind such an act to cause a threat
to his life, Kumar said, “It is not the first time, it is happening. On
multiple occasions when my staff and I faced attacks, we have
lodged complaints with the Kerala police. There are many gangs
(related to gold smuggling) and maybe others who want to see that
I shouldn’t stand in between them.”
Proud of my grandmother,
father: rahul gandhi
ongress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said he is proud
that his grandmother Indira Gandhi and father Rajiv Gand-
Chi were assassinated while standing for and defending the
sense of India that is central to its civilization and history.
In a conversation with Dipesh Chakrabarty, Representative,
University of Chicago, Gandhi said his critics and trolls sharpen his
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The Indian Eye 14
Indian Navy signs a contract with Titagarh Wagons Ltd, Kolkata
for the construction of five Diving Support Craft, on Friday. (ANI)
an unwilling entrant into politics like his father Rajiv Gandhi, the
Congress leader said, “We believe in a certain sense of India and
defend its certain political idea and philosophy. Elements of these
are central themes in Indian civilization and history. I’m proud
that my grandmother and father got killed while standing and de-
fending something. It helps me understand them and my place and
what I should be doing. There are no regrets,” he said.
He said as he moved further in this journey, those ideas are
crystallizing more.
“If you were to ask me why I would think of joining politics 15-
20 years ago, my answer would be very different from what it would
be today. As I go further, there is a battle of ideas going on. As the
other ideas attack me, it helps me refine myself. Trolls sharpen my
sense of what I have to do. They are almost like a guide to me; they
tell me where I have to go and what I’ve to stand for. It’s an evolu-
tion,” he added.
tmC hijacked by a
ormer union minister Dinesh Trivedi, who on Monday re-
signed as Trinamool Congress MP from Rajya Sabha, said
Fthe Trinamool Congress has been hijacked by a consultant,
whom he didn’t wish to name. “The party now doesn’t even belong
to Mamata Banerjee. It has been hijacked by a consultant whose
name I don’t wish to take,” said Trivedi.
On being asked about the political violence in Bengal, he said,
“The kind of political violence we see in West Bengal is a matter of
shame. The attack on JP Nadda is one thing, but why should even
a common man be at the receiving end of violence?”
“They are encouraging this violence which is not the state’s
culture. When I condemned the attack on Nadda, the party con-
demned me in return,” he added.
“If I had been the Chief Minister, I would have called Nadda after
the attack. On the one hand, you talk about Gandhi, Vivekanand,
and Subhas Bose. On the other, you resort to violence. Both can’t
go together,” he further remarked.
Asked about Kailash Vijayvargiya’s remark welcoming the pos-
sibility of his entry into the BJP, Trivedi said, “I have a good rela-
tionship with everyone. If he said this, I thank him.”
(with ANI reports)