Page 5 - The Indian EYE 021221

BIG STORY February 12, 2021 | The Indian Eye 5

narendra mOdi: getting tOugh!

>> Continued from previous page... capacity, and Prime Minister
vided. That is the arrangement Modi’s leadership in sharing
under the new laws,” he said. this capacity with the world.
Prime Minister thanked PM
the indian Prime minister Trudeau for his sentiments,” the
statement said.
on Wednesday invited pro-

testing farmers for talks China Border issue
The year 2020 was difficult
to address growers’ con- not only because of the pandem-

cerns about three new ag- ic but also because the armies of
India and China came face to
ricultural laws that seek face, ready to attack each other.

to deregulate the coun- It was one of the biggest chal-
lenges for Modi during his six
try’s vast farm sector. “in- years of governance.
Now, nine months after be-
dia’s private sector has The farmers agitation remains a challenge to Modi ing locked in an eyeball-to-eye-

played an important role ball confrontation in the East
in the nation’s welfare, Ladakh sector, the armored
units of Indian Army and the
and we need wealth cre- People’s Liberation Army

ators here,” he said. (PLA) started withdrawing from
north and south banks of the
frozen Pangong Tso on Wednes-
Stressing the need to switch day evening, paving a way for
to profitable crops such as peace and tranquility to be re-
fruit and horticulture, Modi stored all along the Line of Ac-
said Indian farmers needed to tual Control (LAC) with China.
look beyond growing rice and While Defense Minister Ra-
wheat. After years of bountiful jnath Singh issued a statement
harvests, India struggles with on the “phased, coordinated
bulging inventories of rice and and verifiable” pullback by the
wheat worth billions of dollars two armies in Rajya Sabha to-
that lie unsold in government day, it was a measure of confi-
warehouses. India is promoting its brand with vaccine diplomacy dence on part of the Narendra
Modi government to ensure that
VaCCine diPlomaCy countries. The development was the Indian Army stood-up to the
The Indian government un- The vaccines are being sent outcome of a call from Trudeau PLA through the polar winter
der Modi is using the country’s to these countries as humanitar- to Modi late on Wednesday. in East Ladakh. The disengage-
capacity to produce vaccines to ian aid. “Was happy to receive a call from ment exercise on both banks
its advantage and to help cre- Now, even India and Cana- my friend @JustinTrudeau. As- of Pangong Tso was a result of
ate a positive narrative around da seemed to get around their sured him that India would do multiple rounds of back-chan-
it. Keeping in line with Modi’s recent tensions over farmers’ its best to facilitate supplies of nel negotiations with external
commitment that the country’s protests as Modi assured his COVID vaccines sought by Can- affairs minister S Jaishankar
vaccine production capacities “friend” Prime Minister Justin ada. We also agreed to continue and National Security Advisor
would be used for all of hu- Trudeau that New Delhi would collaborating on other import- Ajit Doval, guided by PM Modi,
manity, India has announced a do its best to supply COVID-19 ant issues like Climate Change working behind the scenes. The
humanitarian donation of 5.7 vaccines sought by Ottawa. and the global economic recov- ground positions were negotiat-
lakh doses of vaccines for the The new turn in ties followed ery,” Modi said in a tweet. ed by the two Corps Command-
Caribbean Region. Countries weeks of sparring between the A statement issued by the er-rank officers and the frame-
including Antigua and Barbuda, two countries over the farmers’ Office of the Prime Minister work, through the diplomatic
the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, crisis with Canada defending of Canada said: “Expressing channel.
Dominica, Montserrat, Saint the rights of the mostly Sikh his appreciation, Prime Min- Top government functionar-
Kitts and Nevis, Trinidad and farmers to protest and India ac- ister Trudeau said that if the ies said the fundamental princi-
Tobago, Suriname, Grenada, cusing radical Sikhs in Canada world managed to conquer ple behind the disengagement
Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint of taking advantage of the un- COVID-19, it would be sig- was that both armies go back
Lucia, Saint Vincent and the rest to spark separatist fires in nificantly because of India’s to their permanent bases as ex-
Grenadines, are CARICOM Punjab. tremendous pharmaceutical Continued on next page... >>

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