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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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