HomeBuilder stimulus pushed through without House vote

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HomeBuilder stimulus pushed through without House vote

“Parliament should be having a say in the way in which stimulus is rolled out,” Mr Marles said on the ABC’s Insiders program. “This provides help, and so that’s good.”

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Asked if Labor would oppose it, Mr Marles said: “It’s not a matter of opposing and supporting it. It’s a matter of improving.”

Government sources said there was no need to take the package to Parliament because it could be put in place through other means including the Council of Australian Governments Reform Fund Act 2008.

Assistant Treasurer and Housing Minister Michael Sukkar is talking to state counterparts about the wording of national partnership agreements to oversee the HomeBuilder scheme.

“The Commonwealth is working with state and territory governments on the implementation of HomeBuilder grants through national partnership agreements to make the delivery of the program as seamless as possible,” said a spokesman for the minister.

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“The agreements will be designed to complement existing state and territory First Home Owner Grant programs, stamp duty concessions and other grant schemes, with similar integrity measures.”

Master Builders Australia chief Denita Wawn called over the weekend for faster work by banks and governments to make sure people could raise money and gain approval for renovations and new homes.

The scheme offers a $25,000 grant to projects on the condition the renovation costs more than $150,000 or the new home costs less than $750,000 including land.

Critics say the conditions are too strict for widespread adoption, given the shortage of house and land packages worth less than $750,000 in the major cities.

The St Vincent de Paul Society called for more spending on social housing, while the Urban Taskforce said the scheme appeared to be aimed at winning votes in Queanbeyan before the Eden-Monaro byelection on July 4.

The Urban Development Institute of Australia called for the $750,000 cap to be lifted because average lot prices were $469,000 in metropolitan Sydney and the typical cost of building a home ranged from $350,000 to $400,000.

The scheme also has a means test that excludes individuals with incomes above $125,000 and couples with combined incomes over $200,000 last financial year.

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann urged people to apply for the scheme as soon as possible and defended the rules that restricted its use.

“If the means test was not there, more people would be able to access the scheme and the scheme would be significantly more expensive,” he said on Sky News.

“We have made a judgment about what is appropriate in the circumstances. We believe that about 27,000 projects will be supported through this, over the next six months or so.

“We are not proposing to extend it beyond the initial six-month and a couple of weeks’ period. This is a program that is in place until the end of December.”

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Libya: Mapping the areas of military control

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Libya: Mapping the areas of military control

Libya, a major oil producer in North Africa, has been mired in conflict since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi.

It is now split between two rival administrations: the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) based in Tripoli and the eastern-based House of Representatives allied with renegade commander Khalifa Haftar and his self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA).

Forces fighting for Libya’s internationally recognised government said they regained full control over Tripoli and areas around the capital after being besieged for more than a year by militias loyal to the LNA.

The UN-recognised government said it launched an offensive on Saturday to seize the strategic city of Sirte, as Haftar and his Egyptian allies proposed a ceasefire following a string of military setbacks.

In the past months, forces loyal to GNA have wrested control of most of western Libya and parts of southeastern areas near Tripoli. On Friday, it captured the city of Tarhuna west of Tripoli and a day later entered the key town of Bani Walid in the country’s northwest after Haftar forces retreated.

Sirte, the hometown of former leader Gaddafi and the last major settlement before the traditional boundary between Libya’s west and east, was taken by General Haftar’s forces virtually without a fight in January after one of Libya’s myriad local militias switched sides.

Beyond Sirte, located 450km (280 miles) east of Tripoli, lies the prize of Libya’s main oil export ports, Haftar’s most important strategic asset.

[Alia Chughtai/Al Jazeera]

 

Source: Al Jazeera

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Philadelphia Inquirer’s Top Editor Resigns After ‘Buildings Matter, Too’ Headline

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Philadelphia Inquirer’s Top Editor Resigns After ‘Buildings Matter, Too’ Headline

The top editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer has resigned amid backlash over the headline “Buildings Matter, Too” — a riff on “Black Lives Matter” — which was published in the paper last week during nationwide anti-racism protests.

In a statement Saturday, publisher Lisa Hughes said Stan Wischnowski, the paper’s executive editor and vice president, had decided to step down after working at the Inquirer for 20 years.

“We will use this moment to evaluate the organizational structure and processes of the newsroom, assess what we need, and look both internally and externally for a seasoned leader who embodies our values, embraces our shared strategy, and understands the diversity of the communities we serve,” Hughes said in her statement.

Wischnowski’s final day will be June 12, the Inquirer reported. No successor has been named. 

Wischnowski did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.

The Inquirer published the headline, which suggested an equivalence between buildings and Black lives, in the paper’s Tuesday print edition, alongside a column arguing against the destruction and looting of buildings during anti-racism protests.

At least 40 journalists of color working at the Inquirer signed an open letter to the paper’s leadership about systemic racism in the journalism industry and the U.S. broadly.

“We’re tired of working for months and years to gain the trust of our communities — communities that have long had good reason to not trust our profession — only to see that trust eroded in an instant by careless, unempathetic decisions,” they wrote.

The letter continued: “It is an insult to our work, our communities, and our neighbors to see that trust destroyed—and makes us that much more likely to face threats and aggression. The carelessness of our leadership makes it harder to do our jobs, and at worst puts our lives at risk.”

The column’s writer, Inga Saffron, has also denounced the headline. The online version of her piece is headlined, “Damaging buildings disproportionately hurts the people protesters are trying to uplift.”

Wischnowski, along with Inquirer editor Gabriel Escobar and managing editor Patrick Kerkstra, apologized for the “deeply offensive” and “unacceptable” headline in a letter to readers and Inquirer staffers posted online Wednesday.

“We should not have printed it,” they wrote. “We’re sorry, and regret that we did. We also know that an apology on its own is not sufficient.”

Massive anti-racism demonstrations were staged across the world on Saturday, continuing a wave of protests sparked by the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis last month. Philadelphia had one of the largest protests, with thousands of attendees flooding the streets.



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China and India Move to Defuse Tensions After Clashes in the Himalayas

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China and India Move to Defuse Tensions After Clashes in the Himalayas

China and India have stepped back from a tense confrontation along their shared border high in the Himalayas, pledging to resolve disputes over territory through diplomatic and military channels, India’s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.

The announcement came a day after military commanders from the two sides met near Chushul, a border village at the disputed frontier near Pangong Tso, a lake where troops from the two countries clashed last month.

China did not immediately discuss the talks at the border, but officials and the state news media had sought to play down the confrontation in the days leading up to them.

The clashes at the lake, one of several across multiple points of the frontier, resulted in numerous injuries and led to the most serious tensions between the two Asian powers in years.

A statement from India’s Foreign Ministry did not describe the talks at Chushul in detail, but it struck a conciliatory tone, saying that the two countries would continue to negotiate through long-established military and political channels of communication.

“Both sides agreed to peacefully resolve the situation in the border areas in accordance with various bilateral agreements and keeping in view the agreements between the leaders that peace and tranquillity in the India-China border regions is essential for the overall development of bilateral relations,” the statement said.

The statement referred to recent summits between the two countries’ leaders, Narenda Modi of India and Xi Jinping of China, both of whom seemed intent on setting aside decades of animosity and conflict. They last met in India in October, promising to increase economic and security cooperation.

Each side has blamed the other for disrupting the status quo along the frontier, which remains unmarked and fiercely disputed in places.

China appeared to have stepped up its activity in the area this spring after the recent expansion of a road network on the Indian side of the border. India has been trying to strengthen its defenses in the remote region, where altitudes exceed 14,000 feet.

Friction in the area is frequent, and a series of confrontations erupted last month along several points of a border that stretches more than 2,100 miles. That raised fears in India of a coordinated push by China to seize territory at a time when the world is distracted by the coronavirus pandemic.

In the Galwan Valley, not far from Pangong Tso, Chinese troops were reported to have crossed several miles beyond what India considers its side of the frontier, known as the Line of Actual Control, according to news reports that cited Indian officials. The two countries went to war in the region in 1962.

Both nations reportedly sent in reinforcements after the clashes, though information from the remote region is often spotty and tightly controlled by the military on both sides.

The United States, siding with India, has criticized China’s recent actions along the border.

“The Chinese Communist Party has been on this effort, on this march, for an awfully long time,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last week. “They’ll certainly use a tactical situation on the ground to their advantage.”

Hari Kumar contributed reporting.

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George Floyd live updates: New York City lifts curfew; Marines ban Confederate flag; police investigations announced

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George Floyd live updates: New York City lifts curfew; Marines ban Confederate flag; police investigations announced

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Hundreds of people held a private memorial in honor of George Floyd in his North Carolina birth town.

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New York Mayor Bill de Blasio canceled the city’s curfew Sunday following a day when cities across the nation saw massive, peaceful demonstrations against systemic racism and police brutality. 

“We are lifting the curfew, effective immediately,” de Blasio tweeted Sunday. “Yesterday and last night we saw the very best of our city.”

In Washington, thousands of protesters marched downtown Saturday for the ninth – and by far the largest – day of demonstrations demanding justice for black victims of police misconduct. Half a dozen Secret Services agents engaged protesters outside the U.S. Treasury building. “Do you want an all-white police force?” asked one black officer. “When I take this uniform off, I’m still black.” In Minneapolis, a crowd of demonstrators booed Mayor Jacob Frey after he refused to say he was in favor of abolishing the city’s police department. 

The protests began after the Memorial Day death of George Floyd, the African American man succumbed after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. The latest in a series of memorial services for Floyd is Monday in Houston. His body will be buried there Tuesday.

Some recent developments:

NYC drops curfew, prepares to being reopening after COVID lockdown

New York City’s first curfew since in more than a half century was lifted a day early Sunday, hours after thousands of protesters across the city peacefully marched and chanted for an end to racial injustice. Mayor Bill de Blasio was under intense pressure to end the nightly curfew, imposed after looting broke out early last week. The 8 p.m. curfew had been scheduled to continue at until 5 a.m. Monday  – also the day the city begins Phase One of its reopening plan following a months-long coronavirus lockdown.

“Tomorrow we take the first big step to restart,” de Blasio tweeted. “Keep staying safe. Keep looking out for each other.”

Marines ban display of Confederate flag

The Marines have banned display of the Confederate Battle Flag, saying it is divisive and has “too often been co-opted by violent extremist and racist groups.” The directive orders commanders to the flag or its depiction within work places, common-access areas and public areas on their installations. Posters, bumper stickers, clothing and coffee mugs are specifically called out. The directive and a statement released by the Corps makes reference to “current events” and specifically mentions a 2017 demonstration in Charlottesville, Virginia, that resulted in the death of a protester.

“Our history as a nation, and events like the violence in Charlottesville in 2017, highlight the divisiveness the use of the Confederate battle flag has had on our society,” the directive says.

Police, protesters square off in Portland

A clash between Portland police and protesters at the Justice Center overnight resulted in more than 50 arrests. Chief Jami Resch said early Sunday that several thousand people marched peacefully, but that a smaller group of protesters attempted to cut through a security fence and threw balloons full of paint and full beverage cans. Two officers were injured by lit fireworks, she said. 

Protests have taken place daily in the city for more than a week, and police have come under scrutiny for their use of force against demonstrators. The advocacy group Don’t Shoot Portland has filed suit against the city, accusing police of “indiscriminate use” of tear gas. The city’s police oversight panel, the Citizen Review Committee, has issued a statement citing “a troubling pattern of police violence against protesters that interferes with public safety and freedom of speech.”

Survey: Americans’ perceptions of police drop significantly in one week

The perception of police among white Americans has dropped by double digits in just one week, as police have targeted peaceful protesters, bystanders and journalists amid nationwide demonstrations focusing on systemic racism facing black Americans. Perceptions also have declined across all racial groups following the death of George Floyd in police custody, according to a new survey from the Democracy Fund + UCLA Nationscape Project.

Among white Americans – a group where President Donald Trump saw broad support in the 2016 election – those who have a very favorable or somewhat favorable impression of police officers totaled 61% in the survey conducted May 28 to June 3. That’s down from 72% the previous week, according to an analysis from Nationscape Insights, Democracy Fund, UCLA and USA TODAY. Among black Americans, only 38% view the police very or somewhat favorably. That number dropped 9 percentage points from the previous week.

“These changes were striking,” said Robert Griffin, research director for the Democracy Fund Voter Study Group. At a time when so much in American politics feels deadlocked, this is the kind of major event that can reshape how Americans think.” 

– Rebecca Morin

More on protests, George Floyd:

Police announce arrests, investigations of officers

Multiple police departments have announced investigations and arrests tied to allegations of officer misconduct. In a high-profile case, two suspended Buffalo, New York, police officers were charged with second-degree assault Saturday amid outcry over video showing police shoving a 75-year-old man to the ground as they cleared an area of demonstrators. Graphic video from the incident showed the man motionless and bleeding from his head. Officials later said he was in stable condition.

Amid the demonstrations Saturday, multiple other police departments announced actions against officers tied to misconduct allegations. In San Diego, police say they are investigating after a Thursday incident captured on video, which appears to show police forcing a protester into an unmarked vehicle. In the video an officer can be heard telling other protesters, “You follow us, you will get shot.”

Meanwhile, local media reports say a Missouri officer has been suspended after allegedly hitting a person with his vehicle, and a white Virginia officer is facing assault charges for his use of a stun gun on a black man in a recent domestic call.

Second Floyd memorial held in North Carolina

George Floyd’s death while in police custody sparked “a movement” nationwide, his eulogist said, as hundreds of mourners gathered Saturday in Raeford, North Carolina, to mourn his death while in police custody. The memorial was held inside a church just outside Fayetteville, North Carolina, where Floyd was born. Before the service, the 46-year-old’s body was placed in the center of the lobby, where mourners from the public were allowed in groups of 10.

Rev. Christopher D. Stackhouse delivered a stirring eulogy about Floyd, noting “there was something different about that day” he died under police custody in Minneapolis.

“A movement is happening today, and George Floyd sparked that fuel,” Stackhouse said. “He sparked the fuel that is going to change this nation.”

– Ken Alltucker, Melody Brown-Peyton, Michael Futch, Rachael Riley

Contributing: The Associated Press

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A majority of voters are uncomfortable attending large gatherings, dining out

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A majority of voters are uncomfortable attending large gatherings, dining out

WASHINGTON — Two-thirds of American voters say they would not feel comfortable flying on a plane or attending a large gathering due to continued worry about the spread of the coronavirus, a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finds. Half of all voters are also uneasy about dining at restaurants, and half of parents say they are uncomfortable sending their children back to school or daycare in August.

The vast majority of voters — more than eight in 10 — also say they wear a protective mask at least sometimes when they shop, go to work or interact with others outside their home. More than six in 10 say they always wear a mask in those situations.

The survey, which was conducted as many states eased some restrictions on businesses designed to blunt the virus’s spread, found that 66 percent of Americans say they are uncomfortable attending a public gathering or an event with a large group, with 43 percent saying they are “very” uncomfortable. Just 17 percent say they would be “very comfortable” at a large event.

That finding comes as most major American cities have seen mass outdoor demonstrations for racial justice, and also as GOP officials are scrambling to meet President Donald Trump’s desire for an in-person political convention with thousands of attendees.

The same share of voters, 66 percent, also say they would be uncomfortable flying on an airplane in light of the continued pandemic, with 44 percent saying they would be “very” uncomfortable.

As the hospitality and food service industry face some of the worst economic consequences of the outbreak, half of voters still express concern about dining out. Just 24 percent say they feel “very” comfortable eating at a restaurant, and a combined 54 percent are either somewhat uncomfortable (25 percent) or very uncomfortable (29 percent).

The data looks much the same when it comes to apprehension from parents about sending their children back to school or daycare in August. Just 25 percent of voters who have a child under 18 in the home say they are “very” comfortable sending their children back to school, while a combined 50 percent are either somewhat uncomfortable (20 percent) or very uncomfortable (30 percent).

While the president has resisted wearing a face mask in public — which CDC guidelines recommend in order to limit transmission of the coronavirus — voters overwhelmingly say they are wearing masks at least sometimes when they leave their homes.

A majority — 63 percent — say they always wear a mask when shopping, going to work or interacting with other people in public. Another 21 percent say they sometimes wear a mask. Seven percent say they wear a mask “rarely” and just eight percent say they never wear one.

But despite generally widespread mask-wearing, Republicans are more likely to follow Trump’s lead by expressing reluctance to donning protective masks.

Among the 15 percent of adults who say they rarely or never wear a mask, 83 percent plan to support Trump over Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential contest. Among those who say they always wear a mask in public, 66 percent choose Biden over Trump.

Worries about resuming regular public activities are also split along the same partisan lines. While 84 percent of Democrats and 71 percent of independents say they are somewhat or very uncomfortable attending a large gathering, just 44 percent of Republicans say the same.

The NBC News/Wall Street Journal live-caller phone poll was conducted May 28-June 2, 2020. The margin of error for 1000 interviews among registered voters is +/- 3.1 percentage points.

Carrie Dann

Carrie Dann is a political editor for NBC News. 



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A world without hugs is a world that makes no sense | Zoe Williams

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A world without hugs is a world that makes no sense | Zoe Williams

I had had enough of remote socialising by the time lockdown was slightly eased. I was happy to just abjure other people, get all my extramarital fellowship needs from the memory of the kind of thing they said. Suddenly, in England we were allowed to see six people so long as it was outdoors. After all that time worrying about the bubble, who was in it, who was out of it, it turned out the bubble was infinite. It could be a different six people every night. The trouble is, I’ve forgotten how to do it. 

At a most basic level, I’ve forgotten how to say hello and goodbye. These things were always conveyed in hugs – excited hug, I’m glad to see you; relieved hug, I’m glad I’ve seen you. Random, in-evening hug, you mean more to me than all those other people I have to see. I can just about clear the confusion of no greeting-hug, but I don’t know how to say goodbye. The last hour of any given meeting, I just have the Communards’ Never Can Say Goodbye going round my head and my hands shoved prophylactically in my pockets. 

People have different levels of risk aversion, of compliance, and they are unguessable. They don’t map on to anything you already knew about each other – the most courageous, rebellious people I know, the people who would shoplift and bleach their pubes and go to tribunal to fight The Man, are checking the government website to see if they are allowed to use my spoon. The most diligent and rule-bound, the ones who check their step count and only drink on a Friday, are the ones asking what on earth we’re all doing outside when it’s plainly raining, and come on, it’s only a virus. But you can’t scope any of this out in advance; you just have to caper into the minefield of each other’s anxiety and wait for something to explode over an accidentally shared tea towel, wondering: is this a friendship-ending thing? Or will a year pass, and it all be forgotten? 

Finally, there is the now-familiar problem that nothing has happened – so sorry, you’re the first person I’ve seen, I’ve no one to bitch about. I’ll be using you for my next set of anecdotes, so this had better be good. 

That’s it. Like I say, I’ve forgotten how to say goodbye. 

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Some GOP Heavyweights Won’t Vote To Reelect Trump: Report

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Some GOP Heavyweights Won’t Vote To Reelect Trump: Report

Republican Voters Against Trump is lashing out against what’s filling the president’s time during the COVID-19 pandemic and nationwide anti-racist protests: “Hiding in a security bunker. Watching his shows. Afraid. Alone. Not a leader, not a president,” says the group’s new ad.

“It’s time for a competent president,” the spot concludes. “Let’s elect one.”

In a strange election year twist, it’s Republicans who oppose President Donald Trump who are regularly releasing new ads on social media. Republican Voters Against Trump and The Lincoln Project, co-founded by lawyer George Conway, husband of White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, are putting out anti-Trump videos, like the latest one above, that often go viral.

But it’s not just organized Republican groups that aren’t going to vote to keep their party in the White House. Some heavy hitters will likely also sit this one out. 

The New York Times reported Saturday that former President George W. Bush won’t endorse — or vote for — Trump, though it’s not clear whether he’ll vote for Democrat Joe Biden, sources say.

In response to the report, a senior Bush aide told NBC News that the former president hasn’t indicated how he will vote.

Bush’s brother Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida, isn’t yet sure how he’ll vote, according to the Times.

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) won’t vote for Trump, and may write in his wife Ann’s name. Cindy McCain, widow of the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), will likely vote for Biden, the Times reported.

None of them voted for Trump last time, but since he is the incumbent, the calculations are different this time.

Rep. Francis Rooney (R-Fla.), who served as Bush’s ambassador to the Vatican, told the Times that he is considering voting for the likely Democratic nominee, Joe Biden, because Trump is “driving us all crazy.”



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Jack Grealish: Manchester United interest will depend on Aston Villa’s survival, say Sunday Supplement panel

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Jack Grealish: Manchester United interest will depend on Aston Villa’s survival, say Sunday Supplement panel

“If Villa do stay up, do Manchester United have the stomach to spend £80m on Grealish?” asks Matt Law on Sunday Supplement

Last Updated: 07/06/20 2:01pm


Jack Grealish has been Aston Villa’s stand-out on their Premier League return

Manchester United’s interest in Jack Grealish will hinge on whether Aston Villa are relegated this season, say the Sunday Supplement panel.

A report in the Sunday People claims United have made Grealish their top target this summer, replacing Jadon Sancho on their transfer wishlist.

Grealish has long been linked with a move to Old Trafford, but with a fee of £80m touted for the midfielder, Steve Bates – who wrote the Sunday People article – told the Supplement he didn’t expect United to be spending so much in the midst of the coronavirus crisis, and that they would not need to if Villa are relegated.

“Grealish has been a player on their radar for quite some time, I’m not sure United would be spending anything like £80m on Jack Grealish, but particularly if Villa end up going down, in this current market, I don’t think United would be valuing him at anything like £80m for a player who hasn’t played for England or had sustained exposure in the Premier League,” said Bates.

“He’s certainly a player they’re looking at. They were looking at James Maddison, but now it looks like he’s signing a new contract. If (Paul) Pogba commits himself to United, there’s less need to rush into the transfer market for a player like Grealish, they’ve just bought Bruno Fernandes who is, again, an attacking midfield player, but I think a lot comes down to the Jadon Sancho situation.

“United still like him, we saw what a top star he is on Saturday in the Bundesliga and he’s probably ahead of Grealish in his development into a player to fit United’s DNA.”

Manchester United had an interest in signing James Maddison in January

Manchester United had an interest in signing James Maddison in January

That was a viewpoint shared by Matt Law, football correspondent at the Daily Telegraph, who said Villa would be under no obligation to sell their most prized asset, and captain, should they survive.

“Villa’s Premier League safety will be key to the Grealish situation,” said Law. “If they go down, I think everybody expects them to have to sell him, and not at the money they’d want to.

“But if they stay up, they have incredibly wealthy owners and if they go down, they’d only have to sell Grealish from an FFP standpoint. Their owners are the fourth or fifth wealthiest in the Premier League. There’s no financial pressure on them to sell him, and if they do stay up, do Manchester United have the stomach to spend £80m on Grealish?”

Super 6: Bayern to sail past Gladbach?

Do not miss your chance to land the £50,000 jackpot on Saturday. Play for free, entries by 2:30pm.



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NDA will get two-third majority in Bihar under Nitish’s leadership: Shah

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NDA will get two-third majority in Bihar under Nitish’s leadership: Shah



Setting the tone for Bihar assembly polls, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said the state moved from “jungle raj to janta raj” during the NDA rule and expressed confidence that the alliance will get a two-third majority in the state assembly polls under the leadership of Nitish Kumar.


Addressing the party workers and people of Bihar through a virtual rally, he attacked the opposition RJD saying the growth rate of the state was just 3.9 per cent when the party was in power, but it rose to 11.3 per cent under the NDA.



The state moved from ‘lalten raj’ to ‘LED raj’, he said referring to the RJD’s poll symbol of lamp.


At the same time, the former BJP president asserted that this rally had nothing to do with Bihar poll campaign and was aimed at connecting with people during the fight against coronavirus (Covid-19).


“This rally is aimed at connecting people with ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ campaign. The BJP will have 75 such meetings,” he said.


Shah applauded both Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi, saying they were working for the people though they might lack in publicising it.


He said during the rule of JD(U)-BJP alliance Bihar came out of ‘Jungle Raj’ to ‘Janta ka Raj’ Taking a dig at the RJD which protested against his virtual rally by beating utensils, Shah asked if anyone had stopped them from holding a rally, and added they were relaxing in Delhi.


He said though the opposition leaders dismissed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to unite the country in the fight against Covid-19 as political propaganda, but the nation stood with him and followed his appeals.


The central government safely ferried 1.25 crore migrants to their respective destinations after the required health infrastructure was ramped up to meet their needs, he said.


Talking about achievements of Modi government, he said issues which none dared to touch in 70 years were resolved in the first year of the Modi government’s in 2nd term and referred to the scrapping of Article 370 provisions and the law against triple talaq.


Citing various steps for the welfare of the poor and the needy taken by Modi government amidst the fight against the pandemic, Shan asked what the opposition did for them besides doing politics.



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