New Delhi: US President Donald Trump seems to have opened a can of worms by claiming that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked him for help to resolve the Kashmir issue. While the Ministry of External Affairs has clarified that the Prime Minister did not ask for any help of the sort, several leaders had a lot to say on Twitter. Here are a few of them:
Former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah was not entirely convinced of Trump’s claim but wondered whether the external affairs ministry will be able to call his bluff.
Personally I think @realDonaldTrump is talking out of his hat when he says @PMOIndia asked for US involvement in solving the Kashmir issue but I’d like to see @MEAIndia call Trump out on his claim. https://t.co/JRlH4mehrp
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) July 22, 2019
Senior Congress leader and MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor was convinced that Trump has no idea what he is talking about or just misunderstood the Prime Minister. That’s one way of looking at this issue.
I honestly don't think Trump has the slightest idea of what he's talking about. He has either not been briefed or not understood what Modi was saying or what India's position is on 3rd-party mediation. That said, MEA should clarify that Delhi has never sought his intercession. https://t.co/DxRpNu6vw2
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) July 22, 2019
BJP Rajya Sabha member Subramanian Swamy, unsurprisingly, offered his opinion on the issue as well. He blamed Nehru for the Kashmir issue followed by an insult to Pakistan. Nothing out of the ordinary here for Mr Swamy.
Trump’s offering to mediate contains an “If”. There is no dispute. The issue is Pak, thanks to Nehru, is in occupation of a part of Indian territory of J&K. To Pak I say get out before I kick you out.
— Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) July 22, 2019
On to some good news, the Indian Space Research Organisation successfully launched Chandrayaan-2 Monday and congratulatory messages poured in from several quarters. Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani congratulated ISRO on its success and praised the scientific minds behind the mission.
Congratulations to @isro on the successful launch of Chandrayaan 2 – India’s first rover-based space mission & world’s first expedition to reach the Moon’s south polar region. With #Chandrayaan2, India’s tryst with space gets better & stronger – gratitude to all our scientists!
— Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) July 22, 2019
ISRO was also congratulated by NASA and expressed its enthusiasm about further collaborations. Is this the match-up we’ve all been waiting for?
Congrats to @ISRO on the launch of Chandrayaan 2, a mission to study the Moon. We're proud to support your mission comms using our Deep Space Network and look forward to what you learn about the lunar South pole where we will send astronauts on our #Artemis mission in a few years pic.twitter.com/dOcWBX3kOE
— NASA (@NASA) July 22, 2019
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was filled to the brim with patriotism after the Chandrayaan-2 launch.
आदरणीय PM श्री @narendramodi जी के निर्देशन में और सभी के सम्मिलित प्रयासों से आज भारत अंतरिक्ष के क्षेत्र में अग्रिम पंक्ति में खड़ा है।
आज हर भारतवासी को गर्व की अनुभूति हो रही है, क्योंकि भारत ने आज फिर से एक नया इतिहास रचा है।
जय हिंद, जय भारत।
— Yogi Adityanath (@myogiadityanath) July 22, 2019
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra took some time out from her crusade in Uttar Pradesh against the Yogi government to wish everyone on the first Monday of Saawan.
सत्य ही शिव है। भगवान शिव को समर्पित और साधना के प्रतीक सावन मास का आज पहला सोमवार है।
जन-जन को सावन के पहले सोमवार की शुभकामनाएँ। #हर_हर_महादेव
— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) July 22, 2019
The amendments proposed to the RTI Act 2005 elicited a strong reaction from the Opposition. Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien raised some pertinent questions about the fact that bills are being bulldozed through the two houses without any scrutiny.
As we predicted yesterday, this govt used its brute majority in LS to bulldoze the faulty RTI Bill. #DontAmendRTI Next stop: Rajya Sabha. 12 Bills passed. ZERO scrutiny. Unreal. Trinamool will not allow democracy to be smothered. #ConstructiveOpposition #Parliament
— Derek O'Brien | ডেরেক ও'ব্রায়েন (@derekobrienmp) July 22, 2019
Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar is of the opinion that the opposition is deliberately attempting to malign the government over the RTI amendments and their claims have no actual merit. In response to this, activist and Swaraj India leader Yogendra Yadav invited Javadekar for a debate on the issue. What say sir, challenge accepted?
There is a deliberate and mischievous attempt by a section to malign the government. There is no merit in their criticism as the amendment to #RTIAct in no way compromises the autonomy of Information Commission.@PIB_India @MIB_India @DDNewsLive
— Prakash Javadekar (@PrakashJavdekar) July 22, 2019
I am sure @PrakashJavdekar ji will accept this invitation for debate with one of the softest non-combative activists in the country! https://t.co/EOtvlOditA
— Yogendra Yadav (@_YogendraYadav) July 23, 2019
BJP MP Rajeev Chandrashekhar is extremely frustrated with the Kumaraswamy government for delaying the trust vote for three days now. His outrage is quite explicit in this tweet with some choice abbreviations.
If u thot @RahulGandhi ‘s @INCIndia can fall no lower – look no further than #Karnataka.
It has bhvd Outrageously – Defrauding n mocking law n constitutn
3 full days spent without trust vote sought by its own CM @hd_kumaraswamy ‘s minority govt. #KarnatakaFloorTest https://t.co/1Q6rBI1pSr
— Rajeev Chandrasekhar ?? (@rajeev_mp) July 23, 2019