Bharatiya Janata Party leaders led by L K Advani on Wednesday raised with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh their objections to Defence Minister A K Antony's statement on the killing of Indian soldiers along the LOC, terming it as a "goof-up", and pressed for a clarification on the serious matter.
Amid demands for withdrawal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act from their state, Kashmiri Pandits on Wednesday opposed any such move and asked the Centre to take the views of all shades of opinion of the state before deciding on any major issue related to the state.
The three hour-long meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security on Monday evening failed to determine how best to control the ongoing violence in Kashmir Valley, except to decide to hold an all party meeting on September 15 to discuss the issue with the opposition parties.
With increasing terror attacks in Pakistan raising concerns over the safety of its nuclear arsenal, Defence Minister A K Antony said the threat of these weapons falling in wrong hands was an "area of serious concern" and its consequences would be "unimaginable".
Union Defence Minister A K Antony is learnt to have disapproved of the proposal mooted by J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to withdraw the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in four districts in Jammu and Kashmir as it would affect the confidence of the armed forces, which were already managing in very difficult circumstances.
Ahead of a crucial meeting of the Centre on Kashmir, state Chief Minister Omar Abdullah met Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Defence Minister A K Antony to seek their support on the partial withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act from the state. Sources said Omar had met Mukherjee late on Wednesday night at the latter's residence for about half-an-hour, during which the chief minister presented his case for withdrawal of the AFSPA.
Defence Minister A K Antony has ordered re-investigation into the mysterious death of Captain Sumit Kohli in Jammu and Kashmir, heeding to the demands of his family that had maintained that it was a murder and not a suicide as claimed by the Army.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi has held consultations with senior party leaders ahead of Opposition's plans to raise the controversy surrounding Union Minister Shashi Tharoor's alleged murky deals in the Indian Premier League in Parliament on Friday.
Rejecting speculation that Shashi Tharoor was asked to step down during his meeting with senior Ministers Pranab Mukherjee and A K Antony, sources close to the Minister of State for External Affairs said on Wednesday night that things were "okay" on the issue.
Union Minister Shashi Tharoor met Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Defence Minister A K Antony on Wednesday night as the controversy surrounding him in the IPL snowballed with the opposition demanding his sacking.
Among the new entrants in the council headed by the Prime Minister, which will now have 147 members, are Ambika Soni, Dayanidhi Maran and Salman Khursheed have made their entry as Union Ministers while BJP leaders Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley have come in as Leaders of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha respectively.
The government formation exercise for Maharashtra gathered momentum on Thursday with the top Congress leaders meeting their alliance partners, the Nationalist Congress Party, in New Delhi to settle on a power sharing agreement in the state.
India will send a request to the United States for procuring the Javelin anti-tank guided missile system, the Lok Sabha was informed on Monday.
"The situation in Pakistan is very serious and terrorism is spreading," Defence Minister A K Antony told media-persons in New Delhi when asked to comment on developments in the neighbouring country and Taliban's threat to India and the attack on Iran.
Amid the Sino-India spat over Arunachal Pradesh and Chinese investments in Pakistan occupied Kashmir, New Delhi on Thursday said it has adequate' infrastructure and military capability along its border with China, even as it sought a diplomatic dialogue to resolve the border dispute. "By and large, the border with China is peaceful, except for occasional problems. They are strengthening the infrastructure and capabilities on their side of the border," he said.
Defence Minister A K Antony said on Wednesday that Pakistan had 42 terror camps within its territory and that the neighbouring country was not taking effective steps to dismantle the terror outfits.
Was the defence minister kept in the dark with the PMO directly dealing with the then defence secretary in the matter of General V K Singh's birth date? Was the trust deficit between the government and the then army chief so wide that instead of communicating directly with General Singh and the defence minister, the PMO and other arms of the government were depending on half-baked inputs from the Intelligence Bureau?
Union Defence Minister A K Antony on Wednesday accused Pakistan of 'not willing' to act against terrorists infiltrating into Jammu and Kashmir from its side of the border, even after the Mumbai attacks last November.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Monday held a meeting at 6.30 pm at the PM's residence in the capital. The Congress leaders discussed the next course of action over the Women Reservation's Bill, which will be debated in the Parliament on Tuesday.
L K Advani, Venkiah Naidu and Arun Jaitley, launched a blistering attack on government after PM Manmoha Singh's speech in Parliament on Friday. Jaitley asked Defence Minister A K Antony to explain how he got Rs 1,000 crores cleared up defence purchases bypassing the Cabinet Committee on Security, while stressing on indiginisation of defence production.
Showcasing its precision strike capabilities during day and night, Indian Air Force on Sunday carried out a massive fire power blitzkrieg using its frontline aircraft such as SU-30 MKI, Mirage-2000, MIG 27 and MIG 29, at the Pokhran ranges in Rajasthan.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's decision to go ahead with the scheduled Indo-Pak meeting after the blast at Pune's German Bakery that has so far claimed 10 lives, is not an easy one for him, with two key ministers of his government opposing the move.
At a recent Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) meeting, chaired by Defence Minister A K Antony, the urgency in having the second production line was discussed with all seriousness and the nod for the project, codenamed Project 75I, was given, a senior Defence Ministry source said in New Delhi.
Defence Minister A K Antony said on Monday that the Pune blast took place despite the security forces being on an alert.
The nuclear-tipped Agni-III has all cities in both Pakistan and China, including Beijing, within its striking range and will be India's second strike deterrent.
India on Thursday said its foreign secretary-level talks with Pakistan will 'not be affected' despite increased infiltration by militants from across the border or the neighbouring nation failing to dismantle terror groups operating from its soil.
She met with Defence Minister A K Antony, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, her political secretary Ahmed Patel and others on Wednesday evening to take stock of the situation.
India is strengthening security set up in Arunachal Pradesh to enhance its deterrent capability, but there was no question of militarisation of the north-eastern state, Defence Minister A K Antony said on Tuesday.
Earlier this week, Defence Minister A K Antony advised General Kapoor to initiate disciplinary action against Lt General Prakash, as against the Army chief's recommendation to initiate administrative action against his former aide.
Reviewing security along the Line of Actual Control and the preparedness of the armed forces deployed there, A K Antony became the first Indian defence minister to land at the Advanced Landing Ground of the Indian Air Force at Nyoma, which is close to the border with China.
United States Defence Secretary Robert Gates on Tuesday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh amidst a desire by the US to step up military cooperation and see that India and Pakistan join hands to combat terrorism.
American Defence Secretary Robert Gates will visit India from Tuesday on a three-day trip to boost defence ties and step-up cooperation on regional security.
United Stated Defence Secretary Robert Gates will visit India next week during which the situation in Afghanistan, Pakistan and regional security issues will dominate the agenda of his talks with the Indian leadership. The January 19-21 tour of Gates will be the first high-level visit from the Barack Obama administration after the visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Washington in November last year.
'Even at Galwan Valley, our soldiers are now not allowed to patrol at the point at which they used to patrol earlier. In the Pangong area, in a more than eight-kilometre area they are not allowing us to patrol, the area which we used to patrol. Previously, we used to patrol till Finger 8 and now we are not being allowed to patrol till Finger 8'
India and the United States are unlikely to wrap up any defence deals during the high-profile visit of President Barack Obama early next month, Defence Minister A K Antony indicated on Monday
Hitting out at Pakistan for its sharp reaction on India's military doctrine, he said, "I don't know why there is this over-reaction. India is not a war-mongering country. In spite of our differences with some of the neighbouring countries, we are trying to improve our relations with them. We have no extra-territorial ambition but our concern is to protect the country's territorial integrity."
India on Thursday termed Pakistan's much-awaited response to the Mumbai evidence dossier as 'positive' and promised to share whatever more information it can with Islamabad after examining its queries. Soon after Pakistan handed over the response to India's High Commissioner Satyabrata Pal, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee discussed it with senior ministerial colleagues P Chidambaram and A K Antony.
Andhra Pradesh ministers hailing from Telangana, who have sent in their resignation letters to party chief Sonia Gandhi, will meet her in Delhi on Monday and seek a clear time-frame for the creation of a separate state. They have also sought an appointment from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, according to one of the 13 ministers. "We will meet Gandhi's political secretary Ahmed Patel, Defence Minister A K Antony and other senior All India Congress Committee leaders," he said.
With the armed forces going on a fast-track modernisation drive after 26/11 terror strikes, Defence Minister A K Antony on Wednesday said that the "Unnecessary procedures, bottle-necks and red-tape should be cut down for hastening procurement procedures." Antony was addressing the "Jumbo" Majumdar Seminar on 'Dominance of Aerospace Power', in New Delhi.
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