The Evening Wrap: PM Modi hails India's G20 presidency in PTI interview

A week before hosting world leaders at the G20 summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas’ model can be the guiding principle for the welfare of a world shifting from a “GDP-centric approach” to a “human-centric one”. In an interview with news agency PTI, Modi said, “Irrespective of the size of the GDP, every voice matters.” He said, “Many positive impacts are coming out of India’s G20 Presidency. Some of them are very close to my heart.” Modi said that while it is true G20 is an influential grouping in terms of its combined economic might, “a GDP-centric view of the world is now changing to a human-centric one”, and just as a new world order was seen after World War 2, a new world order is taking shape post-Covid. “India’s G20 Presidency has also sowed the seeds of confidence in the countries of the so-called Third World,” he said. “For a long time, India was perceived as a nation of over one billion hungry stomachs. But now, India is being seen as a nation of over one billion aspirational minds, more than two billion skilled hands, and hundreds of millions of young people,” he added. The Prime Minister also made a strong pitch for United Nations reforms in line with the changing realities of the world and to ensure representation of voices that matter, saying a mid-20th century approach cannot serve the world in the 21st century. He also said that India backs inclusion of the African Union as a full member of the G20 as no plan for the future of the planet can be successful without the representation and recognition of all voices. Stressing the need for financial discipline, he reiterated that “irresponsible” financial policies and populist measures may give political results in the short term but will extract a “great social and economic price” in the long term. Modi said he has urged State Governments to be conscious about financial discipline. He also made a strong pitch for altering the approach on climate talks, from restrictive to constructive, and urged nations not to focus on “don’t do this or that”. He said there was no “one-size-fits-all” solution to fight climate change. While several leaders of the ruling BJP hailed the PM for his interview, the Opposition INDIA parties raised questions on “rising” prices and unemployment. Udhayanidhi says sanatana should be eradicated; BJP calls it ‘genocidal’; Amit Shah says ‘votebank politics’ Contending that sanatana was against the idea of social justice, DMK’s youth wing secretary and Tamil Nadu Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development Udhayanidhi Stalin said that it had to be eradicated. Addressing a conference organised in Chennai by the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers Artists Association on the theme of “eradication of sanatana,” he said that sanatana cannot be simply opposed, but had to be eradicated. He said that sanatana was regressive, divided the people on the basis of castes and was against equality and women empowerment. BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya slammed Udhayanidhi for his remarks and said that the Minister was calling for “genocide of 80% population of Bharat, who follow Sanatan Dharma”. Posting a video of the speech on X, formerly Twitter, Malviya said, “Rahul Gandhi speaks of Mohabbat ki Dukaan but Congress ally DMK’s scion talks about eradicating Sanatana Dharma. Congress’s silence is support for this genocidal call… INDIA Alliance, true to its name, if given an opportunity, will annihilate the millennia-old civilisation that is Bharat.” BJP’s Tamil Nadu unit chief K. Annamalai accused Udhayanidhi of peddling a “bought-out idea from Christian missionaries”. Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah reacted to the remarks, accusing both the DMK and its ally, the Congress, of “insulting Sanatan Dharma” for votebank politics. He was addressing a public rally in Dungarpur, Rajasthan, at the launch of the BJP’s “Parivartan Yatra” in the poll-bound State. Shah said DMK leaders and Congress MP Karti Chidambaram’s statement supporting Stalin’s remarks were clear calls by them for the abolition of Sanatan Dharma. He said the remarks were made for “votebank appeasement” and called it an “insult to Sanatan Dharma”. BJP president J.P. Nadda too appealed to people to reject the Opposition INDIA parties alleging they were spreading “hatred” and “poison” and attacking the country’s culture and tradition. Speaking at a function in Chitrakoot, Madhya Pradesh, ahead of the Assembly polls due this year-end there, Nadda said, “The Opposition that met in Mumbai a couple of days ago is attacking India’s culture, tradition and religion. Has this political game plan been hatched in Mumbai? Is their politics revolving around finishing Sanatan Dharma?” Ghosi bypoll to see first INDIA bloc-BJP clash in Uttar Pradesh The stage is set for the first electoral showdown between the BJP and an INDIA bloc constituent in Uttar Pradesh, with leaders of both sides going all out to drum up support for their candidates for the September 5 Assembly bypoll in Ghosi. The Congress and the Left parties have not only extended support to the Samajwadi Party candidate but are also campaigning for him in accordance with the spirit of the new Opposition togetherness ahead of next year’s general election. Though not a major force in Uttar Pradesh, Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP is also drumming up support for the SP nominee. The BJP’s Dara Singh Chauhan, the sitting MLA who crossed over to the saffron party from the SP and resigned from the seat, is seeking re-election. The SP has fielded Sudhakar Singh. Singh has got support from the Congress, the CPI(M) and the CPI(ML)-Liberation. Interestingly, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, who missed campaigning for the other two prestigious bypolls in the Rampur and the Azamgarh Lok Sabha seats last year, addressed an election meeting in Ghosi. Meanwhile, the BJP’s campaign has been led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who, during an election meeting, accused the Opposition of being focussed on their personal growth rather than that of the constituency. Assisting the BJP in the election campaign is its new partner, Suheldev Bahujan Samaj Party (SBSP) chief Om Prakash Rajbhar, who is also continuously visiting parts of the constituency with his sons. The Apna Dal (Sonelal) and the NISHAD Party — the other two NDA allies — are also assisting in the campaign. However, the Suheldev Swabhiman Party (SSP) — a splinter group of Rajbhar’s SBSP — has announced support for the SP candidate. Infant among two killed in Thane building collapse An infant and a woman were killed and five others injured when a residential building collapsed in Maharashtra’s Thane district shortly after midnight on September 3, civic officials said. The single-storey building having six flats and located on Durga Road in Dhobi Talao area of Bhiwandi town collapsed at 12.35 a.m., Thane Municipal Corporation’s disaster management cell chief Yasin Tadvi said. After being alerted, a team of the Thane Disaster Response Force and fire personnel from the Bhiwandi Nizampur Municipal Corporation rushed to the spot. A search operation was carried out in the night and seven persons were pulled out from the debris. An eight-month-old girl and a woman died while five others were injured, the official said. The deceased have been identified as Uzma Atif Momin (40) and Taslima Mosar Momin (8 months), he said. Among the injured were four women and a man aged 65. They were admitted to a local hospital and were reported to be out of danger, he said. The search and rescue operation and work to clear the debris was completed at around 3.30 a.m., the official said. It was not yet known how old was the building and whether it was in the list of dangerous structures, he added. Teacher in Karnataka’s Shivamogga transferred for allegedly asking students to ‘go to Pakistan’ A teacher at Urdu Government Higher Primary School in Shivamogga has been transferred following allegations that she asked students to “go to Pakistan” while scolding them for making noise in the classroom. Manjula Devi, who has been working at the school located at Tipu Nagar in Shivamogga, has been transferred to a school at Hosamane Tanda in Hassan taluk. Besides that, the Department of School Education has ordered a departmental inquiry against her. The teacher, while handling her class on August 30, allegedly asked a couple of students, who were making noise, to ‘go to Pakistan’. The children conveyed the same to their parents. Meanwhile, a few people recorded videos of the students’ statements and circulated them on social media platforms. P. Nagaraj, Block Education Officer, said that as soon as he learnt about the video clips, he visited the school and made an inquiry. Colombo mulls converting Adani power project to a government-to-government deal: Sri Lankan media In a cabinet memorandum last month, Sri Lanka’s Energy Minister has sought to convert the agreement with Adani Green Energy Limited, for execution of renewable energy projects in the island’s Northern Province, to a government-to-government deal, according to Sri Lankan media reports. Leading Colombo-based weekend newspaper The Sunday Times reported on September 3, 2023: “A $400 million project with India’s Adani Green Energy Limited for a 500-megawatt power project in Mannar has been elevated to be on a Government-to-Government basis,” based on a recent cabinet memorandum put forward by Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera. The shift, local media reports suggested, was on account of a legal requirement. Meanwhile, online portal Newsfirst on August 31, 2023, reported that sections had raised concern over “the decision to award India’s Adani Group with an on-grid renewable energy development project in Mannar and Pooneryn, by considering it as a government-to-government arrangement”. The news portal referred to the cabinet paper dated August 14, 2023. The media reports coincide with renewed international media scrutiny of the Adani Group, following an investigation conducted by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), a global network of journalists. Last week, publications including The Guardian and Financial Times reported that the Adani family had secretly invested in the company’s shares, sparking a fresh controversy months after U.S.-based research firm Hindenburg accused the Group’s chief Gautam Adani of pulling off the “largest con in corporate history”. In Brief: Sonia Gandhi hospitalised; condition stable Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi was admitted to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi on September 3 after having fever-like symptoms. Her condition was reportedly stable. Rahul Gandhi visited the hospital after he returned from Raipur, where he attended an official function of the Chhattisgarh government. Zimbabwe cricket great Heath Streak dies aged 49 Heath Streak, one of Zimbabwe’s greatest cricketers, died on September 3 aged 49, his wife said in a social media post. He had been battling colon cancer. “In the early hours of this morning, Sunday 3 September, the greatest love of my life and the father of my beautiful children, was carried to be with the angels from his home where he wished to spend his last days surrounded by his family and closest loved ones,” Nadine Streak wrote. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 03 September 2023 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( PM Modi hails India’s progress, says ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas’ is model for global welfare A week before hosting world leaders at the G20 summit, Prime Minister [Narendra Modi said that the ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas’ model can be the guiding principle]( for the welfare of a world shifting from a “GDP-centric approach” to a “human-centric one”. In an [interview with news agency PTI]( Modi said, “Irrespective of the size of the GDP, every voice matters.” He said, “Many positive impacts are coming out of India’s G20 Presidency. Some of them are very close to my heart.” Modi said that while it is true G20 is an influential grouping in terms of its combined economic might, “a GDP-centric view of the world is now changing to a human-centric one”, and just as a new world order was seen after World War 2, a new world order is taking shape post-Covid. “India’s G20 Presidency has also sowed the seeds of confidence in the countries of the so-called Third World,” he said. “For a long time, India was perceived as a nation of over one billion hungry stomachs. But now, India is being seen as a nation of over one billion aspirational minds, more than two billion skilled hands, and hundreds of millions of young people,” he added. The Prime Minister also made a strong pitch for United Nations reforms in line with the changing realities of the world and to ensure representation of voices that matter, saying a mid-20th century approach cannot serve the world in the 21st century. He also said that India backs inclusion of the African Union as a full member of the G20 as no plan for the future of the planet can be successful without the representation and recognition of all voices. Stressing the need for financial discipline, he reiterated that “irresponsible” financial policies and populist measures may give political results in the short term but will extract a “great social and economic price” in the long term. Modi said he has urged State Governments to be conscious about financial discipline. He also made a strong pitch for altering the approach on climate talks, from restrictive to constructive, and urged nations not to focus on “don’t do this or that”. He said there was no “one-size-fits-all” solution to fight climate change. While [several leaders of the ruling BJP hailed the PM for his interview]( the Opposition INDIA parties raised questions on “rising” prices and unemployment. Udhayanidhi says sanatana should be eradicated; BJP calls it ‘genocidal’; Amit Shah says ‘votebank politics’ Contending that sanatana was against the idea of social justice, DMK’s youth wing secretary and Tamil Nadu Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development [Udhayanidhi Stalin said that it had to be eradicated](. Addressing a conference organised in Chennai by the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers Artists Association on the theme of “eradication of sanatana,” he said that sanatana cannot be simply opposed, but had to be eradicated. He said that sanatana was regressive, divided the people on the basis of castes and was against equality and women empowerment. BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya slammed Udhayanidhi for his remarks and said that the Minister was calling for “[genocide of 80% population of Bharat]( who follow Sanatan Dharma”. Posting a video of the speech on X, formerly Twitter, Malviya said, “Rahul Gandhi speaks of Mohabbat ki Dukaan but Congress ally DMK’s scion talks about eradicating Sanatana Dharma. Congress’s silence is support for this genocidal call… INDIA Alliance, true to its name, if given an opportunity, will annihilate the millennia-old civilisation that is Bharat.” BJP’s Tamil Nadu unit chief K. Annamalai accused Udhayanidhi of peddling a “bought-out idea from Christian missionaries”. Meanwhile, Union Home Minister [Amit Shah reacted to the remarks, accusing both the DMK and its ally, the Congress, of “insulting Sanatan Dharma” for votebank politics](. He was addressing a public rally in Dungarpur, Rajasthan, at the launch of the BJP’s “Parivartan Yatra” in the poll-bound State. Shah said DMK leaders and Congress MP Karti Chidambaram’s statement supporting Stalin’s remarks were clear calls by them for the abolition of Sanatan Dharma. He said the remarks were made for “votebank appeasement” and called it an “insult to Sanatan Dharma”. BJP president [J.P. Nadda too appealed to people to reject the Opposition INDIA parties alleging they were spreading “hatred” and “poison”]( and attacking the country’s culture and tradition. Speaking at a function in Chitrakoot, Madhya Pradesh, ahead of the Assembly polls due this year-end there, Nadda said, “The Opposition that met in Mumbai a couple of days ago is attacking India’s culture, tradition and religion. Has this political game plan been hatched in Mumbai? Is their politics revolving around finishing Sanatan Dharma?” Ghosi bypoll to see first INDIA bloc-BJP clash in Uttar Pradesh The stage is set for the [first electoral showdown between the BJP and an INDIA bloc]( constituent in Uttar Pradesh, with leaders of both sides going all out to drum up support for their candidates for the September 5 Assembly bypoll in Ghosi. The Congress and the Left parties have not only extended support to the Samajwadi Party candidate but are also campaigning for him in accordance with the spirit of the new Opposition togetherness ahead of next year’s general election. Though not a major force in Uttar Pradesh, Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP is also drumming up support for the SP nominee. The BJP’s Dara Singh Chauhan, the sitting MLA who crossed over to the saffron party from the SP and resigned from the seat, is seeking re-election. The SP has fielded Sudhakar Singh. Singh has got support from the Congress, the CPI(M) and the CPI(ML)-Liberation. Interestingly, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, who missed campaigning for the other two prestigious bypolls in the Rampur and the Azamgarh Lok Sabha seats last year, addressed an election meeting in Ghosi. Meanwhile, the BJP’s campaign has been led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who, during an election meeting, accused the Opposition of being focussed on their personal growth rather than that of the constituency. Assisting the BJP in the election campaign is its new partner, Suheldev Bahujan Samaj Party (SBSP) chief Om Prakash Rajbhar, who is also continuously visiting parts of the constituency with his sons. The Apna Dal (Sonelal) and the NISHAD Party — the other two NDA allies — are also assisting in the campaign. However, the Suheldev Swabhiman Party (SSP) — a splinter group of Rajbhar’s SBSP — has announced support for the SP candidate. Infant among two killed in Thane building collapse [An infant and a woman were killed and five others injured when a residential building collapsed in Maharashtra’s Thane]( district shortly after midnight on September 3, civic officials said. The single-storey building having six flats and located on Durga Road in Dhobi Talao area of Bhiwandi town collapsed at 12.35 a.m., Thane Municipal Corporation’s disaster management cell chief Yasin Tadvi said. After being alerted, a team of the Thane Disaster Response Force and fire personnel from the Bhiwandi Nizampur Municipal Corporation rushed to the spot. A search operation was carried out in the night and seven persons were pulled out from the debris. An eight-month-old girl and a woman died while five others were injured, the official said. The deceased have been identified as Uzma Atif Momin (40) and Taslima Mosar Momin (8 months), he said. Among the injured were four women and a man aged 65. They were admitted to a local hospital and were reported to be out of danger, he said. The search and rescue operation and work to clear the debris was completed at around 3.30 a.m., the official said. It was not yet known how old was the building and whether it was in the list of dangerous structures, he added. Teacher in Karnataka’s Shivamogga transferred for allegedly asking students to ‘go to Pakistan’ [A teacher at Urdu Government Higher Primary School in Shivamogga has been transferred following allegations that she asked students to “go to Pakistan”]( while scolding them for making noise in the classroom. Manjula Devi, who has been working at the school located at Tipu Nagar in Shivamogga, has been transferred to a school at Hosamane Tanda in Hassan taluk. Besides that, the Department of School Education has ordered a departmental inquiry against her. The teacher, while handling her class on August 30, allegedly asked a couple of students, who were making noise, to ‘go to Pakistan’. The children conveyed the same to their parents. Meanwhile, a few people recorded videos of the students’ statements and circulated them on social media platforms. P. Nagaraj, Block Education Officer, said that as soon as he learnt about the video clips, he visited the school and made an inquiry. Colombo mulls converting Adani power project to a government-to-government deal: Sri Lankan media In a cabinet memorandum last month, [Sri Lanka’s Energy Minister has sought to convert the agreement with Adani Green Energy Limited, for execution of renewable energy projects in the island’s Northern Province, to a government-to-government deal]( according to Sri Lankan media reports. Leading Colombo-based weekend newspaper The Sunday Times reported on September 3, 2023: “A $400 million project with India’s Adani Green Energy Limited for a 500-megawatt power project in Mannar has been elevated to be on a Government-to-Government basis,” based on a recent cabinet memorandum put forward by Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera. The shift, local media reports suggested, was on account of a legal requirement. Meanwhile, online portal Newsfirst on August 31, 2023, reported that sections had raised concern over “the decision to award India’s Adani Group with an on-grid renewable energy development project in Mannar and Pooneryn, by considering it as a government-to-government arrangement”. The news portal referred to the cabinet paper dated August 14, 2023. The media reports coincide with renewed international media scrutiny of the Adani Group, following an investigation conducted by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), a global network of journalists. Last week, publications including The Guardian and Financial Times reported that the Adani family had secretly invested in the company’s shares, sparking a fresh controversy months after U.S.-based research firm Hindenburg accused the Group’s chief Gautam Adani of pulling off the “largest con in corporate history”. In Brief: Sonia Gandhi hospitalised; condition stable Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson [Sonia Gandhi was admitted to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi on September 3 after having fever-like symptoms](. Her condition was reportedly stable. Rahul Gandhi visited the hospital after he returned from Raipur, where he attended an official function of the Chhattisgarh government. Zimbabwe cricket great Heath Streak dies aged 49 [Heath Streak, one of Zimbabwe’s greatest cricketers, died on September 3 aged 49]( his wife said in a social media post. He had been battling colon cancer. “In the early hours of this morning, Sunday 3 September, the greatest love of my life and the father of my beautiful children, was carried to be with the angels from his home where he wished to spend his last days surrounded by his family and closest loved ones,” Nadine Streak wrote. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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