National Politics

โ€œSomeday Youโ€™ll Answer In Your Autobiographyโ€ฆโ€: Derek Oโ€™Brienโ€™s Swipe At Venkaiah Naidu In Farewell Speech

O'Brien

Addressing the farewell for outgoing Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu in the Rajya Sabha today, Trinamool Congress MP Derek Oโ€™Brien took a jibe at at Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Mr Oโ€™Brien, referring to Mr Naidu, who was also the chairman of the upper house, said the vice president would have tried hard to get the Prime Minister to perhaps answer one question in his full tenure โ€œbut that did not happenโ€.

The TMC MP also reminded Mr Naidu that he was not on the Chair on September 20, 2020, the day the upper house passed the now repealed Farm Bills. Quipping over the same, Mr Oโ€™Brien said: โ€œMaybe, someday you will answer that in your autobiography.โ€

Mr Oโ€™Brien, also reminding Mr Naidu of his partyโ€™s days in opposition, said the BJP leader had made โ€œpassionate speechโ€ on fuel prices .

โ€œOn 2nd September 2013, you made a passionate speech on petrol and diesel in the House. One day perhaps you will tell us in your autobiography why thenโ€ฆLet us not go there,โ€ Derek Oโ€™Brien said.

Mr Oโ€™Brien also recalled how Mr Naidu had in 2013 made an intervention regarding phone-tapping but there was no discussion on Pegasus in the upper house during his tenure as chairman.

โ€œOn 1st March 2013, you had made an intervention on phone tapping for 5-6 minutes in the House. We tried Pegasus last few years but we did not get a discussion, Sir,โ€ he said.

On Wednesday, Mr Naidu will demit the office of Vice President. Mr Naiduโ€™s successor Jagdeep Dhankhar will take the oath of office on August 11.

 

 

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India To Ban Chinese Phones Cheaper Than Rs 12,000, Says Report

Sakeena Sayyed
chinese phones
India seeks to ban Chinese phones cheaper than Rs.12,000 aiming to push Chinese giants out of the lower segment of the worldโ€™s second-biggest mobile market.

Mumbai: India is trying to restrict Chinese smartphone makers from selling devices cheaper than 12,000 rupees to boost its ailing domestic industry, a report by Bloomberg said today.

The move is aimed at ousting the Chinese giants from the bottom end of the worldโ€™s second-largest mobile phone market, according to people familiar with the matter. This coincides with growing concerns over high-volume brands like Realme and Transsion undermining local manufacturers, they said, asking not to be identified to discuss a sensitive topic.

Shutting out Indiaโ€™s entry-level market would hurt Xiaomi and its peers, which have increasingly relied on India to drive growth in recent years as its home market suffers from a slump. series of Covid-19 lockdowns that cripple consumption. Smartphones under $150 contributed a third of Indiaโ€™s sales volume in the quarter ending June 2022, with Chinese companies accounting for up to 80% of those shipments, according to the market tracker Counterpoint.

Xiaomi shares extended losses in the last few minutes of trading in Hong Kong on Monday. It fell 3.6%, extending the decline to more than 35% this year. It is unclear whether Prime Minister Narendra Modiโ€™s government will announce policies or use informal channels to communicate its preference to Chinese companies, people said.

New Delhi has already subjected Chinese companies operating in the country, such as Xiaomi and rivals Oppo and Vivo, to careful scrutiny of their finances, leading to tax demands and money laundering allegations. The government previously used unofficial means to coerce Huawei Technologies Co. and ZTE Corp. telecommunications equipment. While there is no official policy banning Chinese network equipment, wireless carriers are encouraged to purchase alternatives.

The move shouldnโ€™t affect Apple Inc. or Samsung Electronics Co., which make their phones more expensive. Representatives of Xiaomi, Realme and Transsion did not respond to requests for comment. Spokespeople for Indiaโ€™s ministry of technology also did not answer Bloomberg News inquiries.

India stepped up pressure on Chinese companies in the summer of 2020 after more than a dozen Indian soldiers were killed in a clash between two nuclear-armed neighbors on the Himalayan border. It has since banned more than 300 apps, including Tencent Holdings Ltd.โ€™s WeChat and ByteDance Ltd.โ€™s TikTok, as relations between the two countries deteriorate.

Local companies like Lava and MicroMax accounted for just under half of smartphone sales in India before new entrants from the neighboring country disrupted the market with affordable and versatile devices.
Chinese smartphone gamers now sell the vast majority of devices to India, but their market dominance is not โ€œbased on free and fair competition,โ€ Indiaโ€™s minister of technology told Business Standard newspaper last week. The recurring annual losses of most of the Chinese phone makers in India, despite their leadership position, add to the criticism of unfair competition.

Privately, the government continues to urge Chinese leaders to build local supply chains, distribution networks and exports from India, suggesting New Delhi is still keen on their investments, the people said.

 

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