Tag: Defence minister

Fernandes suffered from Alzheimer's disease, had swine flu for past few days Arrested during Emergency, he was a minister in the first non-Congress govt after Janata Party's defeat of Indira Gandhi He served as a Union minister several times, and held diverse portfolios George Mathew Fernandes, a former Union Defence Minister in the Vajpayee government who was elected nine times to the Lok Sabha, died on Tuesday in New Delhi. A veteran parliamentarian who was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1967, George Fernandes served several times as a Union Cabinet Minister, holding portfolios such as communications, industry, and railways, besides defence. President Ram Nath Kovind said today that George Fernandes was "champion of democracy, during the Emergency and beyond". George Fernandes and others were charged with smuggling dynamite in an alleged plot to blow up railway tracks and government buildings in the Baroda Dynamite Case. He was still in prison when he won in Muzaffarpur in the 1977 general election. George Fernandes was born in Mangaluru in British India, on June 3, 1930. "When we think of Mr George Fernandes, we remember most notably the fiery trade union leader who fought for justice, the leader who could humble the mightiest of politicians at the hustings, a visionary Railway Minister and a great Defence Minister who made India safe and strong," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said. "He epitomised simple living and high thinking," President Ram Nath Kovind said. "We will all miss him." Jump to navigation Load.....

He did cause a stir among some audience members at the conference when he said it was damning for Israel to shoot at Palestinian children throwing stones from Gaza, the Jerusalem Post reported. JACK GUEZ (AFP/Archives) Meanwhile, Avigdor Liberman seemed to chastize Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for speaking publicly about sensitive security matters. “I think it’s irresponsible to discuss intelligence information with the public and it’s an irresponsible way to discuss sensitive security issues with journalists and MKs,” Liberman told the conference. He reiterated the need to continue hitting back with force in Gaza. There is a time when you can’t be a cabinet member. Both Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked called on all supporters of Israel to boycott AirBnB, following the apartment rental platform’s decision to suspend its activities in the West Bank. BDS was a major focus of the conference, with a uniformly anti-BDS panel taking foreign diplomats in the audience to task over their support of a movement perceived to be a threat to the peace process. We live in the same areas, Palestinians and Jews work together in Barkan, Efrat and other places, and I believe that we will succeed in the end...I am not afraid to talk about such a thing. Of Israelis and Palestinians living together in Judea and Samaria," Jabri said referring to the West Bank by its biblical terminology typically employed by nationalist Israelis. Remarks from former Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman, who resigned last week, and opposition party Meretz leader Tamar Zandberg are expected to take place in the afternoon session.