This year is on its verge to end, the back counting has already been started. The week starting from 25th December to 31st December creates a festive mood throughout the world. It’s time to wind up all mistakes that one might have done and to take lesson from every mistake so not to repeat it in future. This end of year makes everyone nostalgic and thoughtful. No matter what happens, one has to move ahead in life because life is a journey. But before we move ahead lets rewind the most important events of the past year :-
‘Bharat Ratna’ Vajpayee
Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was conferred with, the country’s highest civilian honour the Bharat Ratna, in March this year for his contribution to Indian politics.
· Jayalalithaa acquitted in DA case
The AIADMK Chief Jayalalithaa was acquitted by the Karnataka High Court in the disproportionate assets case in May this year. Within days, she returned as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu following her acquittal in the corruption case.
· India-Bangladesh land-swap agreement
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bangladesh in June resulted in the ratification of land-swap agreement and this was followed by the historic land swap agreement between India and Bangladesh in August as part of which 111 Indian enclaves in Bangladesh and 51 Bangladeshi enclaves in India were exchanged in pursuant to the 1974 Land Boundary Agreement and 2011 Protocol.
· Nagaland peace accord
The historic Nagaland peace accord to end insurgency in the northeastern state was inked by the Government of India and Naga militant group National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) in August this year. Government’s interlocutor for Naga peace talks RN Ravi and NSCN chairman Isak Chishi Swu and general secretary Th Muivah signed the peace deal in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
· PM Narendra Modi’s foreign visits
Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled to a number of continents and countries during the year. Among them, notably United States, United Kingdom, France, Singapore, Germany, Canada, China, Russia, UAE and Ireland.
April : During his Germany visit in April, PM Narendra Modi projected the Make in India lion as a “symbol of new India” and a “national movement” and told the audience at the Hannover Messe – the world’s biggest trade fair – that his government has moved “with speed, resolve and boldness” to create a stable economic environment, including by opening up FDI in insurance, defense and railways, building a stable tax regime and assured protection of Intellectual Property.
April : During Modi’s highly-successful Canada visit in April, a new chapter was added to Indo-Canada ties when the latter agreed to supply uranium to power India’s civilian nuclear programme for five years.
May : During PM Modi’s visit to China in May, India and China agreed to seek a “political” solution to the border dispute at the earliest. During the visit, PM Modi also announced CBMs like e-visa for Chinese tourists and operationalisation of hotline between the two militaries.
July : Modi also met Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of BRICS Summit in July in Ufa.
September : PM Modi visited Ireland briefly in September – the first visit to the country by an Indian leader in 59 years.
September : Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled to the United States where he addressed the Leaders` Summit on Peacekeeping hosted by US President Barack Obama in New York. He also held bilateral talks with President Obama and discussed several issues, including stepping up economic engagement and climate change, during their third meeting in about a year. Modi also travelled to the Silicon Valley and met top IT CEOs of the region. He also addressed Indian-Americans at the SAP Centre in San Jose.
November : Modi travelled to the United Kingdom and wowed everyone with his presence. He also repeated a ‘Madison Square Garden’ at Wembley by addressing the expatriate population there.
December : Modi’s sudden visit to Pakistan shook the Indian politics and its critics got another chance to question Modi.
AAP, Cong demand Jaitley’s Resignation on DDCA Scam Issue, DDCA President gives Clean Chit
CBI’s raid in Delhi CM’s Principal Secretary Rajender Kumar’s office has not only left Arvind Kejriwal fuming but also united Aam Aadmi Party and Congress in seeking Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s resignation over alleged financial scam in Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA). Jaitley said that he is unable to respond to the charges because of the unavailability of any specific charge against him. He called the allegations vague and baseless. When inquired by media, working President of DDCA, Chetan Chauhan, said that the allegations of “gross financial irregularities” against Jaitley are “absolute rubbish”. Chauhan thanked the Finance Minister for helping build a state-of-the-art stadium like Feroz Shah Kotla.
· Breakthrough in Islamabad: India, Pakistan to started a Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue
Taking a major step forward in improving frosty bilateral ties, India and Pakistan, this December, decided to resume high-level bilateral talks and announced that the same would now be called ‘Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue’. Prime Minister Narendra Modi met his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif in Paris on the sidelines of a climate summit.
A Joint Statement issued afterwards said Pakistan has assured India of “steps being taken to expedite the early conclusion” of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks trial.
~ Top Ten Political Events of 2015 ~
