Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh once told then Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi in 2012, "I will commit suicide," expressing his deep anguish over ministers' "loose talk" criticising the Election Commission's functioning, a revelation made in Quraishi's upcoming book.
Iran has extended an invitation to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and other party leaders, including Salman Khurshid and Pawan Khera, to attend the burial ceremonies of its late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The ceremonies are scheduled from July 5 to 9 across various Iranian cities. India will also be represented by Minister of State for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita and Bihar Governor Ata Hasnain.
A high-level Indian delegation, including Bihar Governor Lt Gen (Retd) Syed Ata Hasnain and Minister of State for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita, paid tributes to the assassinated Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran, conveying India's condolences.
Congress leader Salman Khurshid, who is a part of India's diplomatic mission abroad, on Monday said it is 'distressing' that people back home are calculating political allegiances and asked if it is 'so difficult to be patriotic'.
Hindus will offer prayers from sunrise to sunset on Basant Panchami while Muslims to offer namaz from 1 pm to 3 pm on Friday.
The Supreme Court has refused to grant bail to activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy matter, citing a prima facie case against them under the UAPA. However, bail was granted to other activists in the same case.
The former Union finance minister warned that the INDIA bloc was fighting against a "formidable machinery", which must be fought on all fronts.
JD-U MP Sanjay Kumar Jha heads a diplomatic mission to Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan and Singapore, to seek international cooperation after the Pahalgam attack while highlighting Pakistan's role in cross-border terrorism.
The diplomatic exercise aimed at presenting India's stance against Pakistan on terror comes in the wake of Operation Sindoor -- the Indian offensive against terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed.
'The Congress submitted four names to the government as the people who should accompany the delegation.' 'I don't know what happened to those names.' 'When I was approached, I told them to speak to my party.' 'I have no further involvement with this delegation.'
Interacting with the Indian diaspora in Kuala Lumpur, Banerjee said, "We have been in talks with them (Pakistan) for decades, despite changes in various paradigms and governments. But one thing remains constant, the conflict with Pakistan."
'...by saying since you have come say everything against your party.'
In the wake of the recent hostilities, both sides have moved from weapons to words, with India dispatching several delegations to visit more than 30 capitals across the world. A similar effort by Pakistan is set to start on Jun 2.
Top military officials from India and Pakistan highlighted their views at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, billed as Asia's premier defence forum, amid heightened tensions between the two sides following last month's military confrontation.
The delegations led by Baijayant Panda, Ravi Shankar Prasad (both Bharatiya Janata Party), Sanjay Kumar Jha (Janata Dal-United), Shrikant Shinde (Shiv Sena), Shashi Tharoor (Congress), Kanimozhi (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) and Supriya Sule (Nationalist Congress Party-Sharad Pawar) will visit a total of 32 countries and the EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.
The Congress on Sunday said it was not stopping anyone from being part of diplomatic delegations to be sent to various countries following Operation Sindoor and that its leaders who have been named at the instance of the government must listen to their conscience and contribute to the exercise.
The highlight of Tuesday's debate on Operation Sindoor was the speech by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with the rebuttal by Congress's Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi coming a close second.
Khurshid's statement came after Rahul Gandhi was seen in T-shirt in the chilly Delhi winter.
Tharoor on Friday called Kharge, 80, a "candidate of continuity", an apparent reference to the impression in some quarters that the Karnataka leader is the choice of the Gandhis.
The opposition party, however, said the four eminent Congress MPs and leaders who have been included at the instance of the Modi government will, of course, go with the delegations and make their contributions.
"Everything may look normal in Kashmir. Everything may look normal here. We may be celebrating the victory, although of course some people believe that that victory or that success of 2024 was perhaps only marginal, perhaps a lot more needs to be done," he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said he was proud of the manner in which the multi-party delegations presented India's views in various countries on the need to eradicate the menace of terrorism following the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra launched a scathing attack on the government regarding the Pahalgam terror attack, questioning intelligence failures and demanding accountability.
Brushing aside the demand of political parties in Tamil Nadu for a total boycott, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid arrived in Colombo on Wednesday to attend the CHOGM this week saying India remains committed to the welfare of the ethnic Tamils of Sri Lanka and that "we have to remain engaged" in "enlightened national interest".
The opposition party's attack came after Shashi Tharoor, not part of the four leaders nominated by the Congress, was named as the head of a delegation to key partner countries to convey India's message of zero tolerance against terrorism following Operation Sindoor.
The Jammu and Kashmir assembly unanimously passed a resolution on Monday expressing shock and anguish over the terrorist attack in Pahalgam and resolved to fight resolutely to defeat the nefarious designs to disturb communal harmony and hinder progress.
"All you have to do is to put the picture of (UP Chief Minister) Yogi (Adityanath) in front of you and Priyanka Gandhi's picture and you won't need to ask any more questions," said Khurshid, who is the chief of the party's manifesto committee for the state.
Fifty-nine members of delegations visiting 33 world capitals, reaching millions of people, giving one message, in one language, in one voice -- is an unprecedented world movement, observes former BJP MP Tarun Vijay, former Chief Editor, Panchjanya, the RSS weekly.
India succeeded in busting the Pakistani narrative on Operation Sindoor, particularly among the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) member nations, where Islamabad sought succour after carrying out terror activities across the border, Shiv Sena leader Shrikant Shinde said.
Reddy alleged that contracts worth thousands of crores were awarded to people close to Modi, who then purchased Rafale aircraft.
Sharing pictures and videos on Facebook, Khurshid wrote, 'I hoped to open these doors to my friends who have left this calling card. Am I still wrong to say this cannot be Hinduism?'
We have seen such scenes from legislatures in South Korea and Europe for instance, but who would have wagered that we would witness such tumult in India, in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly, no less, which only convened for legislative business days ago.
Heavy Pakistani shelling in the border district of Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir left nine people dead and 28 injured. The shelling, described by residents and officials as "barbaric and cowardly", started around 2 am, damaging dozens of residential houses, shops, vehicles, and heritage sites. The incident comes after India launched "Operation Sindoor" in retaliation to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. India condemned the act, calling it a cowardly attack on civilians, and reaffirmed that civilian safety remains its top priority.
'How can a citizen of this country having been a Member of Parliament, and the other who has seen enough of Foreign Service takes no time in saying that what happened in the neighbourhood will happen in India'
Former Union Minister and Congress leader Salman Khurshid is facing legal issues with the release of his book, Sunrise over Ayodhya -- Nationhood in our times. Two Delhi lawyers have filed complaints with Delhi Police against Khurshid, for allegedly defaming and comparing Hinduism with terrorism in his book.
Multiple defamation suits are being planned to be filed against India Today Group by Law Minister Salman Khurshid and his friends in the country and abroad over allegations of financial bungling by an NGO run by his family.
Stating that war was not a solution to any problem, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid has said Army officers of both India and Pakistan will meet to discuss the issue of terrorism.
India is concerned about periodic provocative incursions by Chinese troops that have resulted in "eyeball-to-eyeball confrontations", but was hopeful that the border issues will eventually be settled.
Senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid on Sunday said it was too early to review the shortcomings of the Narendra Modi government and it should be given at least six months to a year's time to perform.
Congratulating Barack Obama on his re-election as United States President, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Thursday said India and the United States share excellent relations and will continue to move forward. Khurshid noted that both the countries had achieved "significant" accomplishments in the past one-decade and would like to move forward.
