Congress's Odisha Bandh today; government tightens security
With the Opposition activists preparing to enforce a complete shutdown across the state barring some emergency services like hospitals and medical services, markets and business establishments are likely to be affected.
Vehicular movement and public transport is also likely to be disrupted due to the road blockades, dharnas, and demonstrations planned by the Congress and other parties. President of All Odisha Private Bus Association Loknath Pani said buses will stop if obstructed by the agitators.
General secretary of All-India Petroleum Dealers' Association, Sanjay Lath, informed that over 3,000 fuel stations and three major depots in Odisha will remain closed from 6 am to 4 pm on July 17. 'The decision was taken as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of staff, property and customers during the protest,' he said.
Though the state government has not made any announcement regarding the closure of offices as well as schools, colleges and educational institutions, they will also be affected.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
12 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Conflict between India & Pakistan ‘was probably going to end up in nuclear war', claims Trump
US President Donald Trump, on Tuesday (July 22), yet again claimed credit for brokering a peace deal between India and Pakistan, stating that his mediation averted a potential 'nuclear war' between the two countries. He also alleged that five planes were shot down in the conflict. 'We stopped wars between India and Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda,' he said at a reception in the White House with the Congress members. 'They shot down five planes and it was back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. I called them and said, 'Listen, no more trade. If you do this, you're not going to be good…They're both powerful nuclear nations and that would have happened, and who knows where that would have ended up. And I stopped it',' he added. He further claimed that the United States obliterated Iran's nuclear facilities and stopped the conflict between Kosovo and Serbia. 'And a couple of others that we didn't stop a war, but we stopped what probably could have ended up in a war. We do that on the House as compliments of America. Okay, do you think (former US President Joe) Biden would do that? I don't think so. Do you think he ever heard of any of those countries? I don't think so,' the US president said. 'Five jets were shot down,' says Trump Trump, who has repeatedly claimed that the United States mediated and brokered a truce between India and Pakistan, for the first time on Friday said that 'five jets were shot down' during the conflict. However, he did not specify whether the jets were lost by either of the two countries or whether he was referring to combined losses. Speaking at the White House during a dinner he hosted for Republican senators on Friday, Trump said, 'You had India, Pakistan, that was going… in fact, planes were being shot out of the air…four or five. But I think five jets were shot down actually…that was getting worse and worse, wasn't it? That was looking like it was going to go…these are two serious nuclear countries, and they were hitting each other.' 'But India and Pakistan were going at it, and they were back and forth, and it was getting bigger and bigger. And we got it solved through trade. We said 'You guys want to make a trade deal. We're not making a trade deal if you're going to be throwing around weapons and maybe nuclear weapons. Both very powerful nuclear states,' Trump said. He said his administration achieved more in six months than almost any other could accomplish in eight years. 'Something I am very proud of, we stopped a lot of wars, a lot of wars. And these were serious wars,' Trump said. New Delhi has consistently maintained that the two sides halted their military actions following direct talks between their militaries without any mediation by the US. Since May 10, Trump has repeated his claim at least 20 times on various occasions that he 'helped settle' the tensions between India and Pakistan and that he told the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours that America will do a 'lot of trade' with them if they stopped the conflict. (With inputs from agencies)
Time of India
30 minutes ago
- Time of India
Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi takes jibe at PM Modi over US President's ceasefire claims
Congress leader and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his silence over repeated " ceasefire " claims made by US President Donald Trump . Suggesting that one can't hide from reality, he said that the entire world knows that Trump announced a "ceasefire" between India and Pakistan. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Design Thinking Degree Digital Marketing Artificial Intelligence MBA Finance CXO Others healthcare MCA Healthcare Cybersecurity Data Science Data Analytics Project Management Product Management Technology Data Science others Operations Management Public Policy Management Leadership PGDM Skills you'll gain: Duration: 25 Weeks IIM Kozhikode CERT-IIMK PCP DTIM Async India Starts on undefined Get Details "How can the Prime Minister give a statement? Kya bolenge PM, ki Trump ne karwaya hai? (What will he say? That Trump has announced it? He can't say it, but it is the truth. The entire world knows that Trump has announced a ceasefire. We can't hide from reality," Gandhi told reporters. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Join new Free to Play WWII MMO War Thunder War Thunder Play Now Undo "This is not only about a ceasefire. There are several major issues that we would like to discuss related to defence, defence manufacturing, and Operation Sindoor. The condition is not normal; the entire nation knows," he added. Intensifying his attack, Gandhi stated that the Prime Minister has not been able to provide a single response to Trump's claims about a ceasefire, which he has reiterated 25 times so far. Live Events "Those who call themselves 'deshbhakt' have run away. The Prime Minister is unable to give a single statement. Trump has claimed 25 times that he has announced a ceasefire. Who is he? This is not his work. However, the Prime Minister didn't respond once. This is reality. Can't hide from it," the Congress MP said. "They have destroyed our foreign policy. You can hardly count on your fingers the number of countries that have supported us. No one has supported us," Gandhi added. This comes after a recent statement made by Donald Trump, where he repeated his claims of "stopping the war between India and Pakistan" in the name of trade deals. "We have stopped wars between India and Pakistan. They were probably going to end up in a nuclear war. They shot down five planes in the last attack. It was back and forth, back and forth. I called them and I said no more trade if you do this. They are both powerful nuclear nations. Who knows where that would have ended up, and I stopped it," Trump said. Earlier in the day, Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh lambasted the Narendra Modi government over its refusal to rebut the claims made by US President Donald Trump of announcing a "ceasefire" between India and Pakistan. He said that the claims of a "ceasefire" made by Trump have reached their silver jubilee with the US president reiterating them 25 times in the last 73 days. The Congress leader attacked the centre for not providing a definite date for discussing the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor that followed. "As the Modi government continues in its refusal to give firm dates for a debate on Pahalgam-Sindoor in Parliament and as the Modi government persists in its refusal to commit to a reply by the PM in the debate, President Trump reaches the silver jubilee, the quarter century mark on his claims. He has trumpeted 25 times in the last 73 days, but the Prime Minister of India is totally quiet - finding time only to travel abroad and to destabilise democratic institutions at home," Ramesh, General Secretary incharge of Communications in Congress, posted on X.
Indian Express
43 minutes ago
- Indian Express
As EC begins process to pick new VP, Opp hopes to get act together, NDA sits pretty
While Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar's 'sudden' resignation may have given the Opposition some ammunition to allege that all is not well in the NDA camp, it now has a new challenge before it: devising a collective strategy for the election of the next Rajya Sabha chairman. The Vice President is elected by members of both Houses of Parliament. Nominated members of the Rajya Sabha are also eligible to cast their vote. The Election Commission on Wednesday said it has begun the process of holding the vice presidential election and has started constituting the electoral college comprising MPs of both Houses of Parliament. The poll panel said it is also finalising returning officers for the election. 'On completion of the preparatory activities, the announcement of the election schedule will follow as soon as possible,' the EC said. The Indian Express spoke to several Opposition parties on their move forward. While they said there will 'definitely' be a candidate when the election happens, they are waiting to see how the government responds to the situation. 'We are waiting for the ruling side to make the next move. Once they pick a candidate, we will also discuss what has to be done,' a CPI(M) MP said. INDIA bloc leaders said the Congress will play a 'big' role in the elections as they are the 'largest' Opposition party. However, a Samajwadi Party MP added: 'They will need to consult all parties, bring everyone on board. The coordination will have to be done by the Congress. Since the resignation was so sudden and unexpected, the process will have to start from scratch.' Congress sources said the party is ready for the 'challenge'. 'We have coordinated with our allies on several issues and brought INDIA bloc parties together on the Pahalgam attack and Bihar Special Intensive Revision (SIR). We will do the same for this,' said a Congress Rajya Sabha member. But this coordination will be hard to pull off. Over the last year, the INDIA bloc has seen parties taking a different line over issues, with several parties even questioning the Congress's credentials to lead the alliance after a string of losses in state Assembly elections. Big edge to NDA, but tighter fight Unlike the presidential election, the electoral college for the Vice President only includes members of both Houses of Parliament, and does not include state legislators. Currently, there is one vacancy in the Lok Sabha (Basirhat, West Bengal), and five vacancies in the Rajya Sabha. Of the five vacancies in the Rajya Sabha, four are from Jammu and Kashmir and one from Punjab. The total strength of the two Houses together is 787 and the winning candidate needs at least 394 votes to be elected, if all eligible voters cast their votes. As numbers stand, the BJP-led NDA has 422 MPs. In the 542-member Lok Sabha, the NDA enjoys the support of 293 members. In the Rajya Sabha where the effective strength is currently 245, the ruling alliance has the support of 129 MPs, counting the nominated members who are likely to vote for the NDA nominee. Still, the election for Dhankhar's successor will likely be a narrow one compared to the last two elections. In 2017, when the first vice-presidential election was held under the Narendra Modi government, the contest was between then Cabinet Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and Opposition nominee Gopal Krishna Gandhi. Naidu won the contest by 272 votes. In 2022, when Dhankhar was up against Opposition nominee Margret Alva, his victory margin was even larger, at 346 votes. The TMC had at the time abstained from polling, alleging that the Congress had not consulted it before announcing Alva's nomination.
