logo
News Menu, May 19: Parliament panel briefing on Op Sindoor, India-US trade deal

News Menu, May 19: Parliament panel briefing on Op Sindoor, India-US trade deal

India Today19-05-2025

Good morning, on May 19, 1910, Nathuram Godse was born. A divisive figure, his Beretta fired three bullets that scarred India's soul. We will talk about a forgotten chapter of his life that deals with the Mahatma he murdered. But first the news menu of India Today.Breakfast: Misri's Sindoor BriefingForeign Secretary Vikram Misri to brief Shashi Tharoor's parliamentary panel on Monday on India-Pakistan tensions, detailing India's strikes on Pak terror sites in Operation Sindoor. Tharoor's appointment as head of the panel has already caused a lot of heartburn.advertisement
With Congress' Jairam Ramesh urging delegation members to follow conscience, and Sanjay Raut calling it a 'baraat' to boycott, politics is turning acidic. Calm down guys, spit the venom and have cold milk.The Spread: Global Blitz, Cong splitSeven delegations, 33 nations, India's diplomatic outreach on 'Operation Sindoor' ready to launch like a swamp of drones. Teams to visit key partner nations, including UNSC member states, starting next week.Congress asks leaders picked by the government to listen to their conscience. We will not boycott this delegation, will not politicise it, says Congress leader Jairam Ramesh. That's like being sandwiched between deshbhakti and politics.Namak-Mirchi: Such people are speaking the language of the Director General of Pak Army's PR wing, says BJP's Shehzad PoonawallaBone of Contention: High Court Sambhal VerdictadvertisementIndia Today tracks Allahabad High Court's likely judgment in a civil revision petition in the ongoing dispute between Jama Masjid and Harihar Mandir in Sambhal.With the mosque committee seeking a stay on trial court proceedings, this dish is simmering with tension, seasoned with communal stakes.Khichdi: Himanta-Gogoi SpatIndia Today covers Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma accusing Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi of visiting Pakistan on ISI's invite. Gogoi calls Himanta 'insane'; Congress alleges corruption cover-up. This one's layered with slander, served with regional spite.Blogger's Soup: Haryana Spy ScandalPolice reveal how Pak recruits influencers for spying. Haryana YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra was being developed as an 'asset' by Pakistani intelligence operatives, say cops. Probe underway into links with Odisha YouTuber. "Can't she call friends in Pak?" father defends Jyoti.Meanwhile, a UP man arrested on charges of spying for Pak, crossed the border to allegedly share info, arrested by UP Anti-Terror Squad from Moradabad on Saturday.Steaming Hot: Army's Sindoor FootageIndia Today highlights the Indian Army's second video release of Operation Sindoor's 'lava-like' planning, showing neutralised enemy missiles.Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Razaullah Nizamani Khalid was killed by unidentified gunmen in Sindh. Was behind three attacks in India. Who's cooking them across the border?advertisementBusiness Lunch: India-US Trade AgreementThe final phase of negotiations aims for conclusion by early July. The US President has proposed a trade agreement with India that would have no tariffs on a wide range of American products.Salty South: Stalin rallies non-BJP statesTamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin urges counterparts in eight states, including West Bengal, to oppose the Presidential reference to the Supreme Court on deadlines for the President and Governor over Bills and batted for a coordinated legal strategy.Bitter Bites: Three killed four in family clashAn old dispute flares up between two families in a slum area in Mumbai's Borivali, taking a devastating turn on Sunday. Three men killed, injuries to four others.4 children die of suffocation after being trapped in locked car.In a heart-wrenching tragedy, four children suffocate to death inside a locked car in Andhra Pradesh's Vijayanagaram on Sunday.Pilgrim's Prasad: Mansarovar Yatra from SikkimThe Kailash Mansarovar Yatra is set to resume via Nathula from June this year, marking the end of a five-year suspension caused by the Doklam standoff in 2017 and the COVID-19 pandemic.Cocktail: Trump to speak to Putin- ZelenskyyTrump will speak with Putin and Zelenskyy on Monday to discuss a possible end to the Ukraine war. The Kremlin says Putin could meet Zelenskiy if agreement is reached. The thought of truce itself is intoxicating.advertisementChakhna: Ashoka University faculty condemns Associate Professor's arrest, IMF imposes 11 new conditions on Pak, EAM Jaishankar embarks on 3-nation visit on Monday; Pak Foreign Minister Dar to visit China for talks with Chinese and Afghan counterparts; Supreme Court to hear Madhya Pradesh Minister's plea on his remarks on Colonel Qureshi; Bangladeshi actor who played Sheikh Hasina in Mujib biopic arrested in Dhaka.Birthday Cake: Godse's TragicomedyOn Nathuram Godse's birth anniversary, India Today revisits the tragicomic events of January 20, when the extremist and his gang failed to kill Mahatma Gandhi because of a bad omen.Parting Bite: The Carpenters sang, 'Rainy days and Mondays always get me down.' But Mahatma Gandhi argued, 'There is no good in living a life bereft of struggles, death is sweeter then.'Here's to another Monday—the beginning of another week of glorious struggle.Tune InMust Watch

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Mamata Banerjee's trusted aide, a lightning rod for controversies: Why Firhad Hakim is again receiving brickbats
Mamata Banerjee's trusted aide, a lightning rod for controversies: Why Firhad Hakim is again receiving brickbats

Indian Express

time25 minutes ago

  • Indian Express

Mamata Banerjee's trusted aide, a lightning rod for controversies: Why Firhad Hakim is again receiving brickbats

He is one of Mamata Banerjee's trusted leaders, but Firhad Hakim often leaves his leader and party in a spot of bother with his comments. Affectionately known as 'Bobby da' in the Trinamool Congress (TMC), Hakim, who triggered a row a few months ago by saying that Muslism would one day 'become a bigger majority than what the current majority population is', hasstirred the pot again with his comments targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi over Operation Sindoor. The four-time MLA sparked outrage on Saturday after he questioned the success of Operation and claimed that Modi had halted military action against Pakistan as he feared a 'big nation' would label him 'kapurush (coward)'. The BJP was quick to latch on to the remarks, with the party's state chief, Sukanta Majundar, saying that Hakim's criticism stemmed from 'an inability to digest such an operation', especially due to the lack of such actions during the UPA era. Hakim's political rise has been meteoric. Born in a family that traces its ancestry to Gaya in Bihar, the 66-year-old began his political career in the late 1990s as a councillor in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and, in 2021, became the first Muslim to occupy the post of Kolkata Mayor since Independence. He first entered the Assembly in 2009 after winning the Alipore bypoll. He then successfully contested the 2011 Assembly polls from Kolkata Port, a seat he has retained since then. His influence in the port area is so extensive that he is considered to have the final word there. After the exit of Mukul Roy in 2017 and the arrest of former Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee in 2022 in connection with the alleged teacher recruitment scam, Hakim is said to have solidified his position as one of Banerjee's trusted lieutenants. Since the TMC first came to power in 2011, he has been a part of her Cabinet and held important portfolios such as Urban Development and Municipal Affairs. He also serves as the Chairman of the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). Hakim is also known to organise one of Kolkata's most popular Durga Pujas, in his neighbourhood of Chetla, where Banerjee is a regular visitor. List of controversies Hakim's latest remarks are the latest in a long list of controversial comments that he has made in his two-decade political career, sometimes even leaving his own party red-faced. In 2016, Hakim, in an interview with Pakistani daily Dawn, referred to his constituency as 'mini-Pakistan'. However, he maintained that his comments were not accurately reported. The same year, Hakim's name popped up in the Narada sting operation after he was allegedly seen accepting bribes on video. The following year, the CBI questioned him in connection with the case and arrested him after the 2021 Assembly polls. The TMC leader received bail from the Calcutta High Court in the case in May 2021. In 2023, the CBI raided Hakim's house in connection with alleged irregularities in KMC recruitment, prompting him to accuse the BJP of 'using central agencies to harass him over his refusal to bow down before them'. Last November, Hakim was forced to apologise after he faced sharp criticism for his alleged derogatory remarks about the BJP's Haroa bypoll candidate Rekha Patra, an alleged sexual harassment victim from Sandeshkhali. The following month, he claimed that Muslims did not consider themselves a minority. 'We believe that with the blessings of the Almighty, one day we will become a bigger majority than what the current majority population is,' he said, reportedly even leaving Banerjee upset. The comment led to the TMC distancing itself from Hakim and saying that his remarks 'do not reflect the party's position or ideology'. Seen by many as an 'one-man army' in the port area, which comprises areas such as Khiderpore and Metiabruz, Hakim's propensity to get into controversies has failed to diminish his stature within the TMC as its powerful minority face and key strategist.

'Whole World Now Knows The Truth': Tharoor Wraps Up US Visit, Quips on Pakistan's Terror Links
'Whole World Now Knows The Truth': Tharoor Wraps Up US Visit, Quips on Pakistan's Terror Links

Time of India

time26 minutes ago

  • Time of India

'Whole World Now Knows The Truth': Tharoor Wraps Up US Visit, Quips on Pakistan's Terror Links

/ Jun 09, 2025, 03:31PM IST Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, leading a multi-party Indian parliamentary delegation, declared "The world knows the truth now" after concluding a high-level visit to the US to brief global powers on Operation Sindoor—India's response to the Pahalgam terror attack. Tharoor said the international community now understands the scale of Pakistan-backed terrorism and India's measured but firm retaliation. The delegation met US Vice President JD Vance and Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, who expressed outrage at the Pahalgam killings and praised India's restraint. Tharoor emphasized that India's moral clarity and strategic intent were acknowledged by key US stakeholders. Meetings with top US lawmakers, think tanks, media, and Indian-American leaders capped the visit. Tharoor paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi in Washington, reiterating India's commitment to peace—but not without strength.#shashitharoor #operationsindoor #pahalgamattack #worldknowsthetruth #indiausrelations #jdvance #christopherlandau #usbacksindia #indianusvisit #terrorfrompakistan #indiandiplomacy #mahatmagandhiwashington #globalsupportindia #strategicretaliation #indiafightsterror #toi #toibharat #bharat #breakingnews #indianews

EC must address Rahul Gandhi's doubts on Maharashtra polls, says Prashant Kishor
EC must address Rahul Gandhi's doubts on Maharashtra polls, says Prashant Kishor

Time of India

time26 minutes ago

  • Time of India

EC must address Rahul Gandhi's doubts on Maharashtra polls, says Prashant Kishor

Patna, Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor has said the Election Commission should come clean on doubts raised about the Maharashtra assembly polls by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi . The former poll strategist said that while he did not consider himself a "specialist" in these matters, the EC should respond to allegations made "in writing" by Gandhi, the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha . "The Congress is the main opposition party in the country. Rahul Gandhi is the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha. Hence, the EC should dispel any doubts that he has raised," Kishor told reporters. Also Read: Govt has stopped talking about present, now selling dreams of 2047: Rahul Gandhi The IPAC founder, who is on a tour of Bihar to galvanise public support for his Jan Suraaj Party ahead of the assembly polls, was responding to queries from journalists in Begusarai late Sunday evening. Live Events Notably, Gandhi had last week written an article in a national English daily wherein he had alleged that the assembly polls held in Maharashtra last year were not free and fair, a reason why these were swept by the NDA , months after the BJP-led coalition was drubbed in the Lok Sabha polls in the western state. The Election Commission, on its part, has come out with a point-by-point rebuttal. Kishor said, "Rahul Gandhi has not expressed his view not in a bite but in writing, through a newspaper article". However, Kishor had in the past worked with the Congress as an election consultant and had also toyed with the idea of formally joining that party prior to floating his own outfit. "As such, if doubts remain in people's minds about the fairness of the electoral process, it would not be good for a democracy. Hence, the EC must come forward and dispel all misgivings," he said.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store