Lok Sabha expresses resolve for zero tolerance against terrorism
(You can now subscribe to our
(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel
The Lok Sabha on Monday expressed its resolve for zero tolerance against terrorism and mourned the deaths of 26 people in the Pahalgam terror attack Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla also expressed grief over the deaths of 260 people in the June 12 Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad."Twenty-six innocent persons were brutally killed in the terror attack at Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir on April 22, 2025. This act of terror was an attack on the consciousness of the nation and also the entire world," Birla said as the Lok Sabha convened for the Monsoon session beginning Monday."This House expresses deep grief over the deaths in this attack and reiterates India's resolve of zero tolerance against terrorism," he said.Birla said 260 people, including 241 passengers and 19 others, died in the Air India crash."Former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani also died in this accident," Birla said."This House expresses its heartfelt sympathies to the families of the victims of this accident," he added.The Lok Sabha also expressed grief over the deaths due to natural disasters such as heavy rains, floods, and landslides in different parts of the country.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
3 minutes ago
- The Hindu
PM Modi not able to say 'Trump is lying' as U.S. President will lay bare truth: Rahul Gandhi
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday (July 30, 2025) said Prime Minister Narendra Modi cannot state that U.S. President Donald Trump is lying about his role in bringing about a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, as if he does so, the American leader will lay bare the truth. Follow the Parliament Monsoon session Day 8 LIVE updates Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said Prime Minister Modi should state clearly in Parliament that the U.S. President is lying. The remarks by the Gandhi siblings came after Mr. Trump repeated his claim about playing a role in bringing about a ceasefire between India and Pakistan. Asked about Mr. Trump's latest remarks repeating his claims and that India is preparing to face higher U.S. tariffs between 20 and 25%, Mr. Gandhi said, "It is obvious, the Prime Minister has not said that Trump is lying. It is obvious what has happened. Everyone knows, he is not able to say it. That is the reality." "If the Prime Minister says it, then he (Trump) will say openly and will lay bear the truth, so that is why the PM is not able to say anything," the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said. Mr. Gandhi said Mr. Trump is making the remarks to put pressure on the Indian government for the trade deal. "Now, you see what kind of trade deal happens," he told reporters in the Parliament House complex. Asked about Mr. Trump repeating his claims, Priyanka Gandhi said, "If you hear the words used by the prime minister and the external affairs minister carefully, they are vague. They should say it directly. Rahul ji said yesterday also, he (Modi) should say that the US president is lying. He should say it in Parliament." Earlier, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the PM doesn't have the guts to tell Mr. Trump that he is lying and that "daal mein kuch kala hai (there is something fishy)". "Our policy has been that we have never accepted any sort of mediation by a third party in negotiations, and it is unacceptable to us even today. Why did they agree? What were the reasons? They should tell the country," Mr. Kharge told reporters in the Parliament House complex. "He (Modi) did not even take Trump's name even once in his two-hour speech. He should have condemned Trump's remarks and said that he is trying to distort the image of the country," Mr. Kharge said. In a no-holds-barred attack in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi had dared Prime Minister Modi to categorically rebut US President Trump's India-Pakistan ceasefire claims. "If Modi ji has even 50 per cent of the courage that Indira Gandhi had, then clearly he must say in Parliament -- Donald Trump is lying," he had said. Mr. Modi, who spoke after Mr. Gandhi, affirmed that no leader of any country asked India to stop Operation Sindoor but lamented that while the nation got support from the entire world, the Congress and its allies could not stand behind the valour of the nation's soldiers. Speaking with reporters after the debate ended, Mr. Gandhi said, "Narendra Modi did not clearly say that Trump is lying. Trump has said 29 times that he brought about a ceasefire, but Narendra Modi did not respond to it." Since May 10, when Mr. Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a full and immediate ceasefire after a long night of talks mediated by Washington, he has repeated his claim on several occasions that he helped settle the tensions between India and Pakistan. However, India has been consistently maintaining that the understanding on cessation of hostilities with Pakistan was reached following direct talks between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of the two militaries. In a nearly 35-minute phone call with Mr. Trump last month, PM Modi had firmly stated that India does not and will "never accept" mediation and that the discussions between Indian and Pakistani militaries on cessation of military actions were initiated at Islamabad's request. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians. India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.
The Hindu
3 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Space-based inputs supporting govt's flagship initiatives: Minister Jitendra Singh tells Lok Sabha
Space-based inputs are being used to support the government's several flagship initiatives, including Digital India, Smart Cities Mission and forecasting agricultural output, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday (July 30, 2025). Parliament Monsoon session Day 8 LIVE: 'No calls between President Trump and PM during Operation Sindoor' says Jaishankar Mr. Singh said the Bhuvan Geoportal and database of Aadhaar enrolment centres, use of space technology for a geocoded postal address system, and rooftop photo voltaic (PV) potential assessment for 60 solar cities and smart cities have been done to support the Digital India and Smart Cities Mission. "Space-based inputs are being used in support of several flagship initiatives of the government, including Digital India, Smart Cities Mission, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), Forecasting Agricultural Output using Space, Agrometeorology and Land-based Observation (FASAL) (crop acreage assessment and production forecast)," he said during the Question Hour. CHAMAN (Coordinated Horticulture Assessment and Management using Geo-informatics) for horticulture management, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), PMKSY-WDC (Prime Minister Krishi Sinchayi Yojana (Watershed Development Component), PMGSY, PMFBY, PMAY-HFA, and PM GatiShakti are another area where space-based inputs are being used, he added. Mr. Singh, the Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office, highlighted that high-resolution satellite data is used for generating an urban geospatial database of AMRUT Cities. He said that under the FASAL programme, remote sensing data is used for generating crop acreage and forecasting crop production estimations for 11 crops. Under the CHAMAN programme, horticulture acreage and production estimation are done for seven horticulture crops, in addition to management plans for area expansion and post-harvest infrastructure. Mr. Singh said that for the MGNREGA programme, geospatial technology is enabled for monitoring the creation of assets and activities, as well as for planning new assets and activities. Under the PMKSY-WDC programme, geospatial technology is developed for monitoring the implementation of watershed development interventions and monitoring the impact of the interventions, he said. "Geoportal and very high-resolution satellite data are utilised for monitoring the development of rural roads under the PMGSY programme. Satellite data is being utilised for optimising the crop cutting experiments, monitoring crop damage, as well as for developing crop yield proxies to facilitate faster claim settlement for farmers, under the PMFBY programme," he said. The Minister said the Department of Space (DoS) has proposed to establish a 'Global Space Institute' (GSpI) to impart holistic, comprehensive, and multidisciplinary education in several aspects of space technologies, policies, and space exploration. The GSpI, a dedicated global institute, would help to promote the space economy by guiding the incubation of start-ups, space entrepreneurship, space commercialisation and also on possible avenues for private investment into the space sector. The institute is expected to actively partner with leading academic institutions, industries, and government agencies, both nationally and internationally, facilitating the advancement of space technology education and creating a network of shared knowledge and resources, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
3 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Cong seeks govt's help for release of Catholic nuns jailed in Chhattisgarh
Congress members from Kerala in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday demanded government intervention for release of two Catholic nuns jailed for alleged human trafficking and forced religious conversion in Chhattisgarh. Nuns Preethi Merry and Vandana Francis along with Sukaman Mandavi were arrested at the Durg railway station in the BJP-ruled Chhattisgarh on July 25 following a complaint by a local Bajrang Dal functionary, who accused them of forcibly converting three girls from Narayanpur and trafficking them. Raising the matter during Zero Hour, Congress members K C Venugopal and K Suresh said the incident is "deeply disturbing and shocking" as the nuns are innocent and were doing social work by providing palliative care for cancer patients. Venugopal said the nuns were manhandled and "falsely accused" of religious conversion and human trafficking by Bajrang Dal members. The two nuns were stopped at the Durg railway station while they were travelling to Agra. "These two nuns are in jail without any reason for the last five days. What a cruelty this is. Is the country a banana republic ?... We wrote to the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh and Home Minister of India seeking release of the nuns. But the chief minister is repeating the same version of Bajrang Dal. What a shame," Venugopal said. "This is a high time to act upon. If the government is not acting, the situation will go out of control. The situation in Kerala is also burning, everywhere agitation is happening... The government has to intervene, we need a clear answer and they have to release (the nuns) immediately," Venugopal said. Suresh too raised the issue of the arrest of two nuns and demanded central government intervention. He said the nuns are innocent and were doing social work. Soon after the issue was raised in the Zero Hour, Congress members entered the well demanding release of the nuns. Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra stood in their seats protesting against the arrest of the nuns. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
