Opposition welcomes India-Pak ceasefire, but questions US making 'unprecedented announcement'
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NDTV
5 minutes ago
- NDTV
"Tired Today, Retired Tomorrow": Opposition's Jab At PM Over RSS Praise
New Delhi: The opposition has reacted with 'retirement benefits' jibes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi 's praise of the RSS - the ruling BJP' ideological mentor - in his Independence Day speech Friday. The Prime Minister's reference and praise infuriated the Congress, which pointed out the RSS, or Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, had refused to hoist the national flag for the 52 years. The party also declared Mr Modi's RSS remarks 'overtures' to an organisation seen as controlling the ruling party and playing a key role in appointments to senior posts in the government, including PM. "The PM was tired today. Soon, he will be retired," Congress comms chief Jairam Ramesh said on X, and criticised the Prime Minister's speech as "stale, hypocritical, insipid". "It is nothing but a desperate attempt to appease the organisation in the run-up to his 75th birthday next month," he said, referring to RSS boss Mohan Bhagwat's remarks - that veteran leaders should step back when they turn 75 and give the younger generation a chance. Many took that remark to be aimed at Mr Modi, who will turn 75 in September. लाल किले की प्राचीर से आज प्रधानमंत्री का भाषण बासी, पाखंडी, नीरस और चिंताजनक था। विकसित भारत, आत्मनिर्भर भारत और "सबका साथ, सबका विकास" जैसे वही दोहराए गए नारे साल-दर-साल सुने जा रहे हैं, लेकिन इनका कोई ठोस नतीजा नहीं निकला है। 'मेड-इन-इंडिया' सेमीकंडक्टर चिप का वादा अनगिनत बार… — Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) August 15, 2025 The BJP has said no such rule exists; in March Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis pointed out one member of the union cabinet is over 'limit' - 80-year-old Bihar leader Jitan Ram Manjhi, who is the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Minister. Others, including Mr Modi are within a year or two. Buzz about Mr Modi's 'future' - flagged by AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal last year - broke after the PM's March visit to Nagpur, which is where the RSS headquarters is located. That was Mr Modi's first visit since becoming Prime Minister. Meanwhile, Mr Ramesh also claimed the PM's I-Day speech lacked "any honest mention of the country's deep economic distress, unemployment crisis, and rapidly growing economic inequality". The Congress' Salman Khurshid also hit out over the RSS remark. "There are two views about the RSS. One is our view... and the other is that of PM Modi and his allies. There is a huge difference between the two... so I believe we should not touch that issue on such an auspicious day (i.e., Independence Day) ..." he said. "They didn't hoist the flag for 52 years. They didn't contribute to the freedom movement. They opposed Mahatma Gandhi's Quit India Movement. They urged people to join the British Army to fight the Azad Hind Fauj. So, they had no contribution to the freedom movement..." Mr Modi's praise of the RSS was also vigorously condemned by AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, who accused the Prime Minister of dishonouring the freedom struggle and politicising the day. "The ideology of Hindutva believes in exclusion and is antithetical to the values of our Constitution. Modi could have gone to Nagpur to praise the RSS as a ' swayamsevak ', or worker. Why did he have to do it from the Red Fort as the Prime Minister?" he asked on X. Glorifying the RSS in an Independence Day speech is an insult to the freedom struggle. The RSS and its ideological allies served as British foot soldiers. They never joined the fight for independence and hated Gandhi more than they ever opposed the British. Happy… — Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) August 15, 2025 The CPI(M) also hit out. Party General Secretary MA Baby said, "It is deeply regrettable that PM Modi, in his Independence Day address from the Red Fort, chose to praise the RSS - an organisation with a dubious historical record and an organisation that had no role whatsoever in freedom struggles... consistently sought to undermine national unity along religious lines..." Mr Modi had called the RSS 'the world's biggest non-governmental organisation' in his 103-minute I-Day address. That was his first ever reference to the RSS in any formal Independence Day talk. The RSS marks its 100th anniversary this year. "Today I want to mention one thing with great pride. 100 years ago an organisation was born - the RSS. Its 100 years of national service has been a very proud and glorious page (in India's history)," Mr Modi, who has been an RSS pracharak, or worker, in the past, declared. "For the past 100 years, RSS workers have dedicated their lives to fulfil the resolve of 'vyakti nirman' (character development) and 'rashtra nirman' (nation-building) ..." he declared.
The Hindu
5 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Sonia Gandhi has been India's daughter-in-law for 59 years, how long would BJP leaders continue malicious attacks? asks Jagga Reddy
Senior Congress leader and three-time MLA, T. Jagga Reddy, reminded the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders that Sonia Gandhi had become a daughter-in-law of this country 59 years ago, and wondered how many years the BJP leaders would continue malicious attacks on her. Speaking to reporters in Hyderabad on Friday (August 15, 2025), he accused the BJP of deliberately slinging mud at the Gandhi family, ignoring the sacrifices they made. 'BJP leaders have no role in the freedom movement, yet they criticise a family that was a key player in leading the freedom struggle. If you ask the parents of PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, even they would acknowledge the greatness of the Gandhi family,' Mr. Reddy said. He ridiculed the BJP leaders for questioning the Gandhi family's heritage and spreading falsehood. 'Rahul Gandhi belongs to a Kashmiri Brahmin family and Sonia Gandhi has been accepted by the people of India as one of their own 59 years ago' he said. 'Sonia Gandhi respects the traditions of this country. After Rajiv Gandhi's assassination, she lived a reclusive life for seven years and only entered politics when the people wanted her to. She did not take up the Prime Minister position despite huge support and that is sacrifice, which the BJP would never understand,' he said. Even Rahul Gandhi also declined the [Prime Minister] post and instead supported Dr. Manmohan Singh. 'Tell me, would BJP leaders ever make such sacrifices?' he asked. Alleging that 'vote theft' was a reality and the BJP had been committing irregularities in the electoral rolls, he charged, 'Houses where only two people live show over a hundred voters. The Election Commission has become a puppet in the BJP's hands.' He dismissed the BJP's current leadership as lacking the values of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L.K. Advani.
Time of India
5 minutes ago
- Time of India
Trump could soon challenge Congress with rare funding cancellation
Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads UNPRECEDENTED SCOPE END-OF-YEAR WITHHOLDING? The Trump administration's tug-of-war with Congress this year over spending delays of approved federal money could intensify as soon as this week, as the White House weighs a rare maneuver to permanently withhold some federal funding The tactic -- called a pocket rescission -- has been criticized by a handful of Republican senators as it would essentially cancel congressionally authorized funding without a vote from lawmakers. The funding in question is due to expire at the end of the fiscal year on September administration could indicate as soon as Friday what it plans to do with the remaining money that has not yet been made available to grantees. The White House Budget Office did not respond to a request for is unclear whether Congress will object. The U.S. Constitution grants Congress control over spending, but Republicans who control both the House of Representatives and the Senate have broadly supported the administration's unilateral freezes of foreign aid and domestic spending so little Republican objection, several funding programs have been delayed for Government Accountability Office , Congress' independent watchdog agency, ruled this summer that $100 million in federal library funding -- meant to expand services on top of local dollars -- was unlawfully "impounded" and held up by the administration since for a Montana children's paleontology education program has remained frozen, as well as copyright and AI research, and librarian training assistance started by former Republican first lady Laura Bush, in Louisiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina and Pennsylvania, according to it wanted, Congress could consider the funding cuts in committee hearings and vote on the provision. Republican senators Susan Collins from Maine and Lisa Murkowski from Alaska have objected, but other Republican lawmakers have not spoken out."As a Republican myself, I would love to hear more from my team on this," said Sam Helmick, president of the American Library Association Republicans on occasion have pushed the administration to release other frozen funding. Ten of the Senate's 53 Republicans successfully urged White House budget director Russ Vought in July to release $6 billion in education funds, while 14 Republicans pushed to release National Institutes of Health research funding."We need our Republican colleagues to join us in insisting that all blocked funding gets out -- not just the programs most important to them," Senator Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Appropriations committee, said last other Republicans have encouraged the administration's funding delays."I want to spend less, not more," Senator Jim Banks, an Indiana Republican, say the administration has withheld more than $420 billion in funding that was passed on a bipartisan basis in a stopgap funding bill and signed into law by Trump in University law professor Matthew Lawrence said the delays are unprecedented in modern times and make the government less accountable to its citizens."You know your representative to call and voice your concerns on spending," he said. "But if the power is President Trump's ... I don't know how to do that, nor do my neighbors." Top Republicans have often sidestepped the funding power fight and said the federal courts -- where there have been more than 60 spending-related cases -- will decide the legality of these who oversees spending as the top Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, says the best way to assert congressional power is to pass funding bills for the upcoming fiscal some Democrats say that is pointless if the Trump administration will not honor them."The budget isn't worth the paper that we write it on if they're just going to refuse to spend on things that matter to Democrats," Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut told the White House budget director, has said these freezes are for "programmatic review," a technical term that allows administration to pause and analyze the GAO rulings said the delays are not "permissible."Four other program funds have been ruled as unlawfully impounded by the GAO, and it is investigating 40 other programs facing delays. Vought told reporters in June that the pocket tactic does not require approval from Congress -- a change from the administration's prior approach, when it sought and won approval in July to cancel $9 billion for foreign aid and public Murkowski and Republican Senator Mike Rounds of South Dakota have said they oppose a pocket rescission, but others have said they do not object."We support rescissions in whatever form they could come to us," House Speaker Mike Johnson said in July.
