Abhishek Banerjee to skip MEA meet; TMC slams Centre for refusing special session
Abhishek Banerjee to skip MEA meet; TMC slams Centre for refusing special session
NEW DELHI/KOLKATA: Trinamool national general secretary
Abhishek Banerjee
said he will not be attending the external affairs ministry meeting scheduled on Thursday and will instead write to EAM Jaishankar his take on the outcome of the delegation's trip.
"We toured five countries in the past 15 days. On Thursday, the EAM will convene a meeting. But I will not be able to attend that. I have some pre-scheduled engagements. I was out of the country for some time. In the meantime, the bye-election for Kaliganj was announced. I have some work in my parliamentary area. I will be busy with that the next few days. I will inform the external affairs ministry about my opinion in writing.
Once I inform the ministry, I will speak on that matter," Banerjee told reporters.
This came on a day Trinamool MP Derek O'Brien lashed out at the Centre for "running away" from holding a special session of Parliament on
Operation Sindoor
. O'Brien made the remarks after it was announced that the monsoon session of Parliament would be held from July 21 to Aug 12.
"All important matters" can be discussed in the session, Union minister
Kiren Rijiju
said, adding that every Parliament session was a "special session".
"Parliamentophobia (noun) - My word for the acute condition of a (Modi) govt who have a morbid fear of facing Parliament. Running away from a special session," O'Brien said in a post on X.
Speaking to reporters later, he said, "TMC studied the past announcements and usually the session is announced around 19 days ahead of the date of commencement. This time they announced it 47 days ahead. So scared!"
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India.com
43 minutes ago
- India.com
Pak Generals Want Conflict To Remain Relevant: Ravi Shankar In Germany
BJP MP and leader of the all-party delegation Ravi Shankar Prasad on Saturday launched a scathing attack on Pakistan's military establishment for supporting terrorism, saying that its Generals want conflicts to remain relevant and use terrorists as a tool to destabilise India. Addressing a community event with the Indian diaspora in Berlin, Prasad pointed out that while both India and Pakistan were born on the same day, the former has made remarkable progress in IT and space, in contrast to Islamabad. "India and Pakistan were born the same day. Where are we in India, and where are they (Pakistan)? India has become a major global IT power in the world. India has become an emerging space power in the world. The startup movements here are now globally recognised. India has also become the second biggest mobile phone manufacturer in the world. We have brought digital transformation with equity and justice," ANI quoted Prasad as saying. Prasad claimed that Pakistan only knows how to prepare world-class terrorists under its military leadership. He said that wherever there is a terrorist, he is either a Pakistani or trained in Pakistan. "What Pakistan is doing is creating terror machines. How to create world-class terrorists under their (military) Generals. They attacked us four times and lost every time. We never attacked; they were the ones who always started the war. It is because they are under the control of Generals and not political leaders. Generals want conflict to keep themselves relevant, and terrorists are the instruments through which they execute. Wherever there is a terrorist, either he is a Pakistani or trained in Pakistan," he added. Prasad also spoke about the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and India's decisive response through Operation Sindoor on May 7, noting that Operation Sindoor remains paused but ready to resume based on Pakistan's actions. "Pahalgam attack happened on April 22. We attacked on May 7 and hit the terrorist camps. If Pakistan has to talk, it must directly speak to us. Our message was stern and straight: If you stop, we stop. If you fire, we will give a stronger reply. Operation Sindoor is on pause, subject to the good behaviour of Pakistan. It has not ended," he stated. An all-party delegation, led by Ravi Shankar Prasad, is currently visiting Germany as part of the Indian government's initiative to engage with key partner nations, including members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to convey India's resolute and united stand against terrorism. This initiative follows the tragic April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, where 26 innocent civilians lost their lives to gunfire from terrorists. The Delegation includes BJP MPs Daggubati Purandeswari and Samik Bhattacharya, Congress MP Amar Singh and Gulam Ali Khatana, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, AIADMK MP M Thambidurai, former Union Minister MJ Akbar and former diplomat Pankaj Saran. The delegation arrived in Germany after concluding their visit to Belgium to convey India's resolute and united stand against terrorism.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Pakistan Generals want conflict, terrorists are their tools: Ravi Shankar Prasad in Berlin
Ravi Shankar Prasad criticised Pakistan's military for using terrorists against India. He highlighted India's IT and digital progress under Narendra Modi. Prasad contrasted this with Pakistan's failures and military control. He mentioned India's response to the Pahalgam attack. The delegation conveyed India's united stance against terrorism in Germany after visiting Belgium. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads BJP MP and leader of the all-party delegation Ravi Shankar Prasad on Saturday sharply criticised Pakistan's military establishment, asserting that its Generals orchestrate conflicts to remain relevant, using terrorists as tools to destabilise a community event with the Indian diaspora in Berlin, Prasad highlighted India's remarkable progress in IT, space, and digital transformation under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, contrasting it with Pakistan's repeated failures in wars while referring to the repeated incidents of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism and the military's dominant role in the country's politics."India and Pakistan were born the same day. Where are we in India, and where are they (Pakistan)? India has become a major global IT power in the world. India has become an emerging space power in the world. The startup movements here are now globally recognised. India has also become the second biggest mobile phone manufacturer in the world. We have brought digital transformation with equity and justice," Prasad said."What Pakistan is doing is creating terror machines. How to create world-class terrorists under their (military) Generals. They attacked us four times and lost every time. We never attacked; they were the ones who always started the war. It is because they are under the control of Generals and not political leaders. Generals want conflict to keep themselves relevant, and terrorists are the instruments through which they execute. Wherever there is a terrorist, either he is a Pakistor trained in Pakistan," he emphasised India's economic achievements, including a 51 per cent share of global digital payments and its status as the second-largest mobile manufacturer, attributing this to PM Modi's 2014 vision of "IT+IT=IT" (Information Technology + India's Talent = India Tomorrow)."Prime Minister Narendra Modi used to say in 2014 that if he became the PM, he would make an India where IT+IT=IT, which means Information Technology + India's Talent = India Tomorrow. Digital payment in India is at 51 per cent of the world," the BJP MP also spoke about the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and India's decisive response through Operation Sindoor on May 7, noting that Operation Sindoor remains paused but ready to resume based on Pakistan's actions."Pahalgam attack happened on April 22. We attacked on May 7 and hit the terrorist camps. If Pakistan has to talk, it must directly speak to us. Our message was stern and straight: If you stop, we stop. If you fire, we will give a stronger reply. Operation Sindoor is on pause, subject to the good behaviour of Pakistan. It has not ended," he delegation, led by Ravi Shankar Prasad, includes BJP MPs Daggubati Purandeswari and Samik Bhattacharya, Congress MP Amar Singh and Gulam Ali Khatana, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, AIADMK MP M Thambidurai, former Union Minister MJ Akbar and former diplomat Pankaj delegation arrived in Germany after concluding their visit to Belgium to convey India's resolute and united stand against terrorism.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Ongoing plot to add voters in states going to polls: TMC's Kunal Ghosh supports Rahul Gandhi's claims
Following Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's allegations that Maharashtra assembly election held in November 2024 was "rigged" and the same will be repeated in Bihar, TMC leader Kunal Ghosh claimed that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had caught the rigging in West Bengal and there is an ongoing plot to add voters from other states to the state going to polls. Kunal Ghosh said, "The voter list had several irregularities. Mamata ji caught this in Bengal. Voters of other states were added to Bengal's voter list. When this happened in Maharashtra, at the time of election, it was the responsibility of the Opposition there to catch this. But they could not identify it at that time. This happened in Delhi. But in Bengal, Mamata Banerjee and TMC identified this, and we protested. We told the Election Commission about this. This was a plot. We had been making these allegations for much longer. Mamata ji was the first in the country to protest against this. There is an ongoing plot to add voters from other states to this one." He further said that the TMC party is scrutinising voters' list on booth level by visiting every houses. "The survey is going on. Following the process of the Election Commission, whatever is required to check the voters' list legally, we are doing it," he added. Earlier, Rahul Gandhi alleged that the Maharashtra assembly election held in November 2024 was "rigged", and claimed that the same will be repeated in Bihar assembly polls due later this year. Live Events In a post on X, Gandhi shared his article published in a newspaper, explaining the "rigging" in the Maharashtra assembly polls." Maharashtra assembly elections in 2024 were a blueprint for rigging democracy. My article shows how this happened, step by step," Gandhi said on X. The former Congress President explained a five-point process. He said that step one includes rigging the panel that appoints the Election Commission, followed by adding fake voters to the electoral roll. He further claimed that the next steps include inflating the voter turnout, targeting the bogus voting exactly where the BJP needs to win and hiding the evidence. "Step 1: Rig the panel for appointing the Election Commission; Step 2: Add fake voters to the roll; Step 3: Inflate voter turnout; Step 4: Target the bogus voting exactly where the BJP needs to win; Step 5: Hide the evidence," Gandhi said. He further labelled rigging as "match-fixing", saying that the side cheats might win the game but damage institutions and destroy public faith in the result. "It's not hard to see why the BJP was so desperate in Maharashtra. But rigging is like match-fixing, the side that cheats might win the game, but will damage institutions and destroy public faith in the result. All concerned Indians must see the evidence. Judge for themselves. Demand answers," the Rae Bareli MP said. Gandhi warned that the "match-fixing" of Maharashtra would come to Bihar next, where the polls are due later this year, and then "anywhere" the BJP was losing elections. "Match-fixed elections are a poison for any democracy," he added.
