Special session pitch unites INDIA bloc
This week, the Modi government announced the monsoon session of Parliament, scheduled from July 21 to August 12, rejecting the demand by more than 17 Opposition parties for a special Parliament session to discuss the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor. The INDIA bloc parties had written to the Prime Minister for the special session. Initially, the perception was only Congress MPs had sent the letter.
However, the party decided to rope in INDIA bloc partners at the insistence of the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi. The TMC, which always toes a different line from that of its constituents in the INDIA bloc, came on board after Gandhi personally reached out to TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee. Gandhi also made an extra effort to reach out to SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, DMK's TR Balu, and Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Aditya Thackeray.
Sources said the party went into overdrive, with general secretary KC Venugopal and deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi following up with the main opposition parties. Tamil Nadu MP Manickam Tagore coordinated with the DMK and others in the state, Kerala MP Suresh Kodikunnil contacted the Left and other parties.
Bihar MP Mohammad Jawed held talks with the AAP, but to no effect. NCP(SP) leader Supriya Sule maintains she could not sign the letter as she was on the multi-party delegation outreach; sources in the Congress debunk her claims. "Sharad Pawar could have signed it," says a leader who was part of the talks.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
33 minutes ago
- India Today
US reaffirms support to India in fight against terror after Op Sindoor outreach
The US reaffirmed its strong support for India's fight against terrorism and the bilateral strategic partnership during the visit of an Indian all-party parliamentary delegation last week, the State Department multi-party delegation led by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor met the US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau last week in Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce said at a press briefing on Tuesday that Landau reaffirmed the US' strong support of India in the fight against terrorism and the strategic partnership between the two The delegation visited the US as part of the government's global outreach efforts after Operation Sindoor. India launched the operation in retaliation to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 to a question, Bruce said that a Pakistani parliamentary delegation led by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari met officials of the State Department, including Under Secretary for Political Affairs Allison Hooker, during its visit to Washington last reiterated US support for the ongoing cessation of on-ground hostilities '– as you might imagine, thank God – between India and Pakistan', Bruce said, adding that they also discussed important issues about the US-Pakistan bilateral relationship, including counterterrorism cooperation. 'So that meeting occurred.'When asked if the US received any assurance from Pakistan that it will take action against terrorists, Bruce said she was not going to discuss the details of those response to a question about President Donald Trump offering to 'mediate' on the issue of Kashmir, Bruce said, 'Well, I – obviously, I can't speak to what's on my mind or the plans of the President. What I do know is that I think we all recognise that President Trump, in each step that he takes, is made to solve generational differences between countries, generational war."Bruce added that it should not "surprise" anyone that he would want to "manage" something like that.'So, while I can't speak to his plans, the world knows his nature, and I can't speak to any details of what he might have in that regard, but it is an exciting time if we can get to a point in that particular conflict." Bruce said, adding that it is a "very interesting time.'India has rejected any mediation related to the dispute on Jammu and Kashmir with Pakistan and maintains that Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are and will always remain an "integral" part of the InMust Watch
Time of India
35 minutes ago
- Time of India
ED searches: Will not not support any violation of law, says Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah
Chikkaballapura (Karnataka): Commenting on the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducting searches against a Congress MP and three MLAs, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said his government will not support any violation of the law, nor will come in the way of implementation of law. The ED conducted searches against Congress Ballari MP E Tukaram and three MLAs of the party as part of a money laundering investigation into the alleged Valmiki scam-linked money laundering case, official sources said. "What should I do? The ED has conducted raids. Let them do whatever they want in accordance with the law. We will not support any violation of law. We will not come in the way of the implementation of the law. We won't obstruct it," Siddaramaiah said in response to a question. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Moose Approaches Girl At Bus Stop In Punjab - Watch What Happens Happy in Shape Undo The ED said five premises in Ballari and three in Bengaluru city are being searched under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). These include houses belonging to Tukaram and MLAs Nara Bharath Reddy (Bellary city), J N Ganesh (Kampli) and N T Srinivas (Kudligi). The sources said the searches are being conducted in order to gather evidence on the allegation that funds siphoned off from the accounts of the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki ST Development Corporation (KMVSTDC) were used for election expenses -- to distribute cash to voters and Congress workers of the Ballari seat during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections .
The Print
39 minutes ago
- The Print
Victor Gao claims all land north of Ganga for China. People say he's a ‘diplomatic fighter'
Gao's comments reflect a broader Chinese narrative that selectively contests colonial-era agreements, particularly the Simla Accord of 1914. His views have found enthusiastic support online , with some seeing him as a ' diplomatic fighter '. They are also calling the 'Ganges River boundary' proposition as a 'Victor Gao Line', praising it as a masterstroke and a leap in strategic thinking . Others have labelled India's stance as a product of its ' inner demons ' and its belief in a 'fictional colonial border'. The India-China border issue has long shaped the contours of bilateral ties. Despite the deadly 2020 Galwan clash and limited disengagement since, core issues remain unresolved, largely because Beijing prefers ambiguity, keeping the dispute alive as a means of strategic leverage. Everything north of the Ganga River belongs to China.' This provocative claim by Victor Gao, vice president of the Center for China and Globalization, recently sparked a heated online debate in China. Gao's remarks are more than just rhetorical bravado; they signal a strategic tactic—using history and symbolism as a key argument in Chinese discourse to apply pressure in the border dispute. This line of thinking positions China's argument as a civilisational counterpoint: if India can uphold the colonial-era McMahon Line as sacrosanct, why shouldn't China invoke the Ganges—the 'Mother River'—as a more authentic civilisational boundary? On Chinese platforms, many argue that the McMahon Line was never legitimate to begin with. According to them, it was the result of collusion between British India and Tibetan representatives, which pushed the boundary northward and robbed China of over 90,000 square kilometres of 'ancestral territory'. Gao's rhetorical pivot is being celebrated online as a display of strategic finesse. 'India decries colonialism in principle but clings to colonial boundaries in practice. It preserves what is advantageous and discards the rest. That is a rogue double standard,' quipped a Baidu user. Far from being dismissed as fringe nationalism, Gao's claim aligns with a larger push to challenge Western norms and redraw borders on Chinese terms—both literal and conceptual. This narrative caters to domestic audiences while sending a broader geopolitical signal: postcolonial boundaries are not fixed, and China reserves the right to question them. Also read: Trump's anti-immigrant rhetoric is tearing LA apart—a city built by Mexican settlers in 1781 China's narrative arsenal Chinese strategic messaging does not stop at redrawing history. The strategic community within China frames India's stance as rooted in historical insecurity and inflated ambition. Hu Shisheng, director at the South Asia Institute of the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, portrays India as a power intoxicated by imagined grandeur. According to him, India sees itself as the 'heir to the British colonial legacy' and views China's rise as a direct challenge to its regional dominance. He argues that India suffers from 'three miscalculations': underestimating China's will to defend its sovereignty, overestimating support from the United States, and misjudging its own military capabilities. Liu Zongyi, senior fellow at the Centre for South Asia Studies at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, goes further. He accuses India of reneging on every major political guideline since 2005, especially after the 2020 clashes. He claims that India has turned the border dispute into a geopolitical bargaining chip, leveraging it to deepen ties with the West. Ridicule on social media The online debate has also taken an ugly turn. Supporters of Gao's views have resorted to racist and derogatory tropes. Some Chinese internet users circulated mocking videos and memes about the Ganges River, labelling it polluted and unsanitary. Others suggested it needed a 'gas mask river chief', citing industrial waste and high E coli levels in Varanasi. Chinese users contrasted this with what they called Beijing's 'responsible' stewardship of transboundary rivers, such as data sharing on the Brahmaputra. 'India dumps an average of 1.3 billion litres of toxic wastewater into the Ganges every day, turning the holy river into a 'sewage ditch where corpses float,'' wrote a Weibo user. A Chinese influencer, who was banned from entering India after a derogatory video following Operation Sindoor, commented: 'Good, I never wanted to drink Ganges water anyway.' These remarks, meant to provoke, betray an insidious cultural condescension masquerading as strategic commentary. Also read: Don't count countries above India in per capita GDP. Look at the population instead Content to avoid resolution The online frenzy reveals a deeper truth: Beijing is more interested in shaping narratives than in sincerely resolving the dispute. If China could resolve the dispute with 12 other neighbours, it could have done so with New Delhi. But China's border issue with India is a 'leftover from history'—one it intends to pass on to the next generation of leaders. Xi Jinping is going nowhere for now, and there is no clarity on who comes next. What is clear is that China sees the dispute as a long-term leverage point. For now, Beijing is content to avoid resolution, distract with historical revisionism, and provoke through offensive rhetoric. This is hardly the posture of a country seeking peace or genuine reconciliation with its neighbour. If anything, the commentary and its support signal a growing assertiveness in Chinese claims over Indian territory, and the possibility that new fronts could be opened. Sana Hashmi is a fellow at the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation. She tweets @sanahashmi1. Views are personal. (Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)
