Nation ensnared by Modi's grip: Congress
She described India not as 'New India' but as a nation ensnared by Modi's grip, calling for a fresh freedom struggle to liberate it from his control.
Sharmila questioned Modi's vision, asking if it involves handing the country to corporations, enforcing RSS agenda, or altering the Constitution, citing issues like Manipur violence and Adani's influence as evidence of a flawed 'New India'.
She accused Modi of jailing opposition leaders, misusing agencies like CBI and ED, and corrupting the Election Commission, labelling it as a 'captive India' rather than a progressive State.
Sharmila lauded the historical role of the Congress in nation-building, and credited Rahul Gandhi with leading the fight against the oppressive regime, asserting that only the Congress can save democracy.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
6 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Scientific temper important to fully claim Right to Life: Retd Supreme Court Judge Abhay Oka
Scientific temper is important to completely claim the Right to Life, said retired Supreme Court Judge Abhay Oka while delivering the Dr Narendra Dabholkar Memorial Lecture in Pune on Sunday. Oka emphasised that Article 21 of the Indian Constitution guaranteed the Right to Life with dignity and prosperity, and that a scientific temper was important to fully claim these rights. Oka said, 'If Article 21 of the Constitution has given us a Right to Life with dignity, what does it mean? It is not just living with respect but also living meaningfully. Reading good literature and good thoughts, artwork, watching a comedy film or a stand-up comedian's show, this makes life prosperous. This is how we fulfill the Right to Life. Therefore, it is important to develop a scientific temper and spirit of enquiry to fully claim the Right to Life with prosperity.' The retired judge also talked about how people use scientific equipment in their daily lives but do not develop a scientific temper: 'In Article 51(a) of the Constitution where scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform come together…Just using scientific equipment does not mean that people have scientific temper. In a lighter vein, DJs are used in many of our festivals. These hurt the ears and are their levels much above the permitted decibel limits according to the rules. DJ systems are created by science, but just because we are using it we cannot say that we have scientific temper.' At the same event, Retired Supreme Court Judge Hemant Gokhale said, 'We killed Dr Dabhokar, also killed comrade (Govind) Pansare. This is the disposition of Maharashtra today. And the way minority and minority religion people are being harassed, this is against scientific temper…You all must have read that day before in Jamner, a young man was killed because he belonged to a religion. What kind of scientific temper is this?' The lecture was held before the 12th anniversary of the assasination of Dr Narendra Dabholkar on August 20, who was one of India's foremost rationalists and anti-superstition activists. Dabholkar was gunned down in Pune in 2013 while on a walk. Two people were convicted for his murder in 2024 by a special court in Pune while three others, including the mastermind accused, were acquitted due to lack of evidence. All accused had links to extremist Hindu organisation Sanatan Sanstha. MANS and Dabholkar's family have questioned the CBI for not appealing the acquittals in higher courts.
The Hindu
6 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Disturbing that PM did not mention Nehru in I-Day speech: Sharad Pawar
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's failure to mention the country's first PM Jawaharlal Nehru's name in his Independence Day speech was 'disturbing', according to veteran Maharashtra politician and Rajya Sabha MP Sharad Pawar, who heads his own faction of the Nationalist Congress Party. 'I heard the Prime Minister's speech from the Red Fort. It was very disturbing that he did not mention Nehru in his entire speech… Nehru gave important years of his youth to the freedom struggle of India. After Independence, he led the country and spread the message of peace worldwide. Even after his immense contribution, his name was not taken by the Prime Minister, which was unfortunate,' the NCP(SP) leader said during an event in Pune. 'Fight to save democracy' On the Opposition protest against the Election Commission, Mr. Pawar said, 'The present situation of politics is challenging. It has been 14 days that the Parliament session is going on, but the House has not functioned even for a day. We sign and enter Parliament only to witness it getting adjourned after a ruckus. It is not a healthy sign for democracy.' He added that this was the first time 300 MPs had come together for a peaceful protest. 'It included [Congress leaders] Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and members from other parties as well, but we were detained and taken to the police station. The fight is to save democracy. If those in the government do not find it important, then we, as Opposition, will have to keep raising our voice,' he said. A history lesson on choosing unity Mr. Pawar, who served multiple terms as Maharashtra Chief Minister while he was a Congressman, recalled how that party had once prioritised unity for ideological reasons. After the Emergency, the grand old party had split into the Congress (Indira) and the Swarn Singh Congress. At the time, Mr. Pawar had remained in the Swarn Singh Congress with his mentor Yashwantrao Chavan, but neither side had a clear majority in the elections that followed 'Eventually, we came together and made Vasantdada [Patil] the Chief Minister. However, many of us young workers had a resentment against Congress (I), since we were aligned with Chavan saheb. So there was a gap. Dada tried to bridge it, but we opposed it,' Mr. Pawar said. 'I was among the key opponents. As a result, we decided to bring down the government and we did. I became the Chief Minister,' he added. Ten years later, the factions had reunited. When a meeting was called to decide the next CM, many names were discussed, including Ramrao Adik and Shivajirao Nilangekar, before Mr. Pawar was chosen. 'Imagine the same leader whose government I brought down, put all that aside and chose unity for ideology. That was the kind of large-hearted leadership we had in the Congress,' the former CM said.
The Hindu
6 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Union Home Minister Amit Shah to address BJP's booth committee conference in Tirunelveli on August 22: L. Murugan
Union Home Minister is set to make yet another political visit to Tamil Nadu on August 22 when he would address the BJP's booth committee conference in Tirunelveli. Disclosing this to journalists on Sunday in Chennai, party leader and Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L Murugan said: 'BJP state president Nainar Nagendran will preside over the meeting. Booth agents from five parliamentary constituencies including Kanniyakumari, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Tenkasi and Virudhunagar will participate in the first such conference. We are planning to hold more conferences as we progress.' In response to a query on Chief Minister M K Stalin's criticism of the alliance, Mr. Murugan said the AIADMK-BJP alliance is going strong. To another question about a few well known personalities quitting AIADMK and joining DMK recently, he said it is quite a common occurrence and claimed DMK leaders are in touch with the BJP. However, Mr. Murugan refused to share further details and said they would be known in coming months. On the recent searches by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) at the premises of State Rural Development Minister I Periyasamy, he contended the agency functions independently based on available inputs. Mr. Murugan criticised VCK founder and MP Thol. Thirumavalavan on the recent protest by a section of conservancy workers in Chennai and alleged he 'was not raising issues relating to Dalits during the DMK regime'. He also backed Governor R N Ravi's remark on school education in the State and said the state government should focus on addressing the infrastructure gaps in government schools. Mr. Murugan said from August 18 onwards 38 trains operating across Tamil Nadu will stop at additional railway stations. The Minister said he continuously received petitions from the public demanding that express trains, superfast trains and passenger trains should stop at additional railway stations and he took it to the attention of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw who accepted the demands of railway passengers and issued necessary orders for extra stoppage. Mr. Murugan said the Tamil Nadu government has been given about ₹10 lakh crore in the last 10 years to implement social welfare schemes including modernization and expansion of national highways, airports and ports. The Union government has given ₹6626 crore for the state's railway projects in 2025-26, while during the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance regime between 2009-2014, this allocation was ₹879 crore, he said. Mr. Murugan added under the Amrit Bharat Railway Stations Scheme, work is being carried out at a fast pace to upgrade 77 railway stations in Tamil Nadu at an estimated cost of ₹2,948 crore. The Minister said work of laying new tracks for a distance of 2,587 km is under way at an estimated cost of ₹33,467 crore, and 10 new railway lines, 3 broad gauge railway lines and 9 double-track lines are being constructed.
