Kerala LoP Satheesan urges PM Modi for Indian expatriates' safety in Gulf
Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], June 24 (ANI): Expressing serious concern over the worsening situation in the Gulf, Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Legislative Assembly V D Satheesan on Tuesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to safeguard Indian expatriates in Qatar and other Gulf countries.
In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Satheesan expressed concern over the rapidly escalating tensions and the imminent threat of war in the region.
'It has come to light that Iran has launched an attack on United States forces stationed at the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, as part of its retaliatory actions, raising alarm about a possible broader conflict,' he wrote.
The letter, shared in a post on X, highlighted the significant Indian diaspora, particularly from Kerala, residing in the Gulf.
Satheesan emphasised the 'critical emotional and social significance' of ensuring the safety of these expatriates, given their contributions to families and communities back home.
'As you are well aware, a large number of Indian expatriates, particularly from my home state of Kerala, reside and work across the Gulf countries. In this volatile situation, the safety and welfare of these individuals is of critical emotional and social significance, not only to their families but also to the people of Kerala as a whole,' he urged.
Satheesan called on the Union Government to act with urgency, highlighting the possibility of further escalation and emphasising the need for proactive measures to ensure the protection and welfare of Indian nationals in the region.
This comes after Iran, in retaliation to the US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, launched multiple missiles at US military installations in Qatar and Iraq, including the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest US military base in the region, CNN reported.
The conflict began on June 13 when Israel launched a massive airstrike on Iranian military and nuclear sites, code-named 'Operation Rising Lion'. In retaliation, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) initiated a large-scale drone and missile campaign called 'Operation True Promise 3', targeting Israeli fighter jet fuel production facilities and energy supply centres. (ANI)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
35 minutes ago
- Indian Express
From Emergency to now, how censorship became a competitive sport
When the Emergency was declared in 1975, the Hindi newspaper Vir Pratap, like most Indian media, had an editorial problem. First, they tried to leave the editorial space blank. The government said that it was not permissible. Nor were they allowed to fill it with inspirational quotes, even from icons like Mahatma Gandhi or Rabindranath Tagore. This was not a time the government wanted anyone to reiterate Tagore's 'Where the mind is without fear'. 'They said you cannot leave the editorial blank. You have to fill it up,' says Chander Mohan, who, along with his daughter Jyotsna, authored the book Pratap: A Defiant Newspaper. 'That's when my father started writing his life history.' His father, Virendra, had quite a checkered history when it came to speaking truth to power. Accused of making bombs, he had been imprisoned with Bhagat Singh. The Urdu newspaper Pratap had been launched by his father, Mahashay Krishan, in 1919 in Lahore two weeks before the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Two days after its launch, the British shut it down for a full year. 'The paper was blunt and we were frequently shut down; the editors, my father and grandfather, were imprisoned and fines were imposed repeatedly,' recalls Mohan. As long as the British were ruling India, the narrative was straightforward: Good guy desi Davids taking on bad guy sahib Goliaths. After Independence, it got murkier. The good guys and bad guys now looked the same. The boundaries of freedom of expression felt less clear in free India. The Emergency was lifted in 1977, but the issues of censorship have morphed into a shape-shifting monster. Now, everyone competes in taking offence and banning books and films they deem offensive, the most famous example being the then Congress government's preemptive strike on Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses. That set off the 'Big Ban' Theory of everything. Satanic Verses recently returned to Indian bookstores, but that doesn't mean freedom of expression is in fine fettle. The battles, as Alice said in Wonderland, are getting 'curiouser and curiouser'. For example, the Central Board of Film Certification stalled the Malayalam film Janaki vs State of Kerala because it feels a woman who has been assaulted should not be given the name of someone revered as a Goddess. The irony is that Sita from the Ramayana is also a survivor, someone who was kidnapped and endured an Agnipariksha to boot. Instead of acknowledging the parallels the CBFC wants to draw a Lakshmanrekha as if to seal off all possible names of Sita, and one presumes, every other God and Goddess in the pantheon, from possible fictional contamination. That's a slippery slope. Can an out-and-out villain never be named Ram or Lakshmi henceforth? Would a modern-day CBFC take filmmaker Satyajit Ray and novelist Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay to task because Durga in Pather Panchali steals a necklace? And how could a Durga be shown dying anyway? Sometimes names are chosen to make a point. Salman Rushdie deliberately named a bad-tempered bulldog in The Moor's Last Sigh as Jaw-Jaw after Jawaharlal. It upset the Congress, but little came of it. All of this harkens back to an old controversy about Deepa Mehta's 1996 film Fire, where angry protesters felt she had deliberately named the lesbian characters Radha and Sita in order to take an unsubtle dig at Hinduism. Now, taking offence and demanding censorship has become a competitive sport across the political spectrum. Most people protesting books have never read them. It's just a shortcut to political fame. And it does not require a state of Emergency because it's always open season, whether it's for a stand-up comic like Kunal Kamra or an Instagram influencer like Sharmishta Panoli. Even an apology and a deleted post are not remorseful enough. The issue is not really what they said. It is the political dividends to be gained by making an example of them. On the other hand, everyone knows that in an age of e-books and VPNs, a ban is hardly a hurdle for a book from reaching readers. And more Indians are now aware of a Malayalam film called Janaki v State of Kerala than ever before, thanks to the CBFC controversy. Meanwhile, the censorship story has an odd new avatar. According to media reports, the CBFC directed the makers of the new film Sitaare Zameen Par to include an inspirational quote from the Prime Minister in its opening disclaimer. 'Let us all build a society where no dream or goal is impossible,' says the Prime Minister. 'Only then will we be able to build a truly inclusive and developed India.' It's a fine sentiment and a laudable aspiration. It's just that at one time, censorship was about what one could or could not say. The new twist is that the censor board can now also tell one what one must say. Roy is a novelist and the author of Don't Let Him Know
Time of India
37 minutes ago
- Time of India
'Uranium...': CIA Makes Big Reveal On Iranian Nuclear Sites After U.S. Intel Shocks Trump
CIA Director John Ratcliffe confirmed that recent U.S. airstrikes inflicted severe and long-term damage on Iran's nuclear infrastructure, aligning with President Donald Trump's claim that the strikes were devastating. Speaking from the NATO summit, Trump dismissed earlier intelligence assessments as incomplete and promised the release of evidence supporting his version. Israeli sources and U.S. officials echoed the president's claims, suggesting Iran's nuclear program has been set back by years. Meanwhile, Iran acknowledged damage but denied total destruction. Questions remain about the fate of enriched uranium stockpiles, and international monitors have lost access due to the ongoing conflict.#CIA #trump #israelirannuclearwar #israelirannuclearsite #iranretaliatorystrikes #ayatollahalikhameneitrump Read More
The Hindu
40 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Donald Trump officials to give first classified briefing to Congress on Iran strikes
Senators are set to meet with top national security officials Thursday (June 26, 2025) as many question President Donald Trump's decision to bomb three Iranian nuclear sites — and whether those strikes were ultimately successful. The classified briefing, which was originally scheduled for Tuesday (June 24, 2025) and was delayed, also comes as the Senate is expected to vote this week on a resolution that would require congressional approval if Mr. Trump decides to strike Iran again. Democrats, and some Republicans, have said that the White House overstepped its authority when it failed to seek the advice of Congress and they want to know more about the intelligence that Trump relied on when he authorised the attacks. Iran-Israel conflict LIVE updates 'Senators deserve full transparency, and the administration has a legal obligation to inform Congress precisely about what is happening,' said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, who said on Tuesday (June 24, 2025) that it was 'outrageous' that the Senate and House briefings were postponed. A similar briefing for House members was pushed to Friday (June 27, 2025). CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth are expected to brief the senators on Thursday (June 26, 2025). Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was scheduled to be at the Tuesday briefing, but will not be attending, according to a person familiar with the schedule. The briefing could be contentious as questions have swirled around Mr. Trump's decision to strike Iran and whether the attacks were successful. A preliminary U.S. intelligence report found this week that Iran's nuclear programme had been set back only a few months, contradicting statements from Mr. Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the status of Iran's nuclear facilities, according to two people familiar with the report. The people were not authorised to address the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. On Wednesday (June 25, 2025), Ms. Gabbard and Ratcliffe sent out statements backing Trump's claims that the facilities were 'completely and fully obliterated'. Ms. Gabbard posted on social media that 'new intelligence confirms what @POTUS has stated numerous times: Iran's nuclear facilities have been destroyed.' She said that if the Iranians choose to rebuild the three facilities, it would 'likely take years to do.' Mr. Ratcliffe said in a statement from the CIA that Iran's nuclear programme has been 'severely damaged' and cited new intelligence 'from a historically reliable and accurate source/method that several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and would have to be rebuilt over the course of years'. Most Republicans have staunchly defended Mr. Trump and hailed the tentative ceasefire he brokered in the Israel-Iran war. House Speaker Mike Johnson even went as far as to question the constitutionality of the War Powers Act, which is intended to give Congress a say in military action. 'The bottom line is the commander in chief is the president, the military reports to the president, and the person empowered to act on the nation's behalf is the president,' Mr. Johnson told reporters. But some Republicans — including some of Trump's staunchest supporters — are uncomfortable with the strikes and the potential for US involvement in an extended Middle East conflict. 'I think the speaker needs to review the Constitution,' said Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. 'And I think there's a lot of evidence that our Founding Fathers did not want presidents to unilaterally go to war.' Mr. Paul would not say if he is voting for the resolution by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., that would require congressional approval for specific military action in Iran. The resolution is likely to fail as 60 votes would be needed to pass it and Republicans have a 53-47 majority. But Kaine says it's important to put the Senate on the record. 'You have a debate like this so that the entire American public, whose sons and daughters are in the military and whose lives will be at risk in war, get to see the debate and reach their own conclusion together with the elected officials about whether the mission is worth it or not,' Mr. Kaine said. While he did not seek approval, sent congressional leaders a short letter Monday serving as his official notice of the strikes, two days after the bombs fell. The letter said that the strike was taken 'to advance vital United States national interests, and in collective self-defense of our ally, Israel, by eliminating Iran's nuclear programme'.
