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Economic Times
31-07-2025
- Politics
- Economic Times
'Saffron terror' was Congress's vote bank plot: BJP
New Delhi: The BJP on Thursday attacked the Congress, accusing it of conspiring to impose the "Hindu terrorism" label on the country, after all accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case were acquitted by a special NIA court. Senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad called it a Congress-led conspiracy driven by vote-bank politics. "The Congress party's attempt to forcibly impose Hindu terrorism has been shattered today. The court has clearly stated there is no evidence against any of the accused," Prasad told reporters. He said Col Prasad Purohit, who was then engaged in counter-terror operations in Kashmir, was wrongly accused, and that Sadhvi Pragya Thakur was tortured to the point of immobility over allegations that the blast was carried out using her motorcycle. "This was purely a conspiracy by the Congress for vote-bank politics," he added. Prasad also blamed former Union home minister P Chidambaram for invoking the term "Saffron Terrorism" during the annual conference of DGPs and IGPs in August further said that former home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde had also used the criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for allegedly saying Hindu terrorism was more dangerous than Lashkar-e-Taiba. BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya demanded an unconditional apology from the Congress for "defaming Sanatana Dharma".
Time of India
31-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
'Saffron terror' was Congress's vote bank plot: BJP
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel New Delhi: The BJP on Thursday attacked the Congress, accusing it of conspiring to impose the " Hindu terrorism " label on the country, after all accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case were acquitted by a special NIA BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad called it a Congress-led conspiracy driven by vote-bank politics "The Congress party's attempt to forcibly impose Hindu terrorism has been shattered today. The court has clearly stated there is no evidence against any of the accused," Prasad told said Col Prasad Purohit , who was then engaged in counter-terror operations in Kashmir, was wrongly accused, and that Sadhvi Pragya Thakur was tortured to the point of immobility over allegations that the blast was carried out using her motorcycle."This was purely a conspiracy by the Congress for vote-bank politics," he also blamed former Union home minister P Chidambaram for invoking the term "Saffron Terrorism" during the annual conference of DGPs and IGPs in August further said that former home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde had also used the criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for allegedly saying Hindu terrorism was more dangerous than Lashkar-e-Taiba. BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya demanded an unconditional apology from the Congress for "defaming Sanatana Dharma".
Hans India
28-07-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Chidambaram's Comment on Pahalgam Attack Sparks Political Exchange with BJP
India news today: Reacting to his statement that Rafale jets were stolen from HAL and brought by Dassault, Ravi Shankar Prasad also took on A K Antony, who had said the government had inducted a lesser number of fighter jets. Ravi Shankar Prasad also came down heavily on Vadra's statement on Muslims feeling suppressed, as well as on Aiyar's comment that the hangover of Partition was not yet over. Senior Congress party leader and former home minister P Chidambaram on Friday asked a range of questions on the Union government's response to the Pahalgam terror attack and the following Operation Sindoor. In an interview to The Quint, Chidambaram alleged that the government transparency on some aspects of the incident. 'Tell me, what are they not revealing?' he asked in an interview. 'Where are the terrorist attackers? 'Why are the identities and the arrests of the perpetrators not disclosed? We have learnt that a few local residents who gave shelter to the perpetrators were arrested. What happened to them?' he asked, referring to the April 22 attack on the Jammu and Kashmir tourist bus at Pahalgam in which 26 people were killed. He said what is also 'deeply disturbing' is the lack of clear and consistent communication from authorities. 'We hear bits and pieces from different functionaries,' he added. Asked if he thought the government might be hiding information, Chidambaram replied, 'It's a hypothesis but my hypothesis is that they're trying to hide their tactical missteps which forced a change of strategy in Operation Sindoor.' 'The CDS hinted at that. What tactical mistakes were made? What was the re-strategising? The BJP government so far has not given satisfactory answers to such questions and Chidambaram has reasons to be suspicious that the government has neither the ability nor the will to do so.' The former Union Minister further said the government is not being transparent. 'In any war, both sides have casualties. We should acknowledge it. I'm sure India had losses as well and the government must say so,' he said.
The Hindu
19-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Left parties to step up protests against Bihar SIR
The Left parties have decided to step up their protests against the Election Commission's (EC) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. While the CPI(M) said in New Delhi on Saturday (July 19, 2025) that the party will organise nationwide protest against the SIR on August 8, the CPI(ML-Liberation) said its MPs, along with the INDIA Bloc MPs, will raise the matter in Parliament and a delegation of the party's leaders will meet the Election Commission on July 22. A statement of the CPI(M) Polit Bureau said the EC wants to extend the SIR exercise to the entire country. 'In the name of revising the electoral rolls, the EC is appropriating the authority to verify the citizenship of voters, which is outside its constitutional remit. Under the baseless pretext of weeding out foreigners from the electoral rolls, they are disenfranchising vast sections of minorities and other select groups,' the CPI(M) said. 'Implementing RSS agenda' It added that the entire process is fraught with various violations, and even the right to vote guaranteed by the Constitution may be denied to many. 'The National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise, which was widely opposed by the people before the Covid pandemic, is sought to be enforced surreptitiously through the back door. The EC, which until now had acted in favour of the BJP-led government, has now become complicit in implementing the RSS/Sangh Parivar agenda, it said adding that the move is an attack on democratic rights. Meanwhile, addressing a press conference, CPI(ML) general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya told reporters that his party's delegation will meet the EC on July 22. He said the workers raised the issue of SIR during the July strike in Bihar. He termed the SIR as unconstitutional. Citing a 2019 answer made in Parliament by the then Law and Justice Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Mr. Bhattacharya said there were just three complaints of foreigners having voting rights in India then and none of them were from Bihar. Questioning the EC, he said NRC is being implemented in Bihar through SIR, even though the Bihar Assembly had unanimously rejected the NRC earlier. He said there is no provision for a citizenship certificate and the SIR is against the provisions in Constitution. 'It is another like the electoral bond,' he said.
Time of India
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
PAC lens on EC's SIR drive, fake ID cards
PAC lens on EC's SIR drive, fake ID cards NEW DELHI: The SIR exercise in Bihar and the issue of official documents like voter ID and Aadhaar card being obtained by alleged infiltrators figured in Public Accounts Committee (PAC) meeting Thursday, with several BJP MPs expressing concern over benefits of welfare schemes being availed by ineligible people. The PAC, headed by Congress MP K C Venugopal, also deliberated on 'functioning of UIDAI', with a few members suggesting a simpler procedure to effect changes in erroneous Aadhaar details, which deny people access to what's their due, including govt benefits. 'Documents like voter ID and Aadhaar are given to citizens and not residents... The matter was raised and a suggestion made that ineligible cardholders should be identified,' a senior member said, citing the process until 2023 under which a certificate from panchayat head was enough to procure Aadhaar or voter ID. A few members said Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar was an exercise being conducted in earnest, as it is in interest of the country if the ineligible are identified. BJP MPs Ravi Shankar Prasad, Nishikant Dubey, Anurag Thakur, Tejaswi Surya, L Laxman, and Congress' Jai Prakash and Shaktisinh Gohil were among those who attended the meeting. The BJP MPs said a large number of ineligible people, especially suspected infiltrators, had obtained the unique identity before the application rules were made stringent and sought a review of their bona fides, sources said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Birla Evara 3 and 4 BHK from ₹ 1.75 Crore* Birla Estates Learn More Undo An MP claimed Aadhaar serves as 'backdoor' entry for people with suspect citizenship to get a raft of official documents, including voter ID and passport, while others spoke of the presence of alleged infiltrators in Karnataka, Bihar and Jharkhand. Sources said some MPs were of the view that since Aadhaar is considered a residency proof and does not certify Indian citizenship, authorities need to reconsider if it alone should be the basis for identifying people eligible for welfare schemes. Without getting into details of the committee's deliberations, Venugopal said Aadhaar is a 'common man issue' and many questions had been raised and suggestions made. At the meeting, attended by officials of ministry of electronics and information technology and UIDAI, a few members highlighted difficulties faced by Aadhaar cardholders in redress of their gri-evances, as at times biometric details do not match for a variety of reasons, or other details are erroneous.
