New Delhi, May 28 (IANS) BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla on Wednesday strongly criticised Congress leader Udit Raj for calling Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor the “super spokesperson of the BJP.” Poonawalla questioned why the Congress was seemingly agitated by Tharoor’s comments, which, according to him, reflected national interest rather than partisan politics.

The controversy erupted after Tharoor, who is leading a multi-party delegation as part of a global outreach programme, made remarks during a visit to Panama. Speaking on India’s evolving security policy, Tharoor said that in recent years, India’s stance on terrorism had changed and that terrorists now understand they will face consequences for their actions.Reacting sharply, Udit Raj took to the social media platform X to denounce Tharoor’s statement.In a post, Raj wrote, “My dear @ShashiTharoor. Alas! I could prevail upon PM Modi to declare you as the super spokesperson of the BJP, even declaring you as the foreign minister before landing in India. How could you denigrate the golden history of Congress by suggesting that before PM Modi, India never crossed the LoC or international border? In 1965, the Indian Army entered Pakistan at multiple points, surprising the Pakistanis in the Lahore sector. In 1971, India split Pakistan into two, and during the UPA government, several surgical strikes were conducted without politicising them. How could you be so dishonest to the party that gave you so much?”Responding to these remarks, Shehzad Poonawalla defended Tharoor and accused Congress of hypocrisy.Speaking to IANS, he said, “When Pakistan is exposed on the international stage, why does the Congress experience stomach pain? Is it because Tharoor is prioritising national interest over party lines? If someone speaks for India, does that automatically mean he speaks for the BJP? Why is Tharoor being attacked for speaking the truth?”Poonawalla further alleged that Rahul Gandhi had instructed Udit Raj to criticise Tharoor.“This is not about party politics. Tharoor is discussing national policy, not party ideology. There is nothing wrong with his statement. If praising the Indian Army and calling out Pakistan’s actions makes someone anti-Congress, then the party needs to introspect,” he added.He continued, “Now, if Congress has a problem with anyone standing up for India or criticising Pakistan, then what does that say about them? It seems Congress is acting like a Pakistan Prashast Party (PPP) or a YouTube channel of Pakistan.”Poonawalla also weighed in on BJP MP Nishikant Dubey’s recent claim that former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had requested then-US President Ronald Reagan to mediate between India and Pakistan.“Dubey has exposed how Congress, during its rule, engaged in foreign-mediated negotiations with Pakistan, despite claiming otherwise. Rahul Gandhi is misleading the public by denying these historical facts,” he said.He also cited other examples from India’s history to question the Congress’s handling of national security issues.“Former Deputy Prime Minister Jagjivan Ram had urged then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to reclaim Pakistan-occupied Kashmir or Kartarpur during the 1971 war. Yet, under pressure, Indira Gandhi agreed to a ceasefire. We also ceded significant territory to Pakistan in the 1960s. Why are these questions not being answered?” Poonawalla asked.The BJP leader concluded by questioning the Congress’s past decisions.“Who gave away PoK? Who ignored Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s recommendations? If Patel had been heeded, we might not have had the PoK issue today. And why did we approach the United Nations on the matter? These are the real questions the Congress must answer,” he concluded.–IANSjk/dan

Kolkata, May 28 (IANS) With less than 48 hours left for the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) to issue the notification for fresh recruitment in state-run schools, the officers of the state Legal Affairs Department are conducting a last-moment scrutiny of the draft.A state Secretariat official said that the Legal Affairs Department officials are currently examining each word in the draft notification to ensure there is not even the remotest possibility of any legal challenge against it.“At the same time, it was also decided that while the entire process of fresh recruitment will be implemented by the WBSSC, it will be constantly monitored both by the Chief Minister’s Office as well as the Legal Affairs Department. The idea is to make the fresh recruitment process as watertight and as transparent as possible,” the senior state government official said on strict condition of anonymity.In the fresh recruitment process, he added, the WBSSC will introduce certain steps for infusing more transparency. “One such step will be ensuring the preservation of the optical marks recognition sheets used in written examination for a much longer period and also saving their mirror images at the server of the commission,” the official added.Another step, according to him, would be allowing candidates appearing for the written examinations to retain carbon copies of their respective OMR sheets.On Tuesday afternoon, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced that the WBSSC’s notification for fresh recruitments to vacant posts in state-run schools will be issued on May 30.She also stated that even the ‘untainted’ teachers who had lost their jobs following a Supreme Court order in the cash-for-job case will have to appear for the written examination for recruitment. On April 3, the Supreme Court, upholding the Calcutta High Court order annulling 25,753 school appointments made through the WBSSC, also directed the state government to start a fresh recruitment process by issuing notifications or advertisements by May 31.Since the teachers who had got their jobs without paying any money had been insisting that they would not appear for a fresh written examination, the Chief Minister on Tuesday contended that, after the Supreme Court’s order, there was no other option before them but to appear for the test.–IANSsrc/vd

Ahmedabad, May 28 (IANS) Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University hosted a one-of-a-kind event on Wednesday, which saw the coming together of students and faculty members to take a unified pledge towards realising the ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat’ dream.

While the students and faculty gathered on the occasion, wearing patriotic spirit on their sleeves, the ‘Yuva Shakti, Bharat Ki Shakti’ theme reverberated with all those present, exuding confidence in the power of youth for bringing a decisive change.The event saw students from various parts of the country, including Delhi, Srinagar, Bengaluru, Itanagar, and Ahmedabad, coming together under the national initiative – “Yuva Shakti, Bharat Ki Shakti” to take a unified pledge titled “My Bharat, My Pledge.”With banners of “Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat” fluttering in the breeze, students vowed to uphold democratic principles and contribute to the nation’s development.The event has been spearheaded by the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), symbolising India’s unity in diversity and the collective resolve of its youth to uphold civic values, national pride, and inclusive progress.The program, inspired by the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, featured live and recorded messages and coordinated pledge ceremonies, representing a powerful national moment of youth-driven commitment to building a stronger, self-reliant Bharat.Vice Chancellor of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University, Ami Upadhayay, showered praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for women-centric schemes as well as the Centre’s thrust on women-led development.“Prime Minister has always focused on women’s empowerment. His vision is to enable a level-playing field for women and also create a talent-based environment where women are not ignored or denied opportunities because of their gender,” she said, while lauding the government for facilitating the transformational change.The event affirmed the fact that love for the nation and patriotism know no boundaries, and every student and every stakeholder remains united in achieving the dream of Viksit Bharat.–IANSmr/dan

New Delhi, May 28 (IANS) After RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav expelled his son Tej…

New Delhi, May 28 (IANS) Congress leader Pramod Tiwari launched a scathing attack on BJP…

Srinagar, May 28 (IANS) Four drug peddlers were arrested in Jammu and Kashmir’s Sopore area, said police on Wednesday, adding that narcotic substances were recovered from them.“Based on specific inputs received from the public, Sopore Police launched a series of well-coordinated operations leading to the arrest of four drug peddlers and seizure of narcotic substances, including codeine-based syrup and brown sugar-like material,” said the police in a statement.Three separate FIRs have been registered under relevant sections of the NDPS Act.In the first incident at Adipora Crossing, one Rameez Ahmad Mir, son of Ghulam Hassan Mir, resident of Adipora Sopore, was arrested with 13 bottles of codeine-like substance with tampered labels. In the second operation, Waseem Ahmad Mir, son of Ghulam Hassan Mir, also a resident of Adipora Sopore, was apprehended at Malpora-Warpora Crossing while attempting to flee from the naka point. A quantity of brown sugar-like substance was recovered from his possession.In another significant bust at Chijhama Crossing, two individuals — Javid Ahmad Bhat, son of Mohammad Subhan Bhat, and Rayees Ahmad Baba, son of Bashir Ahmad Baba, both residents of Marzipora — were arrested while transporting codeine-based substances in a truck (JK05E-4845), which was also seized.“These arrests are part of Sopore Police’s sustained crackdown on the drug network threatening the lives of local youth,” said the statement.SSP Sopore, while reaffirming the district police’s commitment, stated: “These operations underscore our zero-tolerance policy against drug peddling. Let this be a strong message — those involved in the narcotics trade will face strict legal action. With public support, we are determined to rid Sopore of this menace.”Sopore Police has thanked the public for their continued cooperation and urged citizens to keep reporting suspicious activities to help build a safer, drug-free society.Police and the security forces have started an aggressive campaign against drug smugglers and drug peddlers in Jammu and Kashmir.Security forces and the intelligence agencies believe that the funds generated by drug smuggling and hawala rackets are finally used to support terrorism in the union territory. The anti-terrorism operations, therefore, include operations against drug smuggling as well.–IANSsq/dpb

Kolkata, May 28 (IANS) The West Bengal government is heading for a legal challenge over alleged arbitrary postings by the state health department of three Senior Resident doctors who were the faces of the RG Kar protest movement.Protests were held by junior doctors over the ghastly rape and murder of a woman doctor of the state-run R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata within the hospital premises in August last year.The three resident doctors who are miffed over their postings are Debasish Halder, Aniket Mahato, and Asfaqulla Naiya.They have stated that they will drag the health department to court claiming that their postings were arbitrary.They have alleged that the postings were selectively given to just the three of them and not to others who appeared for the counselling session along with them for allotment of Senior Resident postings.The posting, ignoring the first choice of place, was first noticed on Tuesday morning in the case of Halder.Ignoring his preference for Howrah District Hospital, he was allotted a posting at a rural hospital at Gazole in Malda district, which officially does not have any vacancy for the post of a Senior Resident.Later, on Tuesday night, information surfaced that Mahato, and Naiya, too, had been posted to far-off places that were not their first choice.In the case of Mahato, his first choice of posting at RG Kar, from where he did his post-graduation, was ignored and instead he was allotted a hospital at Raiganj in North Dinajpur district in the northern sector of West Bengal.In the case of Naiya, he was allotted a medical college and hospital in Purulia district ignoring his first choice for a hospital at Arambagh in Hooghly district.West Bengal Junior Doctor’s Front (WBJDF), the umbrella body of junior doctors in the state spearheading the movement against the R.G. Kar rape and murder tragedy, has announced that they would support Halder, Mahato, and Naiya in their legal battles against the postings.“A total of 778 junior doctors attended the counselling session for allotment of postings as Senior Residents. While none of them were denied their first choice of posting, the only exceptions were Halder, Mahato, and Naiya.“From this it is clear, that they became the victims for just being the faces of the R.G. Kar movement. This is gross injustice,” said a WBJDF office bearer.Mahato explained that their grouse is not about being posted to far-off places but against the total lack of transparency in the allotment process.Halder and Naiya claimed that besides seeking justice for the R.G. Kar rape and murder victim, their demand was also total transparency in the medical administration system in the state.“But our examples prove that transparency in the system is still elusive,” said Naiya.–IANSsrc/rad

Srinagar, May 28 (IANS) After chairing a symbolic cabinet meeting in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah chaired an administrative meeting in Gulmarg on Wednesday.The Chief Minister, his cabinet colleagues and top officials of the J&K government attended the meeting in the ski resort.Officials said the meeting is part of his government’s efforts to bring back tourists to the union territory after the deadly April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.Earlier, a notice was issued by the General Administration Department about the meeting being held in Gulmarg.Besides top civil administration officials, the Inspector General of Police, Kashmir range; the Deputy Inspector General, North Kashmir; and the Senior Superintendent of Police, Baramulla, also attended the meeting.On Tuesday, Abdullah chaired a meeting of his council of ministers in south Kashmir’s Pahalgam. The aim behind holding meetings outside the fortified Civil Secretariat in Srinagar is to alleviate fear and reinforce a sense of security and trust, the officials said.This would lead to a revival of tourism in Kashmir following the massive setback after the April 22 terror attack, in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed, they said.The Jammu and Kashmir government is hosting a group of tour and travel operators from various parts of the country as part of its efforts to bring back tourists.After chairing the cabinet meeting in Pahalgam on Tuesday, CM Omar Abdullah went on a bicycle ride along with his two sons through the Pahalgam market to boost the morale of the town’s shopkeepers and hoteliers.He also posted some beautiful pictures of the Lidder River that passes through Pahalgam.The CM also announced that a memorial will be established in Baisaran meadows in honour of the terror attack victims.After the April 22 terror attack in the Baisaran area of Pahalgam by Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists in which 26 innocent civilians, including 25 tourists and a local, were killed, Pahalgam has become a deserted town with all its tourism appeal having come to a sudden end.Locals in Pahalgam and elsewhere in the union territory took out spontaneous protests against the terrorists, and a complete shutdown was observed across the UT.–IANSsq/dpb

Hyderabad, May 28 (IANS) Rich tributes were paid to former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) founder N.T. Rama Rao on his 102nd birth anniversary on Wednesday.Family members, including NTR’s son Nandamuri Ramakrishna, daughter Nara Bhuvaneswari, and grandsons — actors Jr NTR and Kalyan Ram — offered floral tributes at NTR Ghat on the banks of Hussain Sagar lake in Hyderabad.Bhuvaneswari, who was accompanied by her grandson Devansh, also paid her respects on the social media platform X. The wife of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu noted that NTR’s absence was not just a personal loss to the family but an irreparable void in the hearts of Telugu people. She described his ideals, dedication to service, and cinematic journey as towering symbols of pride for the Telugu community.NTR’s second wife, Lakshmi Parvathi, also visited NTR Ghat to offer her tributes.Celebrations were also held at the TDP’s annual conclave, Mahanadu, in Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh. Chandrababu Naidu led the party in paying homage, joined by his son and TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh, party ministers, and other leaders, who garlanded a statue of the late leader.Addressing the gathering, Naidu said NTR Jayanti was a festival for the Telugu people. “No one else in history has ruled two fields like NTR. He rose like Everest in the Telugu film industry. Truth, honesty, and determination were his weapons,” he said.Naidu highlighted NTR’s legacy, noting that he made history with a 33-year career in cinema and 13 years in politics. “He proved that power is responsibility and position is service. He redefined Indian politics with his belief that rulers exist to serve the people,” he said.Naidu affirmed that NTR’s memory would always live on and that the TDP flag would continue to fly high in his honour.N.T. Rama Rao founded the TDP in 1982 with the slogan of Telugu self-respect. In a historic political debut, he came to power in united Andhra Pradesh within a year of launching the party. He served three terms as Chief Minister and played a key role in uniting opposition parties at the national level against the Congress.NTR passed away on January 18, 1996, a few months after he was unseated from power following a revolt led by Naidu, amid allegations of undue influence exerted by his second wife, Lakshmi Parvathi, on the party and administration.–IANSms/skp

New Delhi, May 28 (IANS) The northeastern region holds the key for India’s $30-trillion vision towards Viksit Bharat at 2047, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said on Wednesday.Responding to an X post by Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), Jyotiraditya Scindia, the PMO said, “Northeast India is no longer a frontier, it’s the front-runner”.“Union Minister @JM_Scindia pens down a detailed article on the region’s rise as a strategic hub for trade, connectivity, and India’s $30-trillion vision for Viksit Bharat. Give it a glance,” the PMO said in its tweet.Earlier, Scindia said that the northeast holds the key to a $30-trillion economy.“I pen down my article on how the Northeast is transforming into India’s strategic gateway to Southeast Asia – powering trade, connectivity, and our $30-trillion ambition towards a Viksit Bharat,” the minister posted.At the recently concluded ‘Rising North East Investors Summit 2025,’ Scindia said that the northeastern region has emerged as a hub of global partnership and mutual interest.The minister informed that the two-day summit drew an unprecedented Rs 4.3 lakh crore investment proposal, setting the stage for the Northeast Region (NER) to become India’s next economic powerhouse.“We will continue B2G and B2B dialogues, where the Ministry for DoNER will act as a bridge between investors and state governments — to ensure that each approved project translates swiftly into reality,” he assured.Delegations from over 80 countries — ranging from Japan to Europe to ASEAN nations — attended the summit, and there was one unanimous sentiment: India’s future lies in the Northeast.The Centre adopted a “whole-of-government” approach for the development of the northeastern region and created eight high-level task forces across key sectors: agriculture, sports, investment promotion, tourism, economic corridors, infrastructure, textiles and handicrafts, and animal husbandry, allowing each state to chart its own roadmap.Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured that the Northeast now offers top-tier talent across various sectors, encouraging industries and investors to leverage the region’s immense potential.–IANSna/dpb