BJP accuses Rahul Gandhi of disrespecting Vande Mataram at election rally

Agencies
April 28, 2018

A controversy erupted on Friday after a video purportedly showing Congress president Rahul Gandhi “disrespecting” national song ‘Vande Mataram’ at a public rally here surfaced and went viral.

The BJP slammed Rahul, saying he does not have respect for the national song, a charge dismissed by the Congress as “absolutely false.”

“He (Rahul) does not have respect for national song. What can we expect from him,” tweeted BJP on its handle, after a local TV channel showed a brief video clip of the purported incident even as the Congress dubbed it as a “fake video”.

The video showed Rahul sitting on the dias with senior Congress leaders, including Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, and looking at his watch gesturing something to AICC general secretary in charge of Karnataka K C Venugopal, apparently to wrap up quickly.

A person is then heard telling the singer to “just sing a line (of Vande Matram) and finish it off.” As the singer began singing “Vande Mataram”, Venugopal is seen nudging Rahul to stand up. Seizing on this, the BJP tweeted, “Today, RG asked to cut it to just one line, reminding us of INC’s total disregard for the song.”

The BJP further asked, “Do we need more reasons for Cong Mukth Bharath? Shame on you, RG.”

Criticising Rahul’s act, the BJP said that in 1937 Jawharlal  Nehru had dropped last three stanzas of Vande Mataram just to pacify Mohammad Ali Jinnah who had said the song irks the Muslims.

Senior BJP leader and Union Minister Ananth Kumar also took to twitter saying, “Common proud Indians like us say - Janani Janmm Bhumischa Swarga Daapi Gariyasi. Arrogant, Ignorant dynast says “cut short Vande Mataram.”

Former Union minister and Congress leader Rajeev Shukla dismissed it as “absolutely false” allegation and called it a “fake video”. “It is the work of theirs to release fake video. Who else believes in Vande Mataram than Congress. The Vande Mataram was started to be sung from 1896 Congress session,” he told reporters in Bengaluru.

The Congress always complied with Vande Mataram. “Each of our session starts with Vande Mataram and ends with the national anthem. They teach us Vande Mataram. It is neither sung in their office, nor in the RSS headquarters,” he said, hitting out at BJP.

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News Network
December 19,2025

Mangaluru: The Mangaluru CEN police have arrested a 23-year-old man for allegedly posting provocative and misleading content on an Instagram page named “mr_a_titude”, targeting the Bajpe police.

Mangaluru Commissioner of Police Sudheer Kumar Reddy C H identified the arrested as Abhishek M, a resident of Katipalla in Mangaluru.

A case has been registered at the Bajpe Police Station under Sections 353(1)(c), 353(2), 56, and 57 read with Section 189 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) in connection with the post.

According to police, the accused uploaded a photograph of a hotel on the Instagram page and alleged that accused persons in a murder case under the Bajpe police jurisdiction were being given “royal treatment” by the police, including being served beef meals daily from the hotel.

The post further accused the police of supporting criminals, misusing their authority, and betraying public trust. Police said the content was provocative in nature and aimed at inciting public outrage against the police.

Following the post, a case was registered at the Bajpe police station, and further investigation was transferred to the CEN police station.

Police records indicate that the accused has a criminal history, with multiple cases registered against him, including murder, attempt to murder, assault, and robbery at the Surathkal Police Station, and one case at the Kaup Police Station.

The Commissioner said the accused was traced and arrested using technical evidence.

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News Network
December 6,2025

indigoticket.jpg

With IndiGo flight disruptions impacting thousands of passengers, the airline on Saturday said that it will offer full waiver on all cancellations/reschedule requests for travel bookings between December 5, 2025 and December 15, 2025.

Earlier in the day, the civil aviation ministry had directed the airline to complete the ticket refund process for the cancelled flights by Sunday evening, as well as ensure baggage separated from the travellers are delivered in the next two days.

In a post on X, titled 'No questions asked', IndiGo wrote, "In response to recent events, all refunds for your cancellations will be processed automatically to your original mode of payment."

"We are deeply sorry for the hardships caused," it further added.

Several passengers, however, complained of not getting full refund as promised by the airline.

Netizens have shared screenchots of getting charged for airline cancellation fee and convenience fee.

"Please tell me why u have did this airline cancellation charges when u say full amount will be refunded (sic)," a user wrote sharing a screenshot of the refund page.

"Well, but you have still debited the convenience charges," wrote another.

Passengers have also raised concerns about the "cancel" option being disabled on the IndiGo app. "First enable the 'Cancel' button on your App & offer full refund on tickets cancelled by customers between the said dates," wrote a user.

A day after the country's largest airline, IndiGo, cancelled more than 1,000 flights and caused disruptions for the fifth day on Saturday, the ministry said that any delay or non-compliance in refund processing will invite immediate regulatory action.

The refund process for all cancelled or disrupted flights must be completed by 8 pm on Sunday, the ministry said in a statement.

"Airlines have also been instructed not to levy any rescheduling charges for passengers whose travel plans were affected by cancellations," it said.

On Saturday, more than 400 flights were cancelled at various airports.

IndiGo has also been instructed to set up dedicated passenger support and refund facilitation cells.

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