BJP slams Rahul, says 'dalali' synonymous with Cong only

October 7, 2016

New Delhi, Oct 7: BJP today stepped up attack on Rahul Gandhi for his 'dalali' barb on cross-LoC surgical strike, alleging that he has "crossed all limits" with his remarks which "undermine" the armed forces and are an "insult" to their bravery.

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Urging parties not to politicise the issue of surgical strikes, BJP President Amit Shah also lashed out at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal saying he was the first among the "anti-India" leaders to raise questions on the army's action.

Terming as "very unfortunate" the Congress leader's use of word "dalali for soldiers", he alleged it depicted the Congress' mindset as as the word is synonymous with the opposition party whose leaders were "embroiled in several scams worth thousands of crores of rupees".

"With his 'khoon ki dalali' remarks, Rahul Gandhi has crossed all limits. I feel his use of words are an insult to the bravery of the armed forces...I agree that the word 'dalali' is part of their mindset as several scams took place during their rule," he said.

Shah said "Gandhi's remarks depict the Congress party's mindset. There is a flaw in the thought process of the Congress leadership. I strongly criticise his remarks. The word dalali should be restricted to Congress party only."

He said the remarks have "angered" the people and have "demoralised" the forces.

In a jibe at the Congress vice-president, Shah said he should concentrate on the "potato factory" for farmers instead as his understanding of the problems of agriculture sector is limited to that only.

Shah was referring to Gandhi's remarks made during his Delhi to Deoria march in Uttar Pradesh.

Responding to a poser on some BJP leaders creating a hype on the strikes, he said some workers were only exhibiting their excitement and questioned why there is was no such excitement in the Congress leadership.

The BJP chief urged all parties not to politicise the issue but said the BJP would take the issue to the masses to build up the confidence of the armed forces.

"We have not claimed the surgical strikes. The army did it. Army and not the politicians should claim credit," he said.

He said by questioning the strikes, Congress is associating itself with the dejection in Pakistan. He asked it to stand with the army and the enthused people of India instead.

Gandhi had yesterday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing him of "hiding behind the blood of soldiers" and said that he was selling off their sacrifices for political benefit.

"Jinhone Hindustan ke liye surgical strike kiye hain, unke khoon ke peeche aap chhupe hain. Unki aap dalali kar rahe ho. Yeh bilkul galat hai. {You (Modi) are hiding behind the blood of soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir and those who carried out the surgical strikes for India. You are exploiting their sacrifices, which is very wrong}," Gandhi had said.

Targeting Kejriwal, Shah said he has made headlines in Pakistan and supported the neighbouring country which has denied that any strikes took place in its territory.

"We do not believe in the questions raised by some parties, but we believe in the army's actions... it (remarks on strikes) is a very condemnable act and all political parties should desist from doing so," he said.

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News Network
December 20,2025

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At least seven elephants were killed and one calf injured after a herd collided with the Sairang-New Delhi Rajdhani Express in Assam's Hojai on Saturday morning, leading to disruption of rail services. 

The Sairang-New Delhi Rajdhani Express struck a herd of elephants, resulting in the derailment of the locomotive and five coaches. No passenger casualties or injuries were reported, officials said.

The New Delhi-bound train met with the accident around 2.17 am, PTI reported. The Sairang-New Delhi Rajdhani Express connects Mizoram's Sairang (near Aizawl) to Anand Vihar Terminal (Delhi). 

Railway has issued helpline numbers at the Guwahati Railway Station:-

•    0361-2731621
•    0361-2731622
•    0361-2731623

The accident site is located about 126 km from Guwahati. Following the incident, accident relief trains and railway officials rushed to the spot to initiate rescue operations.

Train Services Disrupted

Sources said that due to the derailment and elephant body parts scattered on the tracks, train services to Upper Assam and other parts of the Northeast were affected.

Passengers from the affected coaches were temporarily accommodated in vacant berths available in other coaches of the train. Once the train reaches Guwahati, additional coaches will be attached to accommodate all passengers, after which the train will resume its onward journey.

The incident occurred at a location that is not a designated elephant corridor. The loco pilot, upon spotting the herd on the tracks, applied emergency brakes. Despite this, the elephants dashed into the train, leading to the collision and derailment.

Last month, an elephant was killed after being hit by a train in Dhupguri in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district. The incident took place on November 30. 

The adult elephant was killed on the spot, and a calf was discovered lying injured beside the tracks. 

Over 70 Elephants Killed In Train Collisions Over Last 5 Years

At least 79 elephants have died in train collisions across the country in the last five years, the Environment Ministry had informed Parliament in August.

In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Environment Kirti Vardhan Singh had said the figure is based on reports from state governments and Union Territory administrations for the period 2020-21 to 2024-25.

He said that the ministry does not maintain consolidated data on the deaths of other wild animals on railway tracks, including in designated elephant corridors.

Singh confirmed that three elephants, including a mother and her calf, were killed on July 18 this year after being hit by a speeding express train on the Kharagpur-Tatanagar section in West Bengal's Paschim Midnapore district. The incident took place near Banstala between Jhargram and Banstala stations.

The minister said several measures have been taken jointly by the Environment Ministry and the Railways to prevent such accidents.

These include imposing speed restrictions in elephant habitats, pilot projects such as seismic sensor-based detection of elephants near tracks and construction of underpasses, ramps and fencing at vulnerable points.

The Wildlife Institute of India, in consultation with the ministry and other stakeholders, has also issued guidelines titled 'Eco-friendly Measures to Mitigate Impacts of Linear Infrastructure' to help agencies design railways and other projects in ways that reduce human-animal conflicts.

Singh added that capacity-building workshops were conducted for railway officials at the Wildlife Institute of India in 2023 and 2024 to raise awareness on elephant conservation and protection.

A detailed report titled 'Suggested Measures to Mitigate Elephant & Other Wildlife Train Collisions on Vulnerable Railway Stretches in India' had also been prepared after surveys across 127 railway stretches covering 3,452 km.

Of these, 77 stretches spanning 1,965 km in 14 states were prioritised for mitigation, with site-specific interventions suggested. 

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News Network
December 6,2025

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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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