Congress pushes for Rahul to be Leader of Opposition; he requests time to think

News Network
June 8, 2024

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New Delhi: The Congress Working Committee passed the resolution that party MP Rahul Gandhi should be appointed as the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, sources said today.

Rahul Gandhi won the Lok Sabha elections from Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh and Wayanad in Kerala.

"All members have given their proposal to the party president. Rahul ji has requested some time to think. However, we want him to stand as strong Leader of Opposition," said All India Mahila Congress president Alka Lamba.

After the CWC meeting, Congress MP Kumari Selja said, "It was the CWC's wish that Rahul Gandhi be elected the LoP..."

Senior Congress leader and newly elected MP from Alappuzha KC Venugopal said "CWC unanimously requested Rahul Gandhi ji to take the responsibility of the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha."

The CWC resolution praised Rahul Gandhi for his efforts in the election campaign.

"Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi has to be singled out largely because of the Bharat Jodo Yatra and the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra that he designed and led. Both these Yatras that reflected his thinking and personality were historic turning points in our nation's politics and instilled hope and confidence in lakhs of our workers and crores of our voters. Rahul Gandhi's election campaign was single-minded, sharp and pointed and more than any other individual it was he who made the protection of our republic's Constitution the central issue in the 2024 elections. The PaanchNyay-Pachees Guarantee programme which resonated so very powerfully in the election campaign was the outcome of Rahulji's yatras in which he listened to the fears, concerns and aspirations of all people, especially youth, women, farmers, workers, Dalits, Adivasis, OBCs and minorities," it said.

The meeting of the extended Congress Working Committee was held in the national capital on Saturday. The meeting was attended by Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Manish Tiwari, DK Shivakumar, and Revanth Reddy among others.

Speaking after the CWC meeting, Congress Rajya Sabha MP Pramod Tiwari said, "Definitely he (Rahul Gandhi) should become (LoP in Lok Sabha). This was the request of our working committee. He is fearless and courageous."

Earlier in the day, several party leaders voiced their demand that Rahul Gandhi should take over the key role.

Speaking on the same, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy said that this is the demand of 140 crore Indians.

"Our demand is the same as that of 140 crore Indians. Rahul Gandhi has to take the position as the leader of the Opposition. Rahul Gandhi has been fighting for women and the unemployed," he said.

Congress MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa who won the Lok Sabha election from Gurdaspur said that Rahul Gandhi is someone who can reply to the Prime Minister in the Parliament and hence he should assume the position of LoP.

"We will play the role of a strong Opposition in the Parliament. Yes, we want the country to get such a face who can reply to the Prime Minister. I think the entire country wants this," he said.

After the Lok Sabha Polls, the Congress has emerged as the second-largest party in the election and improved its tally to 100, from 52 in the 2019 Lok Sabha poll.

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News Network
November 21,2025

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Local authorities say the Israeli military has expanded the so-called “yellow line” truce demarcation in Gaza City and repositioned its forces deeper into the territory in violation of a ceasefire agreement that came into force on October 10, besieging dozens of Palestinian families.

Gaza’s Government Media Office announced in a statement on Thursday that Israeli forces widened the boundary by shifting the markers, and advanced roughly 300 meters (984 feet) into the neighborhoods of Ash-Shaaf, An-Nazzaz and Baghdad Street.

The move pushed further into civilian areas, trapping families who were unable to flee as tanks rolled forward, it added.

“The fate of many of these families remains unknown amidst the shelling that targeted the area,” the office said, adding that the expansion of the yellow line shows a “blatant disregard” for the ceasefire deal.

On Friday, sources said the Israeli military carried out continued air and artillery strikes inside the so-called “yellow line” east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.

According to the reports, Israeli warplanes and tanks targeted areas within the zone. One Palestinian was reported killed and several others wounded in the strikes, the sources said.

The fresh aggression came only a day after 25 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City and Khan Younis on Wednesday.

The media office reported that Israel has consistently violated the truce deal since its implementation last month, with near-daily attacks by air, artillery and direct shootings.

The office said over 400 violations have been documented. These breaches have resulted in the deaths of more than 300 Palestinians and left hundreds injured.

The Government Media Office in Gaza urged the guarantors of the ceasefire — the US, Egypt, Qatar and Turkey — to take swift action to halt the ongoing violations and facilitate the delivery of food, shelter materials, medical aid, and infrastructure equipment.

The so-called “yellow line,” set out in the agreement between Israel and Hamas resistance movement, refers to a non-physical partition where the Israeli military repositioned itself when the truce deal took effect.

It has allowed Israel, which routinely fires at Palestinians who approach the line, to retain control over more than half of the Gaza Strip.

International bodies, including the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry, the International Association of Genocide Scholars, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, B’Tselem, and other rights groups, have concluded that the Israeli war on Gaza amounts to genocide.

In the attacks in Gaza since October 2023, Israel has killed at least 69,546 people and injured 170,833 others, leveling large swaths of the territory and displacing almost all of the population. 

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News Network
November 26,2025

Mangaluru, Nov 26: Assembly Speaker and local MLA U.T. Khader has initiated a high-level push to resolve one of Mangaluru’s longest-standing traffic headaches: the narrow, high-density stretch of National Highway-66 between Nanthoor and Talapady.

He announced on Tuesday that a formal proposal has been submitted to the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) seeking approval to prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the widening of this crucial corridor.

The plan specifically aims to expand the existing 45-meter road width to a full 60 meters, coupled with the construction of dedicated service roads. Khader highlighted that land for a 60-meter highway was originally acquired during the initial four-laning project, but only 45 meters were developed, leading to a perpetual bottleneck.

"With vehicle density rising sharply, the expansion has become unavoidable," Khader stated, stressing that the upgrade is essential for ensuring smoother traffic flow and improving safety at the city's main entry and exit points.

The stretch between Nanthoor and Talapady is a vital link on the busy Kochi-Panvel coastal highway and connects to major city junctions. The move to utilize the previously acquired land for the full 60-meter width is seen as a necessary measure to catch up with the region's rapid vehicular growth and prevent further traffic gridlocks.

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News Network
November 27,2025

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Authorities at Pakistan’s high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on Wednesday dismissed speculation about the condition of imprisoned former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, rejecting rumours that he had been moved out of the facility or was in danger. Officials said Khan was in “good health” and described the viral death claims as “baseless.”

“There is no truth to reports about his transfer from Adiala Jail,” the Rawalpindi prison administration said in a statement, according to Geo News. “He is fully healthy and receiving complete medical attention.”

Amid swirling rumours on social media, Imran Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), urged the federal government to issue an official clarification and demanded that authorities allow his family to meet him immediately, Dawn reported.

The frenzy began after Khan’s three sisters called for an impartial probe into what they described as a “brutal” police assault on them and other PTI supporters outside Adiala Jail last week. Soon after, several social media handles circulated unverified claims alleging that Khan had been “killed” inside the prison.

The rumours intensified when a handle named “Afghanistan Times” claimed that “credible sources” had confirmed Khan’s “murder” and that his body had been moved out of the jail — allegations that have not been verified by any credible agency.

Imran Khan, PTI’s patron-in-chief, has been lodged in the Rawalpindi prison since August 2023 in multiple cases. For over a month, an undeclared restriction has prevented family members and senior PTI leaders from meeting him. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has reportedly been denied access despite making seven attempts.

In a letter to Punjab Police Chief Usman Anwar, Khan’s sisters — Noreen Niazi, Aleema Khan, and Dr. Uzma Khan — said they were “peacefully protesting” outside the jail when police allegedly launched an unprovoked assault after streetlights were switched off.

“At 71, I was seized by my hair, thrown to the ground and dragged across the road,” Noreen Niazi said, alleging that other women present were also slapped and manhandled.

Adiala Jail officials reiterated that speculation over Imran Khan’s health was unfounded and insisted that his well-being was being ensured, Geo News reported.

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