‘Providing proof is not Army’s job’: Rahul Gandhi terms Digvijaya’s remark ‘ridiculous’

News Network
January 24, 2023

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Jammu, Jan 24: Distancing his party from a controversial statement by a senior party leader, Rahul Gandhi today said the Congress disagreed with Digvijaya Singh's comments questioning India's surgical strikes and described the statement as "ridiculous".

"We disagree with Digvijaya Singh's views. The views of the party are above Digvijaya Singh's views," Rahul Gandhi said, responding to reporters' questions in Jammu on the sidelines of his Bharat Jodo Yatra.

"The views of the party are generated from a conversation. Digvijaya Singh's views are outlying views. They are not views held by the party. We are absolutely crystal clear - the armed forces do a job, and they do the job exceptionally well. They don't need to be providing proof," the Congress leader said.

Rahul Gandhi's clarification comes as the Congress faced massive criticism over Digvijaya Singh's comments at a Bharat Jodo Yatra rally on Monday.

"They talk about surgical strikes - that we killed these many people. But there is no proof. They are ruling by peddling a bundle of lies," Mr Singh had said.

Attempting damage control, the Congress said the remarks didn't reflect the party's views.

Mr Singh also said: "I have the greatest regard for the defence forces".

But the BJP seized on the comments and slammed him and the Congress as "anti-national" for questioning the army. The party also demanded Rahul Gandhi's apology.

"Congress leaders are doing Bharat Todo (divide India) on the instructions of Rahul Gandhi. Digvijaya Singh has become a symbol of venomous remarks. Trust in the Army is unbreakable and above politics. If the Army said there was a surgical strike, how can you ask for proof repeatedly. This shows that you do not have faith in our Army," said BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia.

"It has become a character of Congress to give irresponsible statements. But if they speak against the Indian Army, it won't be tolerated. It seems that Rahul Gandhi and Digvijaya Singh have been blinded by their hatred towards Narendra Modi," said the BJP leader.

India launched surgical strikes in 2016 days after 18 soldiers were killed in a terror attack on an army base in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir.

The February 2019 Pulwama attack on a security convoy was blamed on Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad.

Days after the attack, India retaliated with air strikes in Pakistan's Balakot, which was followed by an aerial dogfight between the neighbours.

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News Network
March 28,2024

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Mangaluru, Mar 28: A fish meal factory in the Baikampady Industrial area in Mangaluru was gutted in a fire incident on Thursday, officials said.

The factory is owned by the company 'Shihar Enterprises', they said.

According to the locals, the fire was first noticed at 4.45 am today, which was immediately reported to the fire department.

The fire engines reached the spot and tried to douse the fire, but it had already spread to other parts of the factory. After almost four hours of fire-fighting operation, the blaze was completely doused, officials.

The reason for the blaze is still being probed, the fire department officials said, adding that they suspect an electric short circuit could have triggered it.

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News Network
March 28,2024

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Russia says it is "extremely hard to believe" that Daesh could have staged the recent hugely deadly attack on a Moscow concert hall that the country's intelligence and security officials have blamed on Ukraine and its Western backers.

Four gunmen burst into the Russian capital's Crocus City Hall on Friday and began shooting at the people, who were attending an event. The Takfiri terrorist group has allegedly claimed responsibility for the massacre that killed at least 143.

Speaking on Wednesday, however, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova cast that claim into serious doubt.

"In order to ward off suspicions from the collective West, they urgently needed to come up with something, so they resorted to ISIS (Daesh), pulled an ace out of their sleeve, and literally a few hours after the terrorist attack, the Anglo-Saxon media began disseminating precisely these versions," she said.

The chief of the Russian internal intelligence (FSB), Alexander Bortnikov has suggested that not only Ukraine, but also the United States and Britain might have been behind the shooting.

The Russian Federal Security Service has also said the gunmen planned to travel to Ukraine, where they were to be welcomed as "heroes." The FSB said Western intelligence services aided the attackers.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has also suggested that Ukraine stood to derive benefit from the attack and that Kiev might have played a role.

He has said that someone on the Ukrainian side had prepared a "window" for the gunmen to escape across the border before they were captured in western Russia on Friday night.

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News Network
March 26,2024

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There is no let-up in the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an “immediate ceasefire.”

Israel carried out air raids and artillery strikes on several parts of Gaza on Tuesday, hitting residential buildings and gatherings of displaced people, “killing and wounding hundreds of people”, the Palestinian Information Center said.

Among the victims are 15 people, including four women and children, who were killed in an attack on a house in the neighborhood of Mosbeh, north of Rafah.

Media reports also said that fighting on the ground continued unabated.

That’s while the UN Security Council on Monday adopted a resolution for an “immediate ceasefire” for the ongoing Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The resolution was put forward by the 10 non-permanent members of the UN Security Council. The US abstained and the 14 other council members all voted in favor of it.

After the vote, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres wrote on social media platform X that failing to implement the resolution “would be unforgivable.”

Palestinian resistance movements have welcomed the resolution, but Israel’s minister for military affairs Yoav Gallant said Israel will not stop its attacks in Gaza. 

“We will operate against Hamas everywhere – including in places where we have not yet been,” Gallant said.

Israel’s foreign minister, Israel Katz, also said in a post on X that the attacks will continue until all the captives taken by Hamas during its October 7 blitz are released.

Israel unleashed its war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian Hamas resistance group carried out Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

Since the start of the offensive, the Tel Aviv regime has killed more than 32,300 Palestinians and injured over 74,000 others.

The Tel Aviv regime has also imposed a “complete siege” on the territory, cutting off fuel, electricity, food, and water to the more than two million Palestinians living there.

Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, said Israel has committed acts of genocide in Gaza.

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