Won't let Rahul Gandhi speak in parliament without an apology: BJP

News Network
March 17, 2023

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New Delhi, Mar 17: Amid chaos in the parliament, leading to adjournment of both houses for the second consecutive day, sources in the BJP today said they won't let Congress MP Rahul Gandhi speak in the house unless he apologises for his remarks on Indian democracy in London.

Both houses of the parliament were adjourned again today amid loud sloganeering from the BJP, which is demanding Congress MP Rahul Gandhi apologise for his remarks at Cambridge University, and opposition parties demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the Adani-Hindenberg row. Audio of the proceedings were muted while chaos ensued inside the parliament. Congress, repeating Rahul Gandhi's charge that microphones of opposition leaders were muted in the parliament, took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

"Earlier, the mic used to be turned off, today even the proceedings of the House were muted. The house is mute for PM Modi's friend," the grand-old-party tweeted in Hindi.

Rahul Gandhi was seen in the Lok Sabha for the second time today since the row erupted over his comments, but the house was adjourned till next week before any business could be done. Mr Gandhi has said he wants to respond to allegations against him inside the house, but the BJP is adamant that he apologises first.

Calling Mr Gandhi's remark "egregious and gravely offensive", BJP National Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said Mr Gandhi should apologise outside before seeking recourse in the parliament.

"It is sad that the EGO on 1 Parivar is above INSTITUTION OF PARLIAMENT (sic)? Rahul has made an egregious & gravely offensive remark against our sovereignty by demanding foreign intervention on foreign soil If he is serious about Parliament he should have apologised immediately outside before seeking recourse in Parliament. You cannot undermine Parliament & then seek its recourse Pehle Maafi Maango Desh se (first apologise to the nation)," he tweeted.

Union Minister Anurag Singh Thakur, referring to Rahul Gandhi's "unfortunately, I am Member Of Parliament" slip-up yesterday, said he is truly an unfortunate MP because he is defaming the same parliament that he is a part of. He also demanded an unconditional apology from him.

"He does not know that the House is run by procedures, and policies. I had also brought the booklet of rules for him. If he attended the parliament, he would understand. He does not read, and rarely comes to the parliament. Telling one lie after another has become his habit. You lied, and tried to show that you are bigger than the parliament, bigger than the country. He should apologise unconditionally," Mr Thakur said.

Several BJP ministers have slammed Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of spreading lies and maligning India's image abroad. While Law minister Kiren Rijiju alleged that the Congress leader was speaking the language of "anti-India forces", BJP MP Nishikant Dubey has called for the formation of a special committee to look into Mr Gandhi's statements, which, he said, should help end Mr Gandhi's Lok Sabha membership.

BJP National President JP Nadda on Friday said that Rahul Gandhi has become a permanent part of the "anti-nationalist toolkit".

"It's unfortunate that the Congress party is indulging in anti-national activities. After being repeatedly rejected by the nation, Rahul Gandhi has now become a permanent part of this anti-nationalist toolkit," Mr Nadda told news agency ANI. He also asked what Mr Gandhi's intention was when he "demand the intervention of another country in the internal matters of India".

During an event in the UK, Rahul Gandhi had alleged that the structures of Indian democracy are under attack and there is a "full-scale assault" on the country's institutions.

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News Network
November 22,2025

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The Israeli regime’s forces have killed two Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip every day since the ceasefire began in early October, UNICEF has warned.

The UN children’s agency said on Friday that Israeli forces continue to attack Palestinians in Gaza even though the agreement was meant to stop the killing.

“Since 11 October, while the ceasefire has been in effect, at least 67 children have been killed in conflict-related incidents in the Gaza Strip. Dozens more have been injured. That is an average of almost two children killed every day since the ceasefire took effect,” UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires said in Geneva, reminding that each number in the statistics represents a child whose life had ended violently.

“These are not statistics,” he said. “Each child had a story, a family, and a future that was stolen from them.”

Data from Palestinian factions, human rights groups, and government bodies recorded since the US-brokered ceasefire deal went into effect on October 10 show that Israeli forces have carried out numerous attacks, each constituting a separate ceasefire violation.

UNICEF teams say they repeatedly continue to witness heart-wrenching scenes of fearful Palestinian children sleeping outdoors with amputated limbs, while others live as orphans in flooded, makeshift shelters.

“I saw this myself in August. There is no safe place for them. The world cannot normalize their suffering,” Pires said, lamenting that the UN could “do a lot more if the aid that is really needed was entering faster.”

The UNICEF spokesperson warned that with the advent of winter, the risks for hundreds of thousands of displaced children will increase.

He warned, “The stakes are incredibly high” for children as winter acts as a threat multiplier, where children have no heating, no insulation, and few blankets. He said respiratory infections rise.

“Too many children have already paid the highest price,” Pires said. “Too many are still paying it, even under a ceasefire. The world promised them it would stop and that we would protect them.”

“Now we must act like it,” the UNICEF spokesperson added.

Since the Israeli regime launched its genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza in October 2023, it has killed nearly 70,000 people in the territory, most of them women and children, and injured over 170,000 more, while reducing most of the structures in the enclave to rubble.

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News Network
November 22,2025

The Karnataka government has announced a 50% rebate on pending traffic and transport fines. The discount is available from November 21 to December 12.

The rebate applies to all traffic e-challans and violation cases booked by the RTO between 1991–92 and 2019–20. Officials clarified that the offer is not applicable to pending tax dues and is restricted only to traffic-violation fines.

Across Karnataka, more than 4 lakh RTO cases remain pending, including those involving transport vehicles. While thousands of vehicle owners have already cleared their dues, the department expects to generate substantial revenue through this limited-period rebate.

How to Pay and Avail the Discount

There are three ways to check and pay your pending fines:

1. Through Mobile Apps
Available on both Play Store and App Store:
•    Karnataka State Police (KSP) app
•    KarnatakaOne app
•    ASTraM app

Steps:
•    Enter your vehicle number in any of the above apps
•    Verify the photo/details of your vehicle
•    Pay the fine with the 50% discount applied

2. Visit a Traffic Police Station

You can pay your pending fine at any nearby traffic police station.

3. Visit the Traffic Management Centre (TMC)

•    Location: First Floor, Infantry Road, near Indian Express, Bengaluru

Transport Commissioner Yogeesh A M said, “We don't issue e-challans, so there's no online payment system.”

The department estimates ₹52 crore in pending RTO fines up to March 2020. “With the 50% rebate, we expect to collect around ₹25 crore if all dues are cleared,” he added.

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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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