I certainly did not dupe; please clear my name in media at least: Ramya tells Congress

News Network
May 12, 2022

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Film actress and former Lok Sabha member Divya Spandana aka Ramya has asked the All India Congress Committee General Secretary K C Venugopal to clear her name in the media regarding reports that said that she had duped the party of Rs 8 crore.

She further tweeted that she didn’t run away and resigned from the party for personal reasons and claimed that the story was planted to discredit her credibility.

“Humble request to @kcvenugopalmp to please clarify with the media about this whenever you’re in Karnataka next. The least you can do for me Venugopal ji, so I don’t have to live with this abuse and trolling for the rest of my life. (sic)”, she tweeted. 

He remarks come after some media reports claimed that Rahul Gandhi's most-trusted aide Praveen Chakravarty along with Divya Spandana were in incommunicado since the day of the 2019 general election results after allegedly charging huge sums of money in the name of research. It was further reported that Spandana was said to have received Rs 8 crore for her research and social media drive during the electioneering phase. 

Yesterday, Ramya had alleged the Congress instructed the workers to troll her on social media for a statement she’d made against Karnataka Congress President D.K. Shivakumar. 

“So the ‘office’ has circulated these messages among the congress leaders & volunteers asking them troll me. Save yourself the trouble — I’ll do it myself.(sic)”, Ramya wrote, attaching a series of screenshots that showed various messages in English and Kannada allegedly circulated to troll her. She also tagged Shivakumar and Congress’ Srivatsa Y.B. presently a member Rahul Gandhi’s team and former social media head of the Karnataka Congress.

The day before yesterday, Ramya had criticised the Mr Shivakumar for claiming BJP leader and Karanataka Higher Education Minister Ashwathnarayan C.N., had met the Congress’ M.B. Patil to “seek protection” from being questioned on public platforms in the PSI recruitment scam.

“People across parties meet each other, go to functions, some even get married into families — I’m surprised @DKShivakumar would say this about @MBPatil who’s a staunch congressman. Shouldn’t the party be fighting elections as one unit?@INCIndia,” wrote Ramya on Twitter, in response to Shivakumar’s comment.

In May 2019, during the Lok Sabha elections, BJP came back for the second time with a majority, defeating Congress. The following month, Spandana deleted her Twitter and Instagram accounts citing a “break from politics.” She even cut off all communication with party leaders. She was subsequently removed from the post of the Congress’ social media head.

Divya joined the Indian National Congress in 2012 as a member of its youth wing. She won Mandya Lok Sabha seat by-election in 2013 but was subsequently defeated in the 2014 Ggneral elections. As the Congress’ social media head, she was known for post hard-hitting tweets, especially taking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

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Agencies
November 22,2025

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New York/Washington: US President Donald Trump has again claimed to have solved the conflict between India and Pakistan, repeating his assertion during a meeting with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in the Oval Office.

Mamdani flew to Washington DC for his first meeting with Trump in the White House on Friday. Trump said he “enjoyed” the meeting, which he described as “great.”

During remarks in the Oval Office, with Mamdani standing next to him, Trump repeated his claim that he solved the May conflict between India and Pakistan.

"I did eight peace deals of countries, including India and Pakistan,” he said.

On Wednesday, Trump had said he threatened to put 350 per cent tariffs on India and Pakistan if they did not end their conflict, repeating his claim that he solved the fighting between the nuclear-armed neighbours and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called him to say “we're not going to go to war.”

Since May 10, when Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate” ceasefire after a “long night” of talks mediated by Washington, he has repeated his claim over 60 times that he “helped settle” the tensions between India and Pakistan.

India has consistently denied any third-party intervention. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians. India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.

Mamdani emerged victorious in the closely-watched battle for New York City Mayor, becoming the first South Asian and Muslim to be elected to sit at the helm of the largest city in the US.

He had been the front-runner in the NYC Mayoral election for months and defeated Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa and political heavyweight former New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent candidate and was officially endorsed by Trump just hours before the elections.

Indian-descent Mamdani is the son of renowned filmmaker Mira Nair and Columbia University professor Mahmood Mamdani. He was born and raised in Kampala, Uganda and moved to New York City with his family when he was 7. Mamdani became a naturalised US citizen only recently, in 2018.

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News Network
November 27,2025

Bengaluru, Nov 27: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s camp is reportedly on alert as the Congress leadership tussle in the state intensifies, particularly amid speculation over the potential promotion of Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar. Siddaramaiah is said to be in a “wait-and-watch” mode after admitting to “confusion” earlier this week and urging the party to “put a full stop” to it.

Sources say his supporters are ready to act if senior leaders — including party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, and Rahul Gandhi — give any indication of backing Shivakumar. If the party insists on a leadership change, Siddaramaiah’s camp has a list of alternatives, underscoring the deep rift between the two leaders. One possible candidate is Home Minister G. Parameshwara, a Siddaramaiah loyalist and influential Dalit leader.

The strategy was reportedly finalized at a meeting led by PWD Minister Satish Jarkiholi, another Siddaramaiah supporter, who stressed that Delhi leaders need to resolve the issue. Kharge and the Gandhis are expected to meet soon, after which Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar may be summoned to Delhi.

Shivakumar has largely stayed non-confrontational, publicly endorsing Siddaramaiah and downplaying speculation about his own ambitions. However, he has made pointed comments emphasizing the importance of honoring promises, directed at Siddaramaiah.

The feud traces back to the 2023 state election, when Siddaramaiah was chosen as Chief Minister while Shivakumar, who led the party’s campaign, was made Deputy CM and state party chief — a departure from the Congress’ usual “one post per person” rule.

There were also hints of a prior understanding that Siddaramaiah would step down midway through the term. As the halfway mark passed last week, Shivakumar-aligned lawmakers have ramped up pressure on the party for a leadership change, with Shivakumar himself hinting at stepping down as state party chief to pursue the top job.

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News Network
December 5,2025

Mangaluru: In a significant step to curb online hate and intimidation, Mangaluru City Police have registered a suo motu case against multiple Instagram accounts accused of circulating alleged provocative and threatening content.

While monitoring social media activity on Tuesday, Kankanady Town PSI Anitha Nikkam identified the Instagram handle ‘team_targetttt_900’ for posting a hate message alongside images of lethal weapons. Another account, ‘team_nagara_900’, allegedly shared a threatening post targeting activist Bharath Kumdelu, tagging additional pages such as KARAVALI-OFFICIAL.

Several other accounts — including ‘immu_bhai.fan’, ‘target_boy_900’, ‘kings_of_manglore’, ‘team_target_boys.900’, ‘arshad_mangalore’, ‘target_ka19_ullal’, ‘team_target__’, ‘troll_tigersz_900’, ‘tr_group_900’, and ‘team_target_900’ — are also under scrutiny for spreading similar inflammatory material, police said.

Authorities have urged citizens, especially young social media users, to report suspicious pages and avoid engaging with groups that glorify violence or threaten individuals. Online hate can quickly escalate into real-world harm, and police stress that sharing or promoting such content can attract legal consequences.

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