Rahul to sustain politics of hope: Manmohan Singh

Agencies

December 16, 2017

New Delhi, Dec 16: Former prime minister Manmohan Singh today said that Congress chief Rahul Gandhi will sustain the "politics of hope" which is needed by the country and not allow the "politics of fear" to take over.

Certain "disturbing trends" are noticeable in the country's polity and the people depended on Rahul Gandhi to transform it, Singh said in his brief address at an event where the new Congress President took charge.

He described the day as "unique" in the party's history and said Rahul Gandhi's leadership brings a new sense of dedication and commitment which will steer the party to greater heights of glory.

Singh also praised outgoing Congress chief Sonia Gandhi for the "powerful and magnificent" leadership provided by her to the Congress party that will go down in the annals of its history.

"Rahul ji today is taking over as the the president of the party at a time when there are certain disturbing trends noticeable in our polity.

"As a distinguished academic pointed out a few days ago, there are dangers that the 'politics of fear' will take over from the politics of hope," the former prime minister said, ostensibly targeting the BJP.

"Rahul ji, we depend upon you to transform that area, that fear of politics will transform, to sustain the politics of hope, which this country needs," Singh said.

He said the country is still faced with problems like poverty, ignorance and disease with millions still afflicted with them.

Recalling the 19 years of Sonia Gandhi's leadership, he said he has worked with her as CWC member and as prime minister for 10 years.

He said the government headed by him under Sonia's guidance took some historic decisions that includes enactment of some "unique social legislations". He recalled MNREGA and the Right to Information in this regard.

Singh said the growth rate of the country was at an all- time high at an average of 7.8 per cent per annum during the period and 140 million people were lifted out from poverty.

"Now that Sonia ji is handing over the reins to Rahul ji, we salute Sonia ji for the magnificent leadership that she has provided in these last 19 years," he said.

The former PM also said that Rahul Gandhi has been trained for a long period as he has been looking after many of party's activities for many years.

"He brings to this office of the Congress President a new sense of dedication, a new sense of commitment, a new sense of looking after the leadership role," he said.

Singh expressed the hope that Rahul, who has travelled all over the country, knows the problems first hand and under his leadership the party will scale new heights of glory.

"May your path be blessed," he said ending his speech after conveying his and partymen's best wishes to the new party chief.

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‘Pakistan has no moral right to question India’s military operation’: Pak Islamist lawmaker exposes own country’s hypocrisy

News Network

December 23,2025

A Pakistani lawmaker has called out the hypocrisy of his country's leadership, drawing a parallel between Islamabad's military actions against Kabul and India's 'Operation Sindoor'.

Condemning the Pakistan army, led by Asim Munir, for strikes on Afghanistan - which resulted in civilian casualties - Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-F (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman questioned the consistency of Islamabad's logic. He argued that if Pakistan's cross-border attacks are considered justified, then the country has little ground to object when India enters Pakistani territory to eliminate terrorists.

Rehman was addressing the 'Majlis-e-Ittehad-e-Ummat' conference on Monday in Karachi's Lyari. The town recently gained international attention as the setting for the Ranveer Singh-starrer Dhurandhar, which depicted the intersection of informants and operatives within the Lyari underworld.

"If you say that we attacked our enemy in Afghanistan and justify this, then India can also say that it attacked Bahawalpur, Muridke, and the headquarters of groups responsible for the attack in Kashmir," Rehman said, referring to India's retaliatory strikes. "Then how can you raise objections? The same accusations are now being levelled against Pakistan by Afghanistan. How do you justify both positions?"

The JUI-F chief's remarks specifically referenced 'Operation Sindoor'.

On May 7, Indian armed forces carried out pre-dawn missile strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, including the Jaish-e-Mohammad stronghold of Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba's base in Muridke.

Pak-Afghanistan Tension

Fazlur Rehman has been a consistent critic of the Pakistani government's policy towards Afghanistan. In October, during a peak in bilateral tensions, he offered to mediate between the two nations. According to a Dawn report, he stated, "In the past, I have played a role in reducing tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, and I can still do so."

Rehman is known to wield significant influence within the region and remains the only Pakistani lawmaker to have met with the Taliban's supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada.

Recently, India condemned Pakistan's fresh strikes on Afghanistan. "We have seen reports of border clashes in which several Afghan civilians have been killed," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at a weekly media briefing.

"We condemn such attacks on innocent Afghan people. India strongly supports the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Afghanistan," he said.

A spokesperson for the Taliban regime claimed Pakistan initiated the attacks and that Kabul was "forced to respond".

The two countries have been locked in an increasingly bitter dispute since the Taliban authorities retook control in Kabul in 2021, with Islamabad accusing its neighbour of harbouring terrorists - a charge that the Afghan government denies.

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