Rahul Gandhi Pleads Not Guilty After Bhiwandi Court Frames Charges in RSS Defamation Case

As Punjab votes in the last phase of 18th Lok Sabha polls on June 1, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in a letter addressed to the voters of the state said that PM Narendra Modi has indulged in most vicious form of hate speeches, which are purely divisive in nature.

"Modi has indulged in most vicious form of hate speeches, which are purely divisive in nature," said Singh in the letter shared by Congress on social media platform X.

Singh in the letter added that 'no PM in past has uttered such hateful, unparliamentary terms to target either a specific section of society or opposition.'

"No PM in past has uttered such hateful, unparliamentary terms to target either a specific section of society or opposition," remarked Manmohan Singh in the letter.

“In the past ten years, the BJP government has left no stone unturned in castigating Punjab, Punjabis and Punjabiyat. 750 farmers, mostly belonging to Punjab, were martyred while incessantly waiting at Delhi borders, for months together. As if the lathis and the rubber bullets were not enough, none less than the Prime Minister verbally assaulted our farmers by calling them "Andolanjeevis" and "Parjeevi" (Parasites) on the floor of the Parliament. Their only demand was the withdrawal of the three farm laws imposed on them without consulting them," said the former Prime Minister.

On economic front:

Manmohan Singh further continuing his attack on Modi-led government said that in the past 10 years, 'the nation's economy has witnessed unimaginable turmoil.'

"The imposition of the demonetisation disaster, a flawed GST, and the painful mismanagement during the COVID pandemic has resulted in a miserable situation, where an expectation of a subpar 6-7 per cent GDP growth has become the new normal. Average GDP Growth under BJP Government has plunged to under 6 per cent, while during Congress-UPA tenure, it was about 8 per cent (New Series)," commented Singh.

"While the Congress-UPA, despite challenges, increased the purchasing power of our people, the misrule of the BJP Government has resulted in depletion of household savings to a historic 47-year low. Rural wages have witnessed a systematic fall, and wage disparity has led to widespread distress," noted Singh in the letter.

On Agniveer scheme:

On Agniveer scheme, Singh said "BJP govt imposed Agniveer scheme; it thinks value of patriotism, service is only 4 years, shows their fake nationalism."

"Those who trained for regular recruitment were woefully betrayed by the outgoing regime. The youth of Punjab, the son of the farmer, who dreams of serving the motherland through the Armed Forces, is now thinking twice about getting recruited only for a 4-year stint. Agniveer Scheme endangers National Security. Congress party has therefore promised to abolish the Agniveer Scheme," added Singh.

Earlier. during campaigning in various parts of the country, PM Modi had accused Singh of saying that Muslims have the first right on the country's resources.Singh said people of India are seeing through all of this. "This narrative of dehumanisation has now reached its peak. It is now our duty to save our beloved nation from these forces of discord," Singh said in the letter.

The United Nations humanitarian chief has hit out at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for claiming that the recent deadly aerial assault in the southern Gaza Strip was a “mistake,” saying the carnage was possibly the “most cruel abomination.”

UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths made the remarks on Monday, one day after the Israeli strike hit a camp for displaced Palestinians in the city of Rafah and killed at least 50 people and wounded 200 others.

Terrifying scenes of tents in flames and burned victims, many of whom were women and children, sparked an international outcry. 

However, Netanyahu called the air raid a "tragic mistake" and claimed that Israel was investigating the incident.

“Whether the attack was a war crime or a “tragic mistake,” for the people of Gaza, there is no debate. What happened last night was the latest – and possibly most cruel – abomination,” Griffiths said in a statement.

“To call it ‘a mistake’ is a message that means nothing for those killed, those grieving, and those trying to save lives.”

The UN relief chief also pointed to the widespread warnings of a slaughter ahead of Israel's incursion into Rafah, saying, "We've seen the consequences in last night's utterly unacceptable attack."

He further noted that no shelters, hospitals and so-called humanitarian zones are safe in Gaza.

The Rafah carnage came two days after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Israel to “immediately” halt its military offensive in Rafah.

The occupying regime began a ground offensive in the overcrowded Palestinian city on May 7, defying calls from the international community, including the United States, not to proceed.

Rafah, situated on Gaza's southern border with Egypt, is home to about a million displaced Palestinians who have fled from the rest of the besieged territory amid a genocidal Israeli war.

EU ministers discuss anti-Israel sanctions

Ireland’s Foreign Minister Micheal Martin, meanwhile, said the European Union has for the first time engaged in a “significant” discussion on sanctioning Israel over its Gaza onslaught.

He said the imposition of EU sanctions was discussed as a possible measure to be taken if Israel does not comply with the ICJ’s ruling to halt its attack on Rafah, Irish public broadcaster RTE reported.

“Certainly, if compliance isn’t forthcoming, then we have to consider all options,” he added.

Martin also said that a number of EU foreign ministers had raised the prospect of bans against Israeli officials who were aiding and abetting violent settlers in the occupied West Bank.

Israel unleashed its US-backed war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian Hamas resistance group carried out a surprise operation against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

The Tel Aviv regime has so far killed at least 36,050 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 81,026 others.

In a tragic road accident, six members of a family died on the spot after their car jumped the median and hit a truck coming from the opposite direction in Eechanahalli village near Hassan town on Sunday.

The incident took place around 5.45 am on Sunday when the family was returning from Mangaluru. The deceased have been identified as Sunand, 40, Narayanaswamy, 50, Nethra, 25, Ravi Kumar, 30, Chethan, 7, and Gunashekar, 28. All of the deceased were residents of Devanahalli, Bengaluru Rural district.

According to police sources, the family had hired a Toyota Etios car and had visited Mangaluru for medical purposes. Gunashekar was driving the car.

A cop said, “We suspect Gunashekar’s drowsiness may have led to the accident. The car hit the road median and jumped to the other lane. It crashed into a container truck coming from the opposite direction. Going by the impact of the accident, it seems that the car was being driven at a high speed.”

The bodies were shifted to Hassan Institute Of Medical Sciences (HIMS). The Hassan traffic police have registered a case under Sections 279 (driving in a negligent manner endangering human life) and 304 (a) (death of any person by doing any rash or negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide) of the Indian Penal Code.
 
Additional Director General of Police (Traffic and Road Safety) Alok Kumar posted on X, “In last 24 hrs 51 lives lost in road accidents in Karnataka, one of the highest toll in recent past. Many of these caused due to rash & reckless driving. Road safety needs responsible behaviour from all the stakeholders.”