Pakistan is ready to hold talks with the new Indian government to resolve all outstanding issues, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said.
Addressing an Iftar dinner in Multan yesterday, Qureshi said both India and Pakistan should sit on negotiation table to solve issues for the sake of prosperity and peace of the region, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.
His remarks came two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday led his Bharatiya Janata Party towards a super-sized victory for a second term in office.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday congratulated Modi on his electoral triumph and expressed desire to work with him for peace and prosperity in the region.
“I congratulate Prime Minister Modi on the electoral victory of BJP and allies. Look forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia,” Khan tweeted in both English and Urdu.
I congratulate Prime Minister Modi on the electoral victory of BJP and allies. Look forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia
In April, Khan said he believed there may be a better chance of peace talks with India and settle the Kashmir issue if Modi’s party wins the general elections.
The results of India’s general elections are very significant for Pakistan as the new government in New Delhi will determine the course of Indo-Pakistan ties, which were pushed to a new low after the Pulwama terror attack.
Just a day before the announcement of results, Qureshi and his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday exchanged pleasantries on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Council of Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. He conveyed to her Pakistan’s desire to resolve all issues through dialogue.
Tensions flared up between India and Pakistan after a suicide bomber of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Muhammed (JeM) killed 40 CRPF personnel in Kashmir’s Pulwama district on February 14.
Amid mounting outrage, the Indian Air Force (IAF) carried out a counter-terror operation, hitting the biggest JeM training camp in Balakot, deep inside Pakistan on February 26. The next day, Pakistan Air Force retaliated and downed a MiG-21 in an aerial combat and captured an IAF pilot, who was handed over to India.
Valencia clinched the Copa del Rey title after securing a 2-1 victory over Barcelona at Benito Villamarin Stadium on Sunday.
This is Valencia’s first Copa del Rey title since 2007-08 and eighth overall.
From the very start of the game, the winning side played an attacking game against Barcelona as they registered both their goals in the first half. Kevin Gameiro scored the first in just the 21st minute.
Just after 12 minutes, Valencia’s Rodrigo added hit another goal getting his side into on a dominating position. Valencia not just scored two goals in the first half, but also managed to restrict their opponents to zero.
However, Barcelona managed to score their first and the only goal of the match in the second half of the game. Messi was the scorer from Barcelona as he scored in the 71st minute, but his goal was certainly not enough to cancel out the strikes from Gameiro and Rodrigo.
Barcelona had already witnessed a Champions League exit at the hands of Liverpool in the semi-finals. However, they managed to win La Liga, the only title they bagged this season.
The dismal performance may add to the criticism of Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde, who is already under the fire for the team’s Champions League performance.
With this victory over Barcelona, Valencia also halted the former’s streak of four consecutive Copa del Rey titles.
Dealing with sites that promote violence, sex, cruelty, and extreme groups like al-Qaeda on the Internet is a concern for governments around the world. There is no universal legislation that clearly defines ways of dealing with sites that violate the laws. Pakistan has thousands of such websites, which inspire youth towards violence who fall prey to attractive incentives. Every day hundreds of Indian websites are hacked by Pakistani hackers and the so-called cyber war has given a jolt to a crucial database of the government. There are many business houses, corporate sectors, unaware of this threat and the fact that someone has penetrated into their machine. There is always a hidden treat from a neighbouring country. Nowadays, even China is doing the same and they are fully equipped with their cyber army to attack Indian domains. Unfortunately, if neighbouring country hacks our website and steals our intellectual property then it is not considered as a crime in our country. However, if Indian patriotic hacker or for that matter any hacker teaches them the same lesson by hacking their websites, then they are prosecuted under stringent laws. Crippled judiciary and inefficient police have always failed to stop online crime. When this is the case, then why not hackers groups in India such as Indian cyber shoulders should be allowed to deface such sites and prevent terror, violence, and crime?
The issue of the promotion of violence and terrorism on the Internet has always garnered the attention of security services. However, interest in it has increased dramatically since a failed plot to blow up a commercial US airliner in December 2006 at the hands of young Nigerian Umar Farooq. He was influenced by Anwar Awlaki, the Yemeni-American activist who is currently hiding in Yemen from where he promotes al-Qaeda in his online sermons. Recently, the Secretary-General of International Police (Interpol), Ronald K. Noble, hinted at the difficulty that security services encounter in tackling this type of sites on the Internet, the number of extremist websites rose from just 12 sites in 1998 to 14500 sites in 2010. The jihadis use internet discussion forums focused on Arabic-language forums since they are the principal platform promoting the ideology of al-Qaeda. This is attributed to the organisation not having an official site speaking for it, relying instead on sites that promote and publish its statements and the statements of its branches around the world. Some of the most prominent forums that promote al-Qaeda (topped by the al-Fallujah and Shumoukh al-Islam forums) and the number of participants, noting that there are two different trends of sites adherent to al-Qaeda, the first is the traditionalists’ trend, which includes participants in the forums of those who follow the ideology expressed by al-Qaeda leaders such as Osama Bin Laden and Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri. These appear to be mostly people eager to participate in what they see as an act of “jihad” without actually learning about differing views that could enable them to change their convictions, or at least re-consider them.
There are now about 15,600 Web sites spreading al Qaeda’s ideology worldwide, and 1000 more are appearing each year. These kinds of websites are a challenge to Information Technology and National Security and it is difficult to track most of the sites as these hardcore al Qaeda sites often change addresses to avoid detection or start up again elsewhere once infiltrated.
One member wrote of suicide missions: “If you can blow dozens of people up at the same time, great, absolutely great.”
In another vile message, a member praised a beheading video of British hostage Ken Bigley. It said, “I like the beheading videos of the prisoners of war – especially the Daniel Pearl and Ken Bigley one.”
The Department for Communities and Local Government agreed to fund the group’s film on problems faced by UK Muslims. We can’t prevent violent extremism if we aren’t prepared to talk about the issue. Pakistan is no stranger to state-sanctioned censorship. Since the 1950s, successive governments, both military and civilian, have taken pains to ensure that the media has been scrutinised, censored and harassed.’
Even as the twenty-first century has dawned upon Pakistan, the cycle continues. In 2009, the Pakistan government removed videos, of a Pakistan Army officer allegedly beating a Swat resident, from YouTube. Later on, videos of President Zardari saying “shut up” to a supporter at a public gathering were erased off of YouTube. In 2009, following a petition in the courts, the Lahore High Court slapped a ban on Facebook, which was later lifted. Even www.thepersecution.org, which documents crimes committed against the Ahmadi sect, is routinely banned by the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA), which makes it even all the more surprising that with such stringent control over the media and the internet, the Pakistan government has so far, turned a blind eye to the abundance of religious hate material that is floating around and readily available on the internet.
(The latter part of the editorial will continue on Sunday.)
(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)
The BJP might have won the 2019 Lok Sabha polls convincingly by winning 303 seats and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to retain PM’s post for the second time but he has removed the word ‘Chowkidar’ from his Twitter handle. PM Modi had launched the Main Bhi Chowkidar campaign on March 16 while campaigning for the Lok Sabha polls and urged his party workers to use the word Chowkidar on their Twitter handle. He added Chowkidar in his Twitter handle on March 17 a day after launching the “Main Bhi Chowkidar” (I am the watchman) campaign on social media. A day after the launch, many BJP leaders added the prefix Chowkidar to their Twitter handles as a mark of support to the poll campaign. He also appealed to masses to support the Main Bhi Chowkidar campaign and received a good response from them.
CPI (M) leader Ajit Abhyankar said, “BJP had launched the Main Bhi Chowkidar campaign to woo the voters ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. Now, the election has ended and results are out; hence, they have withdrawn the campaign and Modi has removed Chowkidar word from his Twitter handle. It was the slogan for their campaign and they promoted it.”
While campaigning for the Lok Sabha polls, Modi said that he is the Chowkidar of the country and keeping a vigil to guard the nation. He also interacted with 25 lakh Chowkidars across the country through video conferencing. However, after winning the election Modi has removed the word Chowkidar from his Twitter handle. Even BJP leaders Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, and Arun Jaitley removed the word Chowkidar from their Twitter handles. Former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, Union Ministers Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, and Arjun Ram Meghwal state MPs Om Birla and Divya Kumari removed the prefix from their profile pages on Twitter. Thus a question which arises here is that whether PM Modi had started the Main Bhi Chowkidar campaign with an eye on the election. Has he ceased to become the Chowkidar of the country after winning the Lok Sabha election? What message is Modi giving to the people who had supported the Main Bhi Chowkidar campaign?
Congress spokesperson Dr. Raju Waghmare said, “Modi had used the word Chowkidar as Congress had coined the slogan Chowkidar Chor Hai. We only had said that Modi is a thief which is not applicable to other members of BJP. He inserted the word Chowkidar in his Twitter handle and urged people to follow it. After winning the election he has removed the word Chowkidar which doesn’t mean that he has become free from the offences committed by him.”
“A joint parliamentary committee must be constituted to probe the Rafale deal. The truth will be unveiled after the inquiry. Modi had launched this campaign to divert people’s attention from real issues and to dilute the allegation of thief made against him,” he added.
PM Modi took to Twitter to explain why he removed the Chowkidar prefix and stated, “The people of India became Chowkidars and rendered great service to the nation. Chowkidar has become a powerful symbol to safeguard India from the evils of casteism, communalism, corruption, and cronyism.”
He tweeted further, “Now the time has come to take the chowkidar spirit to the next level. Keep this spirit alive at every moment and continue working for India’s progress. The word chowkidar goes from my Twitter name but it remains an integral part of me. Urging you all to do the same too!”
NCP IT cell National President Bindu Bhosale said, “Main Bhi Chowkidar campaign was a publicity stunt of the Modi government. The slogan was launched to attract voters. This campaign was launched with an eye on the election. People get connected with such a campaign. Such type of campaigns is not necessary if one really works for the nation’s development.”
On the other hand, the Congress had taken a jibe at PM Modi’s Chowkidar campaign by coining the phrase Chowkidar Chor Hai. The slogan was aimed at Modi for the alleged irregularities and favouritism in awarding the contracts related to the Rafale fighter jet deal. Congress President Rahul Gandhi had attacked the failure of PM Modi by addressing him as Chowkidar Chor Hai. Rahul said that Modi is the Chowkidar of wealthy like Anil Ambani and not of the country. The Congress alleged that Modi took away from the poor and farmers to support Ambani, Nirav Modi, and Mehul Choksi.
Former minister and BJP leader Brijmohan Agarwal said, “The objective for which Main Bhi Chowkidar campaign has been launched has been fulfilled. Modi will become the Prime Minister of the country once again hence he has removed the name Chowkidar from his Twitter account. The campaign was launched during the election.”
After the unprecedented success of Gully Boy, the maverick and millennial icon Siddhant Chaturvedi is definitely on the rise. Siddhant has been roped in as the Hindi voice of a global superstar and heartthrob Chris Hemsworth in the much-awaited action spin-off ‘Men In Black: International’.
Siddhant will be meeting Chris early next week. The idea for the meeting came up when the studio, when the studio Sony Pictures Entertainment India, got Siddhant on board as Chris’s voice and his team excited suggested that the two should rap, jam and bond. Siddhant will also be walking the red carpet with Chris.
Chris has visited India a couple of times and loves the country.
These ‘Men in Black’ will surely own the red carpet and will set it on fire with their suave style.
About Men in Black: International:
A London-based team of Men in Black (MIB) secret agents become involved in a series of alien attacks that send them travelling around the globe. Agent H (Chris Hemsworth) and Agent M (Tessa Thompson) employ high-tech
The results of the general elections to 17th Lok Sabha have rejected the Congress and its leader Rahul Gandhi. In 17 States and Union Territories, the Congress has failed to open its account. This is high time the Congress should get rid of the Gandhi family. It is better for the family also. Another option for the Congress is Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi should gracefully relinquish their position taking moral responsibility for the Congress’ rout in the elections. Even after this defeat, if Rahul Gandhi continues to hold sway over the Party it will mean the Congress is digging its grave. In that case, one does not need to predict the future of the Congress Party in Indian Politics.
Just see, soon after the elections were announced, Rahul Gandhi had begun hurling abuses at Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Most of the charges levelled against Modi were baseless. He was accusing Modi on Rafale deal as if Rahul Gandhi possessed some solid evidence against the Prime Minister. He was challenging Modi to debate the Rafale deal issue for 15 minutes. He was unnecessarily shouting “Rafale Rafale”. If Rahul Gandhi had any evidence why he did not make it public?
Now, sensible leaders with a mass base should think how long they should carry the burden of leadership of the Nehru-Gandhi family. In electoral politics, a leader is one who gets the victory for his Party. Rahul Gandhi has failed on this front. After repeating ‘Rafale Rafale’, “Ra-failed”! Even if Rahul Gandhi does not take “Sanyas” from politics he should at least resign as the Congress President taking the responsibility for the defeat of his Party. The defeat of 2019 elections is no small defeat. The people of the country have made Congress and its allies to bite the dust.
It is clear that no leader can stand before Modi in terms of stature and popularity. All other leaders are dwarfed before Modi. He is tallest of them all. Not only in India, but Modi’s leadership is also gaining popularity in other countries of the world as well. Today, Modi has emerged as strongest Prime Minister of India after Jawaharlal Nehru. Till now, it was believed that only Congress could return to power for the second time on its own. This has been proved wrong by Modi.
If you look at the results, except for in Kerala and Punjab, the performance of Congress was miserable in all other States. It goes without saying that Rahul Gandhi was not a factor in Punjab. It is Captain Amarinder Singh’s sway in Punjab that worked for the Congress. Surprisingly, Congress has promoted Navjot Singh Sidhu against Capt. Amarinder Singh. Sidhu is reported to be very close to Rahul Gandhi. Sidhu got an entry in Congress despite opposition from Capt. Singh.
Rahul Gandhi sent Sidhu all over the country to campaign for Congress. Sidhu used pedestrian language to attack Modi and BJP in the campaign. He hurled abuses against Modi. People were seeing this all. Wherever Sidhu campaigned for Congress, the Party lost the seat.
Nobody denies that debate and discussion must take place in a democracy. Even in the Parliament, discussion and debate are needed. This is the first requisite of a healthy democracy. However, one may ask since when it became a practice to make baseless accusations against a political opponent. Day in and day out, Rahul Gandhi has been making baseless and senseless accusations against Modi. Maybe he was writing a new book on ‘Grammar of Politics” but there were no buyers.
At the end of the day, Rahul Gandhi was a big flop. The people of the country rejected the negative ideology of Rahul Gandhi. They solidly voted for “Sab Ka Saath Sab Ka Vikas”. People of the country were watching how leaders like Chandrababu Naidu, Mamata Banerjee, and Arvind Kejriwal under the influence of Rahul Gandhi were demanding proof of air strike in Balakot in the PoK.
Those finding fault with the foreign policy of the government forgets how China retreated in Doklam which was a big diplomatic victory of India. I don’t remember China in the past ever took a defensive step with India in a border standoff. China, which did not miss the opportunity to remind India of 1962 war, has now understood that India under the leadership of Modi will not spare China in case of conflict.
Remember, in 2014, the Opposition was scattered. This election the Opposition was united. Despite this, the nation has voted for Modi. This is people’s mandate. No doubt contribution of the Congress in the freedom movement is unforgettable. Then great leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel were associated with Congress. But where is Congress of Gandhi and Patel today? Congress of today can’t think beyond a family.
In 2014, the Congress had suffered defeat as it could win only 44 Lok Sabha seats. It could not even get the position of ‘leader of Opposition’ in the Lok Sabha. For this, a party in order to qualify to have the position of Leader of Opposition should win at least ten per cent of the total seats of Lok Sabha. The required number is 55.
In the past five years, Congress did not bother to go in for introspection for the cause of defeat in 2014. On the contrary, ignoring its grass root leaders, Congress banked on leaders like P Chidambaram, Raj Babbar, Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, and Randeep Singh Huda. They can appear on the TV screen for debate only but they occupy the position of prominence in the Party.
When we look at West Bengal, there too the BJP has knocked at the corridor of Mamata Banerjee. The BJP has won 18 seats out of 42 in the stronghold of Trinamool Congress.
The message is clear and loud and it is that the country has given its mandate for Modi and has rejected Congress under Rahul Gandhi.
(The writer is a Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha)
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of AFTERNOON VOICE and AFTERNOON VOICE does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.)
BJP has created history by securing a historic mandate in the national elections, crossing the majority mark of 300 marks on its own while the NDA at around 350 seats. By winning a larger share of the vote than the 2014 elections, the people of India have given a sturdy mandate to PM Modi to lead the country for the next five years. Congratulating the people of India for their mandate he has assured to “build a strong and inclusive India”. This gigantic win is the victory of PM Modi’s development and the people’s trust in him.
The world’s largest democracy began showcasing its people’s power from April 11, 2019, till May 19, 2019, and their choice has now revealed to the world. It is rightly said that the only predictable thing about elections is that they are unpredictable. During elections, the million dollar question popped up was ‘Kiski Sarkar Banegi?’ and the answer is now clear as BJP with 350 seats has become Badi Jabardast party. Political pundits were predicting seat count of 300+ for BJP only if there is no Mahagathbandhan. Riding on a massive saffron surge sweeping through most parts of India, the BJP-led NDA government sets to become the only non-Congress government to return to power in the Indian political history.
Narendra Modi, the leader of the BJP party in India, has now become India’s next prime minister. The vote has now decided not only the composition of the next government but also the character of the Indian nation. There are some who had their eye on PM’s chair but have no concern for the poor, youth and a farmer as Modi has. The world has also now recognized the strength and power of India and Modi. Modi will now be more inspired to fight against terrorism with vigour.
If we look at a flashback to 2014, BJP fought about 325 seats and its allies fought another 60-70 seats more, and the BJP had won 282. The BJP and its allies won the right to form the largest majority government since the 1984 general election, and it was the first time since that election that a party had won enough seats to govern without the support of other parties. Since 2014, Narendra Modi and Amit Shah have worked hard to increase the strength of the BJP. In 2014, the electorate delivered Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) the first absolute majority gained by any party since 1984. As predicted in exit polls, BJP has made handsome gains in West Bengal and has managed to ruin the threats from BSP-SP Mahagathbandhan in UP.
As the Modi factor is still the bankable factor for BJP, it was can also yield a number of winning seats for the party. This is because the BJP government believes in social justice for all and that its ‘Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas‘ (cooperation of all, development of all) campaign is not just a slogan. Addressing an election rally in Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar, Modi said that the “Naamdar” gets exposed every time he tries to malign him and the more, he is targeted, the more ‘lotus’ will bloom. Modi excels in deriving new slogans and naming people with this remarkable analytical sense while taking on opposition and this time too, he did the same by calling the opposition unity as ‘dal-dal‘ (marshy land), which would help the ‘lotus’ to bloom. Modi was not even an MLA when he was chosen to become the Chief Minister of Gujarat. Thereafter, his popularity increased rapidly and he was chosen to lead the BJP in the 2014 Lok Sabha Election. In this election, he made BJP secure an absolute majority on its own, an incredible development which had been the party’s dream for the last several decades.
(The latter part of the Diary will continue on Sunday.)
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
The verdict is loud and clear as Modiji is people’s choice for Prime Minister for yet another term. NDA retaining power was expected but the margin of victory stunned us all. There was no Modi wave this time around but the margin of victory surpassed the 2014 verdict which is a clear indication of PM Modi’s not just popularity but his capabilities as a global leader. BJP itself on its own won more than half the parliamentary seats which mean it doesn’t have to follow instructions from its allies which is positive for nation’s progress and development.
Congratulations to our Prime Minister and hope his second term is fruitful to our country when it comes to economic development. Opposition including the Congress has been decimated and they should accept defeat with grace. EVM controversy was unwarranted and has been buried with the weight of the verdict and died a natural death. With elections over and a strong verdict in public domain, we should now all move forward and concentrate on nation-building and things affecting our country!
S.N. Kabra
Re-defining patriotism and terrorism
It refers to Sadhvi Pragya Thakur forced to seek apology by her own party BJP for calling Nathuram Godse (the assassinate of MK Gandhi) a patriot.
But those criticising Sadhvi Pragya Thakur overlooked the fact that Mahatma Gandhi called Abdul Rashid, the killer of Swamy Shraddhand, as his brother stating that he did not consider Abdul Rashid guilty of murder rather blaming Swamy Shraddhanand allegedly for his purging the atmosphere of mutual hatred and calumny.
If MK Gandhi can justify the killing of social-reformer Swamy Shraddhanand who was only non-Hindu to be given the opportunity to address the gathering at Jama Masjid of Delhi, then it is unjustified to snatch right of freedom of expression and speech from Sadhvi Pragya Thakur.
It has become a political fashion cutting across party-lines to glorify a person like a political god, forgetting that India actually got freedom because of strong base created by martyrdom of great martyrs like Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Sukhdev, Lala Lajpat Rai, Ashfaqualla Khan etc making British rulers in India leave the country out of fear of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and his Azad Hind Fauj. .
Subhash Chandra Agrawal
Rising debt makes mother-daughter commit suicide
It refers to shocking news about mother-daughter committing suicide last week in a suburb of Thiruvananthapuram for not being able to repay home-loan. This loan-system is in sharp contradiction of ancient India culture which suggested ‘Save something out of which you earn for difficult times and future needs.’ Now the liberal economy has made people acting in reverse direction by taking an easy loan with excessive luring done by Banks and Non-Banking-Financial-Companies NBFCs through unending mobile-calls through call-centres.
The central government should impose a total ban on telephonic-calls by banks and NBFCs luring potential buyers of loans. These banks and NBFCs torture loan-takers in every manner psychologically and both civil and criminal cases filed in contradiction to normal procedures. NBFCs must not be financed by at least public-sector banks. Unsecured loans should be totally banned with maximum interest on credit cards either for default or for part payment restricted to 18-per cent per annum rather than abnormally high up to 48-per cent presently.
Loan-waiver schemes or One-Time-Settlement OTS facility should be there for all existing loans given by Banks and NBFCs so that already trapped loan-takers may come out from these torturing loan-providers. If farmers can be provided such schemes, then it has become a necessity for at least mute section of middle-income society which is the worst sufferer of loans.
Madhu Agrawal
India needs a secular govt
With the BJP winning the elections this time too, India doesn’t need a Prime Minister like Narendra Modi to rule the country. What India needs is a government who is secular in its thinking and who cares for the common man.
Jubel D’Cruz
Maha success
Both Sena-BJP needs to work for the welfare of the people in their success and repose the faith the voters gave them in the 2019 elections. It is indeed a significant win for Saffron parties. The parliamentary election in 2019 had a pressure cooker situation for all political parties. Despite setbacks Modi’s leadership has come out trumps. But it is too early to predict what will happen in the year 2024. Maharashtra success in general and the win at the national level, in particular, gave the ruling BJP and NDA a headway start to work in union rather than showing differences all the time.
Nickhil Mani
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
It is notable that Rajeev Kumar was earlier granted protection from arrest by the Supreme Court for seven days which ends on Friday. A vacation bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra said that Rajeev Kumar can approach the Calcutta High Court or the trial court there for seeking relief. On May 17, the Supreme Court had given him seven days’ protection, till May 24, to approach a competent court in West Bengal for legal relief.
CBI wants to arrest Rajeev Kumar for interrogation in Saradha chit fund scam. The CBI has accused Rajeev Kumar of tampering with evidence in the Saradha case chit fund scam case to shield powerful politicians. He is a very close IPS officer to the chief minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee.
In February 2019, a CBI team was detained by Kolkata police. The CBI team went to interrogate Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar in the chit fund case. In an unprecedented chain of events, the chief minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee rushed to Kumar’s residence. She sat on a dharana against CBI’s move.
The Congress President Rahul Gandhi is considering to resign after a humiliating defeat in the Lok Sabha elections. The meeting of the Congress working committee is convened on Saturday. Top party leaders will deliberate on party’s debacle in the Lok Sabha elections. In this meeting Rahul Gandhi is likely to offer his resignation. He lost the election from his bastion Amethi. After this, there is a pressure on him to quit the office.
Party sources said that the party has convened a meeting of the Congress Working Committee, the highest decision making body of the party at 11 AM tomorrow.
The top Congress leadership will deliberate on the reasons of the humiliating loss in the Lok Sabha elections and assess them. The Congress party suffered a loss for the second time in a row at the hands of the Narendra Modi led BJP. The party bagged only 52 seats in this election.
UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and the former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh are expected to attend the meeting. There have already been voices within the party to introspect on why the party failed to reach out to the people.
It is remarkable that Rahul Gandhi accepted the mandate of people. He congratulated PM Narendra Modi and BJP candidate from Amethi Smriti Irani.
