The Congress on Wednesday hit out at the BJP after it claimed that grand old party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and senior Dalit leader was insulted at the time when Priyanka Gandhi was filing her nomination for Wayanad Lok Sabha byelections.

Several senior BJP leaders including Ministers and Chief Minister shared the now-viral video clip purportedly showing Kharge waiting to enter the venue where Priyanka was filing her nomination.

In the viral video, Kharge is seen looking through the door of the room where Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was filing her nomination papers for Wayanad.

Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, former Union Rajeev Chandrasekhar and Amit Malviya were among the BJP leaders who targeted the Congress for allegedly insulting Kharge.

The Congress, however, responded promptly by posting pictures that showed Kharge seated with senior Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

Commenting on Shekhawat’s post, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate wrote in Hindi, “Shekhawat ji, in order to move ahead, he changed from a minister to a cheap, lying troll! At the time of filing nomination, a limited number of people (here 5) can enter. Kharge ji, Sonia ji and Rahul ji were outside. When we went inside, Kharge ji sat in the front row. Your Nadda ji is removed by pulling his hand.”

Shrinate dismissed the BJP leader Amit Malviya’s claims, stating, “You cheap liar. I wish you knew a thing or two about elections and how many people at any given time are allowed inside besides the candidate. Kharge ji, Sonia ji and Rahul Ji waited for some people to exit before they came in. Now see these pics and shut up.”

The exchange continued with Shrinate responding emphatically to the BJP leaders, calling out Himanta Biswa Sarma’s statement as “disheartening” and based on “arrogance & entitlement of the Sonia family”.

She also dismissed Rajeev Chandrasekhar’s allegations as a “lying troll” and “buffoonery”.

“Tough to imagine, this lying troll was once a minister! See the pics and shut up BTW despite losing the election and not being a Member of Parliament anymore, why does @RajeevRC_X still have a grey badge? Courtesy his former associates who now work with X?” she wrote.

In addition, the official X handle of BJP India shared the same 30-second video and made provocative remarks, stating, “If the Gandhi family can insult Kharge ji like this, then one can imagine how much hatred they must have for the Dalit community.”

SEBI chief Madhabi Puri Buch and other officials failed to appear before the Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) for questioning on Thursday, after which the meeting was postponed.

“Today morning at 9:30, we got a communication from the SEBI chairperson and other members that because of a personal exigency, she is unable to travel to Delhi,” PAC chairperson K C Venugopal said.

Considering that the request was made by a woman, the committee decided to postpone the sitting to another day, he said.

Buch, who is facing allegations of conflict of interest by US-based short-seller Hindenburg, had been summoned to appear before the PAC to review the performance of the market regulator.

After the postponement, BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad raised concerns about Venugopal’s suo motu decision and expressed that several committee members, including those from the BJP and its allies, are approaching Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to address Venugopal’s conduct.

The PAC is also examining matters related to the Department of Telecommunications and that meeting will go ahead as scheduled during the post-lunch session.

Despite the postponement, the agenda for reviewing the Department of Telecommunications proceeded as scheduled during the post-lunch session, while the move to summon Buch raised objections from BJP members due to its political implications.

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey wrote to the Lok Sabha Speaker, accusing Venugopal of raising “non-existent” issues to tarnish the central government’s reputation and “destabilise” the country’s financial structure and economy.

He alleged that the Congress leader’s conduct was politically motivated by his party’s position in the opposition following the Lok Sabha elections and that the accusations against Buch were part of a larger campaign, known as the ‘India Chapter’ of the toolkit.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held bilateral talks on Wednesday on the margins of the BRICS Summit in Russia’s Kazan, in their first structured meeting in the last five years.

The meeting took place two days after India and China firmed up an agreement on patrolling by their militaries along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, in a major breakthrough to end the over four-year standoff.

In a post on X, PM Modi said he met President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Kazan BRICS Summit. “India-China relations are important for the people of our countries, and for regional and global peace and stability. Mutual trust, mutual respect and mutual sensitivity will guide bilateral relations,” he said.

During the meeting, Prime Minister Modi emphasised the importance of not allowing differences to disrupt the peace and tranquility in the region. He welcomed the recent agreement on the India-China border and stated that maintaining peace on the border should be India’s top priority.

Expressing his pleasure at the meeting, Jinping acknowledged that it was the first official meeting between both leaders in five years. Jinping said China and India are both ancient civilizations, major developing countries, and important members of the Global South.

“For both sides, to keep to the trend of history and the right direction of our bilateral relations, both sides need to have more communication and cooperation, properly handle differences and disagreements, and to facilitate each other’s pursuit of development aspirations. It’s also important for both sides to shoulder our international responsibility, set an example for boosting the strength and unity of developing countries, and to contribute to promoting multipolarization and democracy in international relations,” said Chinese President Jinping.

In November 2022, PM Modi and President Jinping engaged in an exchange of pleasantries and held a brief conversation during a dinner hosted by the Indonesian President for the G20 leaders.

Similarly, in August of the preceding year, Modi and Jinping engaged in a brief and informal conversation in Johannesburg on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit.

The last structured meeting between the two leaders took place during their second informal Summit in Mamallapuram in October 2019. The eastern Ladakh border dispute emerged in May 2020.